Brooks-Johnson sits in seventh at the break at the Thorpe Cup...
Brooks-Johnson has 3461 points after four events, as Sophie Weissenberg of Germany leads at the break with 3710 points.
The recent graduate from Doty ran 13.82 in the 100 hurdles, high jumped 5-8 (1.73m), threw the shot 40-2 (12.24m), and ran the 200 in 24.98.
Competition resumes for Brooks-Johnson Saturday, with her stronger events, the long jump, javelin and the 800.
Day 1 results of the Thorpe Cup heptathlon are available here.
WASHINGTON AND GONZAGA MAKE HIRES…
On Friday, both the University of Washington and Gonzaga announced the hiring of coaches for their track and field staffs.
Stewart comes to Spokane from the University of Illinois, where he was the head men’s cross country coach and assistant track coach since 2012.
Since arriving at Illinois in the fall of 2012, Stewart guided the Fighting Illini men's distance program back into the national picture. He led the Illini to its first cross country NCAA Championships appearance since 1986 in 2016, and assisted the men's track and field team in winning the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Championship. Additionally, Stewart built stability in the distance program with back-to-back top-10 recruiting classes in 2015 and 2016.
Stewart said, "Throughout my career, I have always viewed Gonzaga as a university that would be a tremendous place to work if ever given an opportunity and during the interviewing process that became apparent. The sport of Cross Country and Track and Field in the Northwest at the high school level is as good as anywhere in the country. I believe we will build off of the success Coach (Patty) Ley had during her time at Gonzaga in the future, and the administration has shown a commitment to building the program.”
Gonzaga’s release is available here.
Meanwhile, the University of Washington completed its track & field staff with the hiring of Washington State alum Jeshua Anderson as the school’s sprints and hurdles coach.
Anderson will team with his Washington State and professional coach Mark Macdonald, who is being brought back as a volunteer assistant coach by UW director of track & field Maurica Powell and head coach Andy Powell.
This will be the first full-time coaching position for Anderson, who had one of the most dominant college careers in Pac-12 history at Washington State from 2008-11 while being coached by Macdonald. Anderson and Macdonald have both worked as volunteer assistants at Washington the past three years, familiarizing themselves with the team and the terrain as Anderson has continued to compete in the professional ranks.
"I am excited to make the transition from competitive athlete to coach at the University of Washington," said Anderson. "I have been fortunate to have great coaches during my athletic career, whom I have learned from and have helped in my success. I am thankful for Maurica and Andy Powell giving me an opportunity to be a part of such an all-star staff."
When asked by paulmerca.blogspot.com on whether this new chapter means the close of his professional track & field career, he said, “At the moment, I’m good with retiring, but I will for sure get in on these workouts with the team during fall training to stay in shape.”
Macdonald's lengthy résumé includes over twenty years of success featuring a long stint in Pullman at his alma mater. At Washington State, Macdonald's athletes totaled thirteen Pac-12 Championships and four individual NCAA wins, with three won by Anderson. He was named the 2009 USTFCCCA West Region Men's Assistant Track Coach of the Year.
The Huskies have a pair of incoming freshmen who could be factors in the Pac-12 in the 400 hurdles in Emerald Ridge’s Karlee Stueckle and West Seattle’s Cass Elliott, both of whom were nationally ranked in the 300 hurdles.
Washington’s release is available here.
NOTE: The University of Tennessee, USA Track & Field, Gonzaga University, and the University of Washington contributed to this report.
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