RESULTS
MISSOULA, Mont. – Idaho closed competition at the 2019 Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday with six medals on the final day. The men finished in fifth with 81 points, Idaho's most points since rejoining the conference in 2015. The women finished ninth overall with 45 points, their second best output since 2015.
"It was just exciting," said director of track and field/cross country,
Tim Cawley. "The biggest thing is we're moving in the right direction, scoring more points and put ourselves in a position to have a chance. I thought both teams competed great.
"Henrike coming in and winning and setting the school record was neat. To see her come through the way she did, it was cool to see, and it was excited she extended her season by two weeks. On the men's side, it was exciting to see Jonny end his career that way. To be ranked low, and end up second with a lifetime PR was special."
Jonny Magee closed out his Idaho career in style, setting a personal best and earning silver in the triple jump with a leap of 14.82 meters (48-7.5).
Zachary Nunis, competing in the event for the first time this outdoor season, finished fifth at 14.56 meters (47-9.25).
Zachary Short finished second overall in the shot put to earn all-conference honors for the fourth straight championship meet. Short's best throw of the day went 18.34 meters (60-2). He is currently ranked 20
th in the West.
Ben Doucette and
Kaizer Gillispie also picked up silvers on Saturday. Doucette finished second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.26 seconds, while Gillispie took second in the 400-meters at 46.97 seconds. Both ran their fastest times of the year and will likely move to just outside the top-50 in the West.
The Vandals scored twice on both sides of the 800-meters.
Kaleala Bass earned bronze on the women's side with a personal-best time of 2:09.95, while
Krista Story placed fifth with a PR of 2:11.88. On the men's side,
Jenner Higgins took seventh and
Nathan Burton took eighth. Higgins finished in 1:53.79, while Burton finished in 1:56.34.
Austin Beyer earned bronze in the javelin for the second consecutive season. His best throw of the day went 62.89 (206-4) meters.
Nathyn Maller had a monster PR of 60.25 meters (197-8) to finish fifth, and as the only freshman in the top-10. Beyer entered the weekend ranked 30
th in the West in the event, while Maller was likely able to jump into the top-60 with his PR.
Mack Baxter earned fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 52.35 seconds. The mark would have been in the top-45 in the West heading into the weekend.
Kara Story took fourth in the 1500 with a time of 4:32.96, despite entering the meet ranked 12
th.
Aaryanna Kurucz finished sixth in the 400-meter hurdles at 1:02.45.
Dwain Stucker stole a point in the 5,000-meters with an eighth-place finish and a time of 15:08.31. He entered the meet ranked 18
th.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team of
Mack Baxter,
Nik Chappee,
Kaizer Gillispie and
Dean Ellenwood finished fourth overall to close out the day with a time of 3:13.55.
Stay tuned to GoVandals.com for more information on which Vandals will be heading to Sacramento in two weeks for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships First Rounds.
DAY 1 RECAP
To stay current on all Vandal Athletics visit
GoVandals.com, or follow the Vandals on Twitter, @Idaho_Vandals.
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho track and field/cross country by following the team on Twitter @IdahoTrack.
