SEATTLE -- It was another weekend of personal-best marks for the Washington State track and field teams produced more than two dozen PRs at the Don Kirby Elite/Open at the Albuquerque Convention Center, and at the Husky Classic at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle.
At the Husky Classic meet in Seattle, CharLee Linton (senior, Shorewood, Wash.) ran a PR time in the women's 3000m of 9 minutes, 35.49 seconds (55th), the eighth-best time in WSU all-time records. Also reaching PRs in the 3k were Devon Bortfeld with a time of 9:39.53 (62nd), Morgan Willson with a time of 9:58.13 (72nd), and Emily Dwyer with a PR time of 9:58.45 (73rd).
Grace Victor's 800m time of 2:14.91 was 52nd and Jenaya Pynn ran a PR time in the mile of 4:59.95 (59th).
ShaRaya Quinn ran a PR 60m hurdles time of 8.98 seconds in the prelims (18th) and ran a time of 9.28 in the semifinals for 17th place.
Chandler Teigen ran an 800m time of 1:53.26 for 32nd, and Reid Muller's time of 1:55.57 was 53rd. Freshman Paul Ryan led a trio of Cougs to PR times in the mile with his 4:07.46 (30th) followed by Nathan Tadesse's 4:08.69 (44th), John Whelan's 4:09.96 (51st) and Sam Levora's 4:11.67 (59th). In the men's 3k, Forrest Shaffer ran a time of 8:21.33 for 60th and Nathan Wadhwani ran a time of 8:33.36 (75th).
In the men' 60m hurdles, Dino Dodig ran a prelim time of 8.32 (15th) and a time of 8.88 (18th) in the semifinals.
Senior Audrey Ketcham (Wenatchee, Wash.) was the runner-up in the women's high jump with a leap of 5-feet, 9 1/4 inches (1.76m), equaling her PR in the event. Lateah Holmes cleared the bar at a season-best 5-5 3/4 (1.67m), tied for 10th.
Thane Pierson took third in the men's high jump with a clearance at 6-9 (2.06m). Cole Smith tied for eighth with the bar at 6-7 (2.01m), a season-best for Smith, and Peyton Fredrickson tied for 14th at the same height due to more missed attempts, a PR height for him. Grayson Anderson cleared a PR bar at 6-5 (1.96m) for 17th, and Brendan Rexus cleared 6-3 1/4 (1.91m) for 20th. Fredrickson also long jumped 21-0 1/2 (6.41m) for 20th.
Matt Wardell placed 12th in the men's shot put with a season-best toss of 53-4 1/2 (16.27m). Other Cougs in the shot put included Jake Callaghan who threw a distance of 51-3 (15.62m) for 19th, Adam Mahama threw 49-11 (15.21m) for 21st and Tyler Jackson threw a PR of 49-3 1/2 (15.02m) for 23rd.
Katelyn Frost pole vaulted 12-1 1/2 (3.70m), equal to her PR height, for 20th. In the women's throws, Katie Wardsworth's weight throw of 50-9 1/4 (15.47m) was 24th, and Jada Harvey finished 30th in the shot put with a heave of 39-11 1/2 (12.18m).
“Another solid weekend with a large number of personal bests,” WSU Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Wayne Phipps said. “John Whelan ran a great 5km and I feel he is ready to get an NCAA qualifier in that event. Our men's milers and women's 3km runners all had great weekends. It was also great to see NCAA qualifier Audrey Ketchum come back from injury and have a very promoting performance.”
At the Don Kirby Elite/Open in Albuquerque, freshman Christapherson Grant (Lynnwood, Wash.) had an outstanding day with his fifth-place finish in the men's 60m hurdles final with a PR time of 8.20 seconds, after running a time of 8.28 in the semifinals, seventh-best of the field. Other Cougars in the 60m hurdles semifinals were CJ Allen, 11th with a time of 8.34, Ian Markham, 12th with a time of 8.43, and Abu Kamara, 14th with a time of 8.51.
Allen (junior, Allyn, Wash.) took sixth place in the 400m dash with a PR time of 47.41. Also running quarter mile PRs were Ray Littles with a time of 50.03 for 34th, and Will DeMaris with a time of 50.17 for 36th.
Freshman Ja'Maun Charles took 12th in the 60m dash semifinals with a time of 6.93 after running a PR time of 6.80 in the Friday prelims.
Dominique Keel ran a PR time of 55.23 in the 400m dash for 16th. Other Cougars in the 400m dash were Christiana Ekelem with a time of 55.98 (30th), Regyn Gaffney's PR time of 57.78 (55th), and Stephanie Cho's time of 58.78 (67th). The women's 4x400m relay of Keel, Alissa Brooks-Johnson, Ekelem and Liz Harper ran a season-best time of 3:41.31 for sixth place.
Kiana Davis triple jumped 39-2 1/5 (11.95m) for 16th.
In the women's 60m dash semifinals, WSU assistant coach Angela Whyte (unattached) finished 15th with a time of 7.59 after her prelim time of 7.54.
“I thought our athletes really competed well here in Albuquerque with several lifetime-bests and season-best marks,” Associate Head Coach Yogi Teevens said. “Chris Grant going to the finals as freshman was a big accomplishment.”
The WSU track and field teams will train for the next two weeks and prepare for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, Feb. 26-27, in Seattle.
NOTE: At the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon Saturday in downtown Los Angeles, Cougar alum Drew Polley finished 51st in the men's race (2:27.31) and his wife, Emma, a former volunteer with Cougar cross country/track and field, finished 39th in the women's race (2:45.03).