Last weekend saw the men’s and women’s javelin team excel at the West Coast Relays in Fresno, California. This weekend, the Idaho track and field team split in two in order to attend the Whitworth Peace Meet in Spokane, Washington, and the Stanford Invite in Stanford, California.
Once there, athletes set out to compete against a wide range of talent, including regional rivals and some of the top programs on the West Coast, while looking to build on last weekend’s strong performances and continue gaining momentum early in the outdoor season.
Whitworth Peace Meet:
The Vandals came to Spokane and had the upper hand in nearly every meet, showcasing their most complete dominant meet of the season. Sophomore Keenan Kuntz had another great performance, taking first in the 100 meter with a 10.32-second time, and he also took first in the 200 meters with a time of 20.88 seconds.
The women’s 4×100 meter relay team, led by juniors Rhyan Madden and Jana Willems, graduate student Ashley Hollenbeck-Willems and sophomore Alyssa Marsh, made history by finishing the relay with a time of 45.16 seconds, breaking the school record by 0.20 seconds.
The women’s 4×400 also had a good meet, capturing silver, while Willems had a personal record of 11.69 seconds in the 100 meter, etching herself in second place in school history. Hollenbeck-Willems finished third in the same event, making her time the third best in school history, as well as taking second in the 200.
To finish on a high note for the track team, Madden placed first in the 400 meter hurdles with a season best 1:00.55.
For the field team, there was no doubt that standout star Cami Cvitkovich took gold in the high jumps, followed by teammate junior Francesca Cuccú who recorded a 1.64-meter leap in her first meet of the outdoor season.
Senior Blake Sturgis continued his solid performance from last weekend by finishing second in the javelin. Meanwhile, freshman Bradley Giesen took gold in the men’s long jump to cap off an unforgettable weekend in Spokane.
Stanford Invite
In California, the Vandals continued to show their strength at the Stanford Invite, turning in impressive performances on both the track and in the field. On the track, graduate student Griffen Parsells delivered a standout race in the 800 meter, taking bronze with a season-best time of 1:52.02.
Junior Constanze Paoli followed with a historic performance in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, placing third while running a personal best of 10:00.58, a time that moves her to third all-time in school history and ranks as the seventh-fastest time in all of Division I this outdoor season.
In the throws, the Vandals continued to dominate with multiple strong finishes across events. Junior Caden Hottman launched a personal best 48.74 meters in the discus, finishing well ahead of the competition in his heat, while junior Gioele Tengattini led all Idaho athletes in the event with a throw of 51.23 meters. On the women’s side, sophomore Lindi Kessinger led the event with a throw of 32.09 meters.
The hammer throw saw another wave of success for Idaho, as sophomore Mason Andulajevic recorded a personal best of 59.59 meters to finish in the top five. Freshman Ivy Smith broke the 50-meter mark for the first time in her career with a throw of 50.15 meters.
Idaho continued to produce in the javelin and shot put as well, with Kessinger finishing in the top five in the javelin with a throw of 42.32 meters. In the shot put, Gioele Tengattini once again leads the men with a mark of 16.76 meters, while freshman Kathryn Burnette tops the women’s side with a throw of 13.97 meters, finishing a well-rounded weekend for the Vandals.
Altogether, the weekend served as a powerful statement for Idaho track and field, proving that their early-season success is no fluke. With record breaking performances, multiple personal bests, and victories across the map, the Vandals are quickly establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
As the outdoor season continues, Idaho will look to carry this momentum forward, building confidence and consistency as they prepare for tougher competition ahead. The Vandals next meet will be at the Jeff Rahn Classic in Spokane, Washington, on Friday, April 10.