The weekend was filled with plenty of action as the 2020 Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships in Pocatello, Idaho, went underway along with the final days of the 2020 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Women’s Swim & Dive Championships in Houston, Texas. Men’s basketball competed in their final road game of the season and women’s basketball celebrated their seniors on senior day. Men’s tennis competed in Boise, Idaho, against Boise State and women’s tennis lost their first Big Sky Conference (BSC) match against Eastern Washington in Lewiston, Idaho.
Track & Field
On the first day of the BSC Track & Field Championships, the Vandals took four podium finishes on Friday with eight Vandals qualifying for finals. The women finished in second, and the men finished in fifth.
Senior jumper and sprinter Rechelle Meade won the women’s long jump, securing back-to-back champion finishes. Freshman distance runner Kelsey Swenson placed second in the women’s 5000-meter. Sophomore jumper Zachary Nunis placed second in the men’s long jump and scored his season-best of 7.52 meters. The men’s medley relay team placed third with a time of 10 minutes, 6.59 seconds, earning a spot on the podium.
“I thought we had a great day. I don’t think it could have gone a whole lot better. We had a lot of podium performances and a lot of people moving through to tomorrow,” Tim Cawley, director of Track & Field/Cross Country said, according to the Vandal Athletics website. “The team had a very gritty performance today and kept working hard. I thought we looked really good out there.”
The Vandals wrapped up the BSC Track & Field Indoor Championships with the men placing fourth and the women placing fifth in overall competition. There were two first-place finishes and Swenson earned BSC Freshman of the Year.
Senior thrower Zachary Short won the shot-put with a throw of 19.21 meters, earning his third straight championship title. Freshman sprinter and jumper Spencer Barrera placed first in the men’s 400-meter dash, earning his first championship.
The Vandal’s finishes and point totals were the best since rejoining the BSC according to the Vandal Athletics website.
Women’s Swim and Dive
After the WAC Championships were temporarily halted after a water main break at the University of Houston, a shortened session was held on Friday. Sophomore Katie Hale earned gold in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.75 seconds, a new personal best. Hale moved to second in Vandal history with her time, according to the Vandal Athletics website.
Hale competed in the 100-freestyle and finished seventh with a time of 50.67 seconds, a new personal-best and moved to third in program history, according to the Vandal Athletics website.
Idaho sat in seventh with 222.5 points after Friday’s events, while Northern Arizona led with 432.5 points.
On the final day of the events, Idaho finished in seventh with 307.5 points, and Northern Arizona won the championship with 677.5 points. Senior Brianna Lucien took third in the 1650-freestyle. Lucien placed fourth in Idaho history in the event.
Men’s Basketball
Idaho (7-22, 3-15 BSC) fell to Southern Utah (15-14, 8-10 BSC) 55-87. The Vandals had a slow start in the first half, only scoring 15 points. Idaho picked things up in the second half and outscored the Thunderbirds 44-40 but were unable to come back. Senior guard Trevon Allen and junior forward Scott Blakney each scored 17 points. Blakney shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field in and grabbed four rebounds.
“I loved what (Scott) did in the second half, he was aggressive as I’ve seen him offensively in a month,” Head Coach Zac Claus said according to the Vandal Athletics website. “That’s a kid that’s battled …. He’s got it in him to score… and he took advantage tonight.”
The Vandals return to action this week to compete in their final two home games against Weber State on Thursday and on senior day against Idaho State on Saturday.
Women’s Basketball
Idaho (18-9, 13-5 BSC) knocked off Southern Utah (16-11, 10-8 BSC) 70-57 on senior day in Memorial Gym. Senior guard Lizzy Klinker finished the game with 23 points in her final home game.
The Vandals outscored the Thunderbirds in the first half 34-19 with Lizzy Klinker scoring 17 points. The Thunderbirds fought back in the second half but were unable to come back late in the fourth period. Idaho forced 14 turnovers and scored 15 points off turnovers.
“At any point at the end of this season, every game is a building block. This is huge to know we can be ahead, and they might come back and have a really good game, but we can always come back and finish it,” Lizzy Klinker said.
The Vandals finish their regular season on the road against Weber State on Wednesday and Idaho State on Friday.
Men’s Tennis
The Vandals traveled to Boise and faced-off with Boise State University. The Broncos defeated the Vandals 7-0 and picked up their sixth win of the season.
Freshman Althaf Dhaifullah and sophomore Bruno Casino picked up the only doubles win for the Vandals. Dhaifullah and Casino won the set 7-6 with an 8-6 win in the tiebreak. The Vandals didn’t win any singles matches.
“We had a lot of opportunities that didn’t quite go our way, but there are a lot of positives to take away from today,” Head Coach Daniel Hangstefer said according to the Vandal Athletics website. “While we didn’t get the doubles point, we were very solid, and we are moving in the right direction for doubles.”
The Vandals will return home to play in their first BSC match of the season against Weber State on Friday in Lewiston.
Women’s Tennis
The Vandals had their first conference loss against Eastern Washington in Lewiston by a score of 4-3. The Vandals were victorious in doubles but fell short in singles play.
Junior Laura Spataro and senior Maggie Chen won their doubles match 6-2. Spataro recorded her fourth singles win of the season with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. Freshman Nicole Horacek picked up the only other singles win of the day and her first career win with a score of 6-2, 5-7, 10-6.
“Eastern played well. We came out strong in the doubles, but in the singles, they played really well,” Head Coach Babar Akbar said according to the Vandal Athletics website. “On every court, we had tough matches, most of them could have gone either way, but they played a little more aggressive and with more confidence today. Hopefully, we can learn from this and get ready for next weekend.”
The Vandals play against Weber State on Friday in Lewiston.
Armin Mesinovic can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @arminmesinovic