The Husky Classic is one of the most prestigious indoor track and field meets in the nation, and Idaho junior Hannah Kiser took full advantage of a chance to race against stellar competition. Over the weekend, the Vandals competed in the Husky Classic and the UW Open in Seattle against teams from all over the country.With a strong kick near the end of the race, Kiser finished fourth overall in the invitational portion of the women’s 3,000-meter race, finishing in 9:04.74 seconds. She beat her previous WAC record of 9:07.23 and moved into fifth in the NCAA so far this season. Kiser’s time is an astonishing 43 seconds faster than the current second-best time in the WAC.
“She ran a very controlled race over the first half, then really kicked it in over the final 1k,” Idaho coach Wayne Phipps said. “She went from being near the back to being the second collegian finisher in the race.”
Kiser wasn’t the only distance runner to impress. Seniors Liga Velvere and Lauren Schaffer finished one-two in the non-invitational run of the women’s 800-meter race, an event that featured 52 total runners. Velvere’s time of 2:07.95 leads the WAC and ranks 40th in the NCAA so far this season. Schaffer’s time of 2:09.33 ranks third in the WAC.
“Liga just keeps getting better and better as the season goes on,” Phipps said. “That was a very good race for Lauren and I think she’s someone who is poised to really break out. They both led their races from start to finish and basically ran on their own, so I’m excited to see what they can do when we get them into a very good race against some strong competition.”
Velvere also finished third in the women’s 400-meter race on Sunday at the UW Open with her time of 56.50.
On the men’s side, junior Kyle Rothwell had another huge personal record in the men’s weight throw. His toss of 62 feet, 10 inches not only won the event but moved him into 38th in the NCAA this season. Rothwell is also the WAC leader in the weight throw. He went on to win the event again on Sunday with a toss of 62-04, despite fouling four of his six throws.
In the sprints, Idaho’s 4×400-meter relay team of junior Andrew Bloom, freshmen Ian Middleton and Blake Gerling and sophomore Ben Ayesu-Attah won the men’s 4×00-meter relay with a season-best time of 3:15.54. Ayesu-Attah and Bloom also finished second and third respectively in the men’s invitational section of the 400-meter dash with times of 47.37 and 48.37.
“Ben ran a fantastic leg of the 4×400 and anchored us to victory,” Phipps said. “In the open 400, he ran an indoor career best and almost caught the UW guy at the end to finish second. Bloom ran our lead leg of the 4×4 and won his heat of the open 400 to finish third overall in the invitational section. The men’s relay won the normal section, but their time would have finished second in the invitational section, so it was a very good race.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]