Stanton grabs another win to lead track and field
It was a banner day for the host team Eastern Washington Saturday, but the Vandal track and field teams held their own during the 43rd Annual Pelluer Invitational in Cheney, Washington, and had multiple top finishes.
File photo by Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Junior distance runner Morgan Choate, right, competes in the 1500-meter run during the Mike Keller Invitational Saturday at the Dan O’Brien Track and Field Complex in Moscow. The Vandals competed at the Pelluer Invitational hosted by Eastern Washington Saturday in Cheney, Washington.
“It went well today,” Idaho coach Tim Cawley said. “The team competed hard in some windy conditions and we also had a few wins and personal bests.”
As has been a trend this season, Vandal senior distance runner Holly Stanton came into the day with authority and finished first in the 1500-meter run. Stanton wasn’t alone at the top, with senior Alycia Butterworth, junior Halie Raudenbush and sophomore Ally Ginther finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Members of the women’s sophomore class continued to impress as Katelyn Peterson finished with a first-place, 5-foot, 5-inch high jump. Another sophomore who was on showcase again this weekend was thrower Adara Winder, who placed first in the women’s shot put. Winder, who has been a key thrower for the Vandals so far this outdoor season, posted a season best 46-11.5 throw.
Sophomore Andrea Pikes, the lone Vandal women’s sprinter for the weekend, did her job placing second in the 100-meter dash with a mark of 12.56 seconds. In order to qualify for the conference finals, Pikes will need to improve her time in the event to 12 seconds flat or better. Already having posted a mark of 12.17 seconds earlier this season, and with four weeks left until the Big Sky Championships, she has plenty of time to beat the time.
Idaho junior Taylor Hewett also had an impressive second-place performance in the 800, being complemented by sophomore teammate Julia Smith, who soared to a second place, 10-08 in the pole vault.
While the men’s team didn’t enjoy as many top finishes as the women’s team, the theme of the meet was quality, not quantity.
Participating in the high jump for the first time this outdoor season, senior Emmanuel Panchol came out strong and posted a 6-06.75 jump, earning second place and falling short of meeting the conference-qualifying standard by less than two inches.
Panchol can breathe a little easier in the triple jump, where he has already qualified for the conference finals and posted a first-place mark of 47-01.75 over the weekend.
Senior thrower Zach Trumbauer also made a case for himself this weekend, where he threw for a second-place finish of 166-06 in the hammer throw. Like Panchol, Trumbauer also qualified for the conference finals over the weekend.
Sophomore thrower Juan Medina-Cuenca also appeared near the top for the Vandals. Medina-Cuenca had two fourth-place finishes at the Pelluer Invitational, where he posted a throw of 49-09 in the shot put, and 156-07 in the discus, respectively.
Both the Idaho men’s and women’s teams will soak up the sun in California next weekend, where select members from each squad will compete in the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut. The Vandals will showcase their skills on the Palouse the following weekend as they head across the border to compete in the Cougar Invitational in Pullman.
Kyle Schumaker can be reached at [email protected]