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MISSOULA, Mont. – Idaho track and field takes to Missoula this weekend for the 2019 Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships. 
 
PODIUM CHASING
 
Zachary Short is looking to make history in the shot put competition and enters the weekend ranked first in the event.  His season-best throw of 18.80 meters (61-8.25) is tops in the Big Sky by nearly a full meter.  With a win, Short would become just the second Big Sky, male student-athlete to win the event at four consecutive championships, and the first to do so in just two academic years.  Zach Coniglia of Sacramento State accomplished the feat over three academic years, winning outdoor in 2012, the double in 2013 and the indoor title in 2014.  Short is also ranked third in the discus competition.
 
Hannah Ringel is also looking to repeat in the shot put, after winning the event at the indoor championships in February.  Ringel enters the weekend ranked second in the conference in the event, and 59^th in the West.
 
Austin Beyer will be trying to close out his Big Sky career with another podium finish.  He has improved his standing in the javelin every year, finishing third overall in Moscow last year.  Beyer enters the weekend ranked third in the event with a season-best throw of 63.90 meters (209-8).
 
Malaina Thacker also enters the weekend ranked third in her top event, the 3000-meter steeplechase.  Thacker has run the event just twice collegiately, but is already in the top-10 in program history with a personal-best time of 10:32.96.
 
A number of student-athletes are also just outside the top-three in their respective events.  Henrike Fiedler is fourth in the long jump, Mack Baxter in fourth in the 400-meter hurdles and Kaizer Gillispie is fourth in the 400.  Both Baxter and Gillispie won their respective events at the 2017 Big Sky Outdoor Championships and earned spots in the NCAA First Rounds.
 
LOOKING TO SCORE
 
Idaho is also looking to make a run at a team podium finish in 2019.  The list of Vandals in the top-10 in the Big Sky rankings is the largest it has been in recent years, with 25 student-athletes in the hunt to score.  Three of those Vandals are ranked in the top-10 in multiple events.
 
BALANCED WOMEN'S SQUAD
 
The Vandal women have an excellent balance of youth and veterans.  The distance squad heavily features fourth-year student-athletes, with Andrea Condie and Kara Story ranked in the top-10 in a pair of events each.  Condie, who scored in both the 10k and the 5k at last year's outdoor championships, is currently ranked sixth in both events.  Kara Story is ranked eighth in the 800 and 10^th in the 5k.
 
The youth has shined through with Ringel, Fiedler and Aaryanna Kurucz.  Fiedler broke six meters for the first time at the Triton Invitational and is currently 61^st in the West.  She will also be competing in the 100-meter hurdles.  Kurucz had a great freshman season as well, and is ranked eighth in the 400-meter hurdles.
 
BEAT YOUR RANK – REDSHIRTS RETURN
 
After redshirting a significant portion of the men's team in 2018, the team has really come together to make a push in 2019.
 
"We're going to try to get in the top-three," said Gillispie.  "We have a lot of good freshmen that are ready to show up.  And we have a lot of seniors and upperclassmen that are ready to kill it.  We're going to do everything we can to get the men's team into the top-three."
 
"We're in a good spot with some of our freshmen and the people that we still have hanging around," Baxter said.  "The ultimate goal is to get a ring.  What we're going to do for sure is beat our rank as a team.  But rings are the ultimate goal, get a conference title."
 
Beating your rank has always been part of the Vandal way.  Idaho was projected to finish sixth on the men's side, and ninth for the women.
 
Redshirt sophomore, Ben Doucette, hasn't run a race this outdoor season while battling back from injury.  He'll give it a go this weekend.  When you're gunning for a championship, every point counts.
 
"We did it because we're trying to win a championship," said Doucette.  "As a team, we knew that this year and next year that we'd have the best shot at winning a Big Sky Championship.  Collectively, that's our goal.  We want to win the outdoor championships.  And we think we can do it."
 
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.