Cougs host WSU Indoor Open and National Pole Vault Summit happens in Reno Friday and Saturday...

After the fireworks that exploded at Seattle’s Dempsey Indoor last weekend in the distance races and the pole vault, this weekend is rather light, with only the WSU Indoor and the National Pole Vault Summit on the agenda.

The Cougars host the WSU Indoor Open Friday and Saturday at the WSU Indoor Facility on the Washington State University campus, with only a handful of schools from the Eastside competing, including Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, Central Washington, and host Washington State.

At the WSU Indoor Open, some events to watch are both the men’s and women’s pole vaults, featuring Washington State’s Pac-12 champ Sander Moldau (left/photo by Paul Merca) against Eastern Washington’s Larry Still, who is competing unattached; the women’s vault featuring Eastern’s Liz Prouty and Washington State’s Molly Scharmann.

Central Washington’s outstanding multi-event specialist Kodiak Landis is entered in several events, as is Braydon Maier, who is currently ranked #7 in the heptathlon in NCAA Division II for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats’ Mariyah Vongsaveng, the defending GNAC champion both indoors and outdoors and an NCAA qualifier last year, is entered in her specialty after winning the 60 hurdles at last week’s Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open in Moscow.

Washington State’s preview is available here, while heat sheets are available here.

Meanwhile, Pullman’s Katie Nageotte, fresh off a victory and a new Dempsey Indoor facility record at last week’s UW Indoor Preview, is in Reno at the UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit for Friday’s Elite competition.

Nageotte cleared 15-3 (4.65m) to win the UW Indoor Preview, and is looking for her second victory of the season.

The summit is a two day event, with the elite men and women competing Friday night, and the rest of the field competing Saturday in various divisions from beginners to masters.

Info on the Pole Vault Summit is available here.

KATIE MACKEY CHANGES COACHES…

University of Washington alum Katie Mackey (left/photo by Paul Merca) announced that she has switched coaches, and is now working with former University of Washington associate head coach Jason Drake.

This move was done with the complete blessing of her husband and former coach Danny Mackey. 

Despite the coaching change, it is a collaborative effort between Mackey and Drake. She remains a member of the Seattle based Brooks Beasts.

“I’ve known JD very well from his days at the University of Washington. He’s an excellent coach with ties to the University of Colorado and Washington State, where he’s worked with many excellent middle and long-distance runners, so the transition has been easy,” Mackey told publisher Paul Merca.

She will continue to train a few days a week with the Beasts, primarily on the days she doesn’t work directly with Drake.

Over the last few years, Mackey, who made her first world indoor championship team in the 3000 last year, has consulted with outside coaches, most notably Dan Pfaff at Altis in Phoenix, in an effort to gain an outsider’s perspective on training. Pfaff has coached numerous Olympians in his career, including 1996 Olympic 100m champion Donovan Bailey.

In her first race since the switch of coaches, she finished second in the mile at the UW Indoor Preview, running 4:30.02 behind Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhöfen, who ran a world leading 4:29.06.

She stated that her next three races will be in Boston, New York for Millrose, and Staten Island for the USA Indoor championships, as she begins the buildup for the USA Outdoor Championships in late July in Des Moines, Iowa. The USA Outdoor championships is a month later to account for the IAAF world championships in Doha, Qatar starting in late September.

NOTE:  The media relations office at Brooks Running, along with the sports information offices at Washington State and Central Washington University contributed to this report.