Husky vertical jumpers and WSU's Joe Bartlett shine at USC Trojan Invite...

LOS ANGELES-- Washington sophomore high jumper A.J. Maricich (left/photo courtesy University of Washington) cleared the coveted seven-foot mark in the high jump for the first time in his collegiate career, and pole vaulters Logan Miller and Robby Fegles soared to victories, while Washington State's Joe Bartlett was a double winner at the USC Trojan Invitational at Loker Stadium.

Maricich, a Spokane native, nearly hit the seven-foot mark several times during the indoor season, and now starts his outdoor campaign with a new PR, clearing 7-0 ¼ (2.14m) to take the victory.

Miller was the only vaulter to clear 13 feet on the day, with a best of 13-2.5 (4.02m).

In the men's vault, Robby Feagles took the victory over heralded freshman teammate JJ Julifs 16-7.5 (5.07m) to 16-1.75 (4.92m), though Feagles broke a pole in the process.

Cougar senior Bartlett won the men's shot put with a heave of 57-feet, 6 1/4 inches (17.53m), and later in the afternoon won the discus with a throw of 169-4 (51.61m). Teammate Oliver Henry took second in the discus with a throw of 163-4 (49.78m), just one inch under his lifetime-best thrown last weekend in Spokane.

"My series in the shot put really gave me and Debra (Coach Farwell) a lot of encouraging signs," Bartlett said. "Now we know for sure we're moving in the right direction. Not only was the weather gorgeous but we had our first crack at beating some Huskies at this meet. It's nice to be able to get out in the sunshine and not have to brave the elements of the Palouse!"

Washington's 4x100-meter relay got a nice opener, placing second behind Texas A&M and edging out USC, Washington State, and BYU in a time of 40.13 seconds. Matt Anthony led off, handing to James Alaka, thenMaurice McNeal and Ryan Hamilton anchored.

WSU coach Rick Sloan said after the meet, "We got the outdoor season officially underway last weekend and this weekend got to see more performances in better weather."

"Now we regroup and get ourselves together and get ready for the dual meets next weekend. We're limited to 34 of each gender and we need to find the best 34 that have the best likelihood of scoring points for us."

Washington State returns to LA for a double dual against Tennessee and UCLA next weekend, while the Huskies head to Austin for the Texas Relays.

Washington's meet recap is available here, while Washington State's is available here.

The complete results from the USC Trojan Invitational are available here.

NOTE: The sports information offices at the University of Washington and Washington State University contributed to this report.

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