PULLMAN, Wash. — One week removed from the 2024 indoor championships, Washington State men's and women's track and field teams now turn their attention towards the outdoor schedule as it opens competition Saturday at the Arizona Spring Break Fiesta and Sam Adams Classic.

Meet Info - Arizona Spring Break Fiesta
- Dates: Saturday, March 16
- Venue: Drachman Stadium
- Live Results: FinishedResults
- Meet Schedule
- Heat Sheets

Meet Info - Sam Adams Classic
- Dates: Saturday, March 16
- Venue: Puryear Field/ Boppell Track at Whitworth Pine Bowl
- Live Results: Live.TF
- Meet Schedule

Outdoor Preview - Sprints/Hurdles/Relays
Washington State's sprints and hurdles groups ride the momentum of a slew of indoor program records that were clocked this winter, highlighted by senior Jasneet Nijjar's record-setting runs in the 200m (23.54), 300m (37.67), and 400m (52.36).  Nijjar ran the third leg of last season's women's 4X100m relay team that set the Washington State women's outdoor record at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in 44.38.  The Cougs return three of the four members from its record-setting women's 4X100m team as Elise Unruh-Thomas and Skyler Walton also look to build on last season's outdoor success.

On the men's side, freshman sprinter Grant Buckmiller made an impact immediately this winter as he pushed the all-time marks in the 200m, 300m, and 400m as well, ultimately setting the Cougars' program record with a 32.88 time in the 300m at January's Spokane Sports Showcase.  Buckmiller later went on to capture WSU freshman records in the 400m (46.45) and 200m (21.05), respectively, on back-to-back weekends at The Podium.

Washington State's 400m hurdler Jared McAlvey, a member of the Cougs' record-setting 4X400m relay team this indoor season, will look to improve on a stellar 2023 season that saw him place runner-up at the Pac-12 Championships before finishing his season with a sixth-place finish at the US Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field.

Outdoor Preview - Jumps & Multis
The Cougars two NCAA Indoor All-Americans were each members of Associate Head Coach Derick Hinch's jumps and multi groups as grad transfer Mason Mahacek (Michigan) claimed the WSU program record in the heptathlon with 5,762 points at the NM Collegiate Classic, earning a trip to last week's indoor nationals, while freshman Eva Lowder took down a 22-year-old WSU program record in the women's pole vault, placing runner-up at the Ken Shannon Invitational after clearing a height of 4.38m.  Mahacek's multi events teammate Lee Walburn placed fifth in the decathlon at last year's Pac-12 Championships and also showed significant improvement this winter as he moved into second all-time on the WSU heptathlon top-10 with 5,690 points to place second at the Ken Shannon Invite.

The Cougs' freshman class also included another talented pair of vaulters in Tatum Moku and Madisyn Negro who each posted strong rookie indoor seasons.  Moku reached a tie for No. 4 on the WSU indoor women's pole vault all-time list, clearing a PR of 4.14m at the Ken Shannon Invite, and Negro finished just outside the top-10 all-time with a season-best mark of 3.72m at The Podium.

In his first full indoor season, triple jumper Eli Lawrence claimed four first-place finishes this winter including a personal-best 15.46m at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial, the eighth-best mark in WSU indoor history.  

Outdoor Preview - Mid-Distance/Distance
Washington State's talented freshman class was also evident in the mid-distance and distance groups, as Zenah Cheptoo arrived in Janurary and proceeded to lower the 3,000m school record all three times she stepped on the track.  Cheptoo's 8:56.15 at the Ken Shannon Invite, the first sub-nine-minute 3,000m in WSU women's history, finished the season as the 23rd-fastest time in the NCAA and third-fastest in the nation among Division I freshman. Cheptoo's record-setting winter running in Seattle also included the Cougars' women's freshman record with a 4:48.90 mile at the UW Invite.  The WSU women's distance group also includes steeplechase record holder Caroline Jerotich who moved to the top of the all-time list (10:07.70) at last season's NCAA West Preliminary Round.

For the men, Kellen Langford, the latest in a series of talented Arlington High School runners, set the Cougs' freshman record with a 1:51.17 in the 800m at the Riverfront Invite & Multis.

Outdoor Preview - Throws
Shot putters Ronald Grueso Mosquera (fifth all-time, 19.16m) and Nana Gyedu (second all-time, 15.63m) headline the returners to a pair of throws groups that welcome a number of new faces on both the men's and women's teams.  Hammer thrower Ben Chappell, who finished 10th at the Pac-12 Championships as a freshman in 2022, returns to the Cougars' throws entries after missing a year and begins the season with a lifetime-best of 63.32m, just outside the WSU top-10 all-time.

Up Next
The Cougars will travel a condensed group to Spokane next weekend for the Buc Scoring Invite (Mar. 21-22), before the outdoor season's first major split weekend the following week at the Texas Relays (Mar. 27-30) and Stanford Invitational (Mar. 29-30).

For all the latest WSU Track and Field news, photos, and videos, like the team on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/wsucougartrack) or follow on Twitter (@ WSUCougarXCTF) and Instagram (@WSUCougarXCTF).