MOSCOW, Idaho – The Vandal track and field team closed out their indoor regular season this weekend at three different meets across the United States. Prabhasha Wickramaarachchi recorded her second school record of the season (400m) while several other Vandals earned marks that rank in the top ten.
Don Kirby Elite Invitational: Down in Albuquerque, the Vandals competed among the best athletes in the nation at the University of New Mexico. Wickramaarachchi ran a personal best mark of 55.26 in the 400m and placed third. The mark broke the school record previously held by Liga Velvere in 2011 (55.46). The time ranks No. 5 in the conference this season.
Freshman Hanna Tait and veteran Olivia Martin finished 11th and 12th in the 200m dash, both recording personal bests. Tait ran a time of 24.37 followed by Martin at 24.40. The times rank No. 3 and No. 4 in the record book and sixth and seventh in the Big Sky currently.
Senior, Ellie Grant is having her best season at the triple jump, where she recorded a personal best of 11.88m to finish 26th overall. The mark ranks No. 10 in the Idaho record book and seventh in the Big Sky.
Noah Culbertson finished out the weekend with a third-place finish in the shot put. He threw a personal best distance of 17.79m which ranks No. 1 in the conference. He replaces his previous mark in the record book at the No. 7 spot.
David Hemery Valentine Invitational: The distance crew had a successful weekend over in Boston as two set personal bests. Tim Stevens ran a time of 4:05.45 in the mile, a personal best and third-best time in Idaho history.
Lorenz Herrmann and Zac Bright competed in the 800m, recording times of 1:48.12 and 1:48.92, respectively. Herrmann's time would rank No. 1 at Idaho if he didn't already hold that spot, while Bright's mark ranks No. 3 at Idaho. Their times and ranked two and three in the conference currently.
Whitworth Indoor Invitational: Up north in Spokane, the rest of the squad used their final weekend of competition to prepare for the Big Sky Championships. Idaho saw 25 personal bests recorded at The Podium featuring 10 top-three finishes.
Freshman, Jana Willems placed second in the 60m dash with a personal best time of 7.61. The time broke into Idaho's top 10 tied for fifth and ranked seventh in the Big Sky.
Deyondre Davis competed in the 60m hurdles where he earned first place with a time of 8.21.
Franziska Stoehr made her mark in the 400m with a third-place finish at 55.76. The personal best mark ranks tied for fourth at Idaho (with teammate Olivia Martin) and No. 8 in the BSC.
Abigail Thomas and McKenna Kozeluh went one and two in the mile, both recording personal bests. Thomas finished with a time of 4:59.90 followed by Kozeluh at 5:01.40. Kozeluh went on to compete in the 3,000 meters later that day where she finished third with a personal best time of 10:02.69.
Tayler LyDay, Kalani Hardyway, and Amanda Munoz dominated the jumps. LyDay earned a third-place finish in the long jump with a distance of 5.29m. Hardyway and Munoz finished second and third in the triple jump with marks of 11.45m and 11.44m.
Weston Jeffries rounded out the day with a first-place finish in the weight throw. He threw for a personal best distance of 17.38m, which ranks No. 10 in the Big Sky.
Other notable personal best finishes included Jake Hisaw, Gage Zanette, and Sam Fulbright. Hisaw finished fifth in the 400m dash with a time of 48.35. The freshman's time ranks No. 10 in Idaho history. Zanette competed in the 800m with a time of 1:52.80. The fourth-place finish ranks No. 9 in Idaho history. Finally, Sam Fulbright placed fifth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:28.62, ranking No. 10 in Idaho history.
Up next: Idaho takes the weekend off as they prepare for the Big Sky Indoor Championships in two weekends up in Spokane at The Podium.
