Cougars to send top student-athletes to Fayetteville for Arkansas Qualifier

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State men's and women's track and field team will send a small contingent of athletes to the Arkansas Qualifier Friday in Fayetteville, Ark. The one-day meet will be one of the final opportunities for Cougars with their sights set on the NCAA Indoor Championships to set a qualifying time/mark as the indoor season winds down with the 2023 division I championships (Mar. 10-11) now less than a month away.

MEET INFO: Arkansas Qualifier

- Venue: Tyson Indoor Track Center | Fayetteville, AR

- Dates: Friday, February 17th, 2023

- Watch Live (ESPN +)

- Accepted Entries

- Schedule
- Live Results

LAST TIME OUT: (Don Kirby Elite, Husky Classic, Whitworth Indoor Invitational)

The Cougars started last weekend's multi-meet adventure with the current 3000m freshman indoor record holder, Alaina Stone Boggs (9:21.29), who moved up the record ladder as she ran the third time in Cougar history.

Senior Maribel Caicedo followed suit lowering the 60m hurdles program record for the second time this indoor season to win her event at Don Kirby Elite. The Cougars notched four top-five finishes on the day with 13 personal-best times/marks to close the weekend.

IN THE RANKINGS:

Washington State's women's hurdles group is staying strong as the No. 7 in the nation, lowering their average time to 8.43 so far in the season. Maribel Caicedo produced the first sub-eight-second hurdles time in program history during the Don Kirby Elite meet and is now fourth in the country. The qualifying mark for the indoor championships is currently 8.13 seconds.

Freshman John Parades (7.96) maintains is his spot at No. 98 in the country in the 60m hurdles. The qualifying mark for the indoor championships is currently 7.70 seconds.

Louie Hinchliffe (6.71) and Mason Lawyer (6.74) are some of the better sprinters in the country, currently sitting at No. 62 and No. 100 in the NCAA, respectively, in the men's 60 dash. Hinchliffe's 6.71 freshman record at the WSU Open & Multi improved on a record set by fellow freshman, Mason Lawyer (6.74), earlier this season. The pair sit on the cusp of a qualifying spot for the NCAA Indoor Championships which stands at 6.62 heading into the weekend.

On the women's side, Skyler Walton's program record 60m dash time pushed her in to No. 72 in the country. Right now, the qualifying mark for the Indoor Championships is 7.21 seconds.

Ronald Grueso-Mosqquera blasted past his personal best distance at the WSU Open and Multi with a shot-put throw of 18.55m ranking 35th in the country so far this season. At the moment, the qualifying mark for the Indoor Championships is 19.49m.

Nana Gyedu is currently the 86th-ranked shot putter in the country after her season-best heave of 15.30m during last week's WSU Open and Multi. Going into this weekend, Gyedu would have to hit 17.17m to move into qualifying position for the indoor championships.

Lee Walburn maintains his ranking as the 61st-ranked ranked heptathlete with 5152 points, a mark that was good for seventh-most all-time in WSU history. In order to reach a provisional qualifying mark for the indoor championships, Walburn would need to reach 5712 points.

Jasneet Nijjar rounds out the group of standout Cougars as the No. 95 400m runner in the country with a time of 54.26 seconds. In order to reach the line of demarcation for a ticket to the indoor championships in the 400m, Nijjar will need to drop her time to 52.42 seconds.

NCAA DI Indoor T&F Championships Qualifying Criteria:

Qualification to the Championships is based on the descending order list for the current indoor season, prepared solely from the mandatory submission of meet results during the current indoor season. For each individual event contested at the Championships, the top sixteen (16) declared student-athletes will be accepted into the Championships. For each relay event contested at the Championships, the top twelve (12) declared relay teams will be accepted into the Championships. The stated maximums are absolute and will not be extended as a result of ties.

NEXT UP:

WSU will travel to the west side of the state for the 2023 Pac-12 Invitational next week from the Dempsy Indoor in Seattle. Qualifying student-athletes will then see a one-week break from competition leading into the 2023 NCAA Division Indoor Track and Field Championships which are slated for Mar. 10-11 from the Albuquerque Convention Center.

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WSU Entries:

Men's 60m

- Louie Hinchliffe

- Mason Lawyer

Women's 60m

- Skyler Walton

- Maribel Caicedo

Women's 200m

- Jasneet Nijjar

- Skyler Walton

- Maribel Caicedo

Women's 400m