SEATTLE, Wash. – Led by an NCAA Division II provisional mark in the men’s pole vault by senior J.T. Konrad, the Western Washington University Track & Field team competed Friday at the Husky Classic at Dempsey Indoor on the University of Washington campus.
The meet was originally scheduled to be a two-day competition on Friday and Saturday, but expected snow and freezing temperatures in the Puget Sound region condensed the meet into one day.
Konrad (Spokane, WA/Mt. Spokane) was the highest placing collegiate athlete among the 10 competitors. He finished 3rd clearing 16’ ¾” to record the best mark in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference this season.
In addition to Konrad’s mark tying for 3rd-best in WWU indoor history, it is also tied for 5th in GNAC history.
Senior high jumper Tupre Wickliff (Vancouver, WA/Evergreen/Clark College) tied his PR in the high jump (6’ 7”), Heather Faretta (Hanaiei, HI/Kapaa) moved up to 6th in WWU history with a PR of 5’ 4¼” in the high jump, Avery Lux (Fort Collins, CO/Fossil Ridge) recorded the 4th-best weight throw in program history (46’ 0”) and Chanelle Eddy (Bellingham, WA/Sehome/Whitworth) moved up to a tie for 3rd in program history with a shot put mark of 38’ 11½”.
“I thought we had some good performances today and it was good to get back in competition mode,” said WWU head coach Pee Wee Halsell. “Now it is time to get ready for the GNAC Championships and I am really excited to see how this team competes next week in Idaho.”
KONRAD RECORDS NCAA PROVSIONAL MARK IN POLE VAULT
Senior J.T. Konrad set a PR and recorded an NCAA II provisional mark while placing 3rd in the men’s pole vault competition. Konrad cleared 16’ ¾”/4.90m on his first attempt, tying for the 3rd-best indoor vault in WWU history. The mark is well above the NCAA provisional standard of 15’ 6¼”/4.73m and the best mark in the GNAC this season and in the top 20 in NCAA II.
BIG JUMP FOR TUPRE
Senior Tupre Wickliff equaled his PR recording a season-best 6’ 7”/2.01m to place 3rd in the high jump. Wickliff had three attempts at 6’ 9”/2.06m which would have been the 2nd-best mark in school history, but could not clear the bar. His jump Friday is 3rd-best in the GNAC this season. Sophomore Garrett Davies placed 8th clearing 6’ 3¼”/1.91m.
FARETTA MOVES UP CHARTS WITH PR IN HIGH JUMP
Sophomore Heather Faretta set a PR clearing 5’ 4¼”/1.63m placing 3rd in the high jump. Faretta’s big leap moved her up to 6th in the WWU indoor record book and is just short of the NCAA II provisional mark of 5’ 5¾”/1.67m. Junior Maddie Taylor placed 4th also clearing 5’ 4¼”/1.63m on her second attempt.
EDDY SETS PR IN SHOT PUT
Junior Chanelle Eddy set a PR in the shot put and moved into a tie for 3rd in the WWU indoor record book. Eddy placed 7th with a mark of 38’ 11½”/11.87m.
LUX HAS BIG MARK IN WEIGHT THROW
Sophomore Avery Lux set a PR in the weight throw, placing 6th in the men’s weight throw. The only non-Division I competitor in the field, Lux recorded the longest throw of his career at 52’ 6½”/16.01m. The mark blew away his old PR of 46’ 0”/14.02m and is 4th-best in WWU history.
