NAMPA, Idaho -- Washington State’s Dino Dodig won the men’s heptathlon and Kristine Felix won the women’s pole vault Saturday at the Ed Jacoby Invitational and Multis meet at the Idaho Center/Jacksons Indoor Track at Nampa.
Dodig, a sophomore from Novi Sad, Serbia, won the seven-man heptathlon competition with a score of 5,297 points after ending the first day in second place. Saturday Dodig ran the 60m hurdles in 8.44 seconds, pole vaulted 14-feet 3 1/4 inches (4.35m), and ran the 1,000m in a time of 2 minutes 46.93 seconds.
Felix, a junior from Wailuku, Hawai’i, pole vaulted a height of 13-1 1/2 (4.00m), just six inches below her PR height, in her win.
Cougar women fared well in the field events. Audrey Ketcham was the runner-up in the high jump with a PR clearance at 5-8 3/4 (1.75m). Redshirt freshman Greer Alsop was the runner-up in the long jump with a leap of 18-7 (5.66m), and later in the day was also runner-up in the triple jump with a distance of 39-4 1/2 (12.00m). Kiana Davis took fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 38-2 1/4 (11.64m) and Kayla Warren was seventh with a mark of 37-3 3/4 (11.37m).
The WSU men also made some noise in the field events including Matt Wardell’s runner-up finish in the shot put with a heave of 51-9 3/4 (15.79m), just eight inches off his PR of 52-6. Brock Eager made his collegiate weight throw debut with a throw of 54-9 (16.70m) on his final attempt and a runner-up finish. Thane Pierson took third place in the high jump after clearing the bar at 6-8 3/4 (2.05m). PJ Bendictus finished third in the triple jump in a distance of 46-7 1/4 (14.20m) and long jumped 21-5 1/2 (6.54m), fourth-best on the day.
In the men’s sprints, Terrance Chambers tied for second in the 200m with a time of 21.88. Andre McBride finished third in the 60m dash with a time of 6.92 after running a time of 6.88 in the qualifying heats. Jonnie Green ran a time of 6.97 in the prelims and qualified for the final but did not run in it. Lucas Sealby finished fourth in the 400m dash in a time of 49.25.
In the women’s sprints, Danielle Darden ran the 60m dash in a time of 7.66, equaling her PR, for fourth place, while Dominique Keel’s time of 7.75 was seventh. Bree Winfreys’ 400m dash time of 57.50 was third place and Christiana Ekelem finished seventh with her time of 58.16. Later in the day, Winfrey took eighth place in the 200m dash with a time of 25.47.
WSU hurdlers, middle distance and distance corps competed at the University of Washington Preview meet Saturday at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle.
Jacob Sealby, running unattached with only outdoor eligibility this year, won the 600m with a time of 1:17.81, with Matthew Swanson capturing fifth in 1:19.20. In the men’s mile, Jesse Jorgensen cut nearly seven seconds off his lifetime-best with his PR time of 4:12.85.
The men’s 4x400m relay squad of Daquon Brunson, Jorgensen, Hironmoy Redman and Swanson ran a time of 3:18.44 for third place.
CJ Allen, the defending Pac-12 intermediate hurdles champion, was the runner-up in the men’s 400m dash with a PR time of 47.74.
In the women’s mile run, studded with professional competitors, CharLee Linton ran a PR time of 4:56.85 for 13th place which was sixth-best among collegiate runners. Teammates Steffie Pavey and Alexys Garcia also ran mile in PR time of 5:19.14 and 5:25.44, respectively.
Candice McFarland won her final heat of the 60m hurdles but her time of 8.62 was fourth place overall. Erin Allen’s 400m dash time of 57.22 was seventh place.
In the men’s 60m hurdles, Daniel Zmuda finished sixth in a time of 8.25 and Abu Kamara finished eighth in a time of 8.31.
“It was a great opener for the Cougs,” WSU Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Wayne Phipps said from Seattle. “It was exactly what we were looking for in the opener. The hurdlers performed very well and are poised to have a great season. CJ Allen ran a half second PR in the 400 and all his hard work is really paying off. It was exciting to see so many lifetime bests. The middle distance runners, led by Matt Swanson in the 600 were very solid and it was great to see CharLee Linton break five minutes for the first time in the mile. A huge PR for her bodes well for an awesome season in the longer distances.”
Cougars stay home next weekend as Washington State hosts the 13th Annual WSU Open Indoor Jan. 23-24, in the Indoor Facility at the Pullman campus.
