UW Indoor Preview headlines three meets for Washington D1/D2 schools plus pros this weekend...
All nine of Washington’s NCAA Division I and II schools are in action in the first full weekend of indoor track and field action.
WASHINGTON hosts WASHINGTON STATE, GONZAGA, SEATTLE UNIVERSITY, and WESTERN WASHINGTON Saturday in the UW Indoor Preview that begins at 9 am and ends sometime after 6 pm at the Dempsey Indoor.
In addition to those schools, a number of notable Washington pros will compete at the UW Indoor Preview, led by several athletes from the Brooks Beasts, as well as defending US indoor pole vault champ Katie Nageotte.
Meanwhile, EASTERN WASHINGTON, SAINT MARTIN’S, and CENTRAL WASHINGTON will head to Moscow, Idaho Friday & Saturday for the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open meet, named after the Pullman native and University of Utah multi-event athlete who was murdered in the fall.
WASHINGTON STATE will also send a group of sprinters, horizontal jumpers, hurdlers and throwers to Nampa, Idaho for the Bronco Invitational Saturday, hosted by Boise State University.
UW INDOOR PREVIEW
To the surprise of absolutely no one that’s attended the Huskies’ season-opening meet, with the distance races taking center stage, featuring pros from both the Seattle based Brooks Beasts and the Beaverton based Nike Oregon Project.
With the IAAF world track & field championships scheduled for the end of September/early October, not as many pros are opening up the 2019 campaign early, particularly in the sprints and jumps, as opposed to last year’s meet, which was helped by a truncated pro indoor season because of the world indoors in early March.
As a disclaimer, entries are always subject to change.
Races to watch:
Men’s & women’s 1000 (11:10/11:20) and mile (11:35/12:10): Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhöfen makes her Nike Oregon Project debut, as the 21-year old, who was fourth in the 5000 at last year’s European Championships in the 5000 doubles in the 1000 and the mile in a span of 25 minutes.
Teammate Yomif Kejelcha (left/photo by Paul Merca), the two-time world indoor champion from Ethiopia in the 3000, is also entered by NOP coach Alberto Salazar in the same double, which goes at 11:20 and 12:10.
Klosterhöfen then goes in the mile at 11:35, where she’ll face Washington hall of famer Katie Mackey, who finished eighth at last year’s world indoors in the 3000, one spot behind Klosterhöfen, along with NACAC steeple champ and fellow Husky hall of famer Mel Lawrence.
Also in the mix in the women’s mile are UW All-Americans Lilli Burdon and Katie Rainsberger, and Canadian world championships competitor in the 800 Lindsey Butterworth from Vancouver.
In the men’s mile, Kejelcha will go against NOP teammate and Olympic 800 bronze medalist Clayton Murphy, along with last year’s world indoor championships silver medalist Drew Windle of the Brooks Beasts. Georgetown alum Amos Bartelsmeyer, who ran 3:57.53 last year, is in the field along with NC State alum Sam Parsons.
Women’s 600 (2:00): Olympia native and Oregon alum Brooke Feldmeier, an NCAA scorer for the Ducks, goes against 2017 Pac-12 800 finalist Hannah Derby.
Men’s and women’s 800 (2:35/2:50): Stanford alum and French Olympian Justine Fedronic, who lives and trains in Seattle is the headliner here, while the mens race features new Beast and reigning NCAA indoor mile & '17 1500m champ Josh Kerr.
Kerr goes against Cal Poly alum Derek Thomas, who ran 1:47 last year, along with the Husky duo of Devan Kirk and Connor Morello, both of whom were in the finals at last year’s Pac-12. Husky freshman 400m hurdler Cass Elliott from West Seattle HS, a finalist at last year’s USA U-20 championships, is also in the field.
Women’s 3000 (3:35 pm): Veteran Shannon Rowbury of the NOP a 2009 world championships medalist in the 1500, makes her return to the track after taking maternity leave last year. She’s slated to run against UW alum Mel Lawrence, who’s doubling back from the mile, along with new Brooks Beasts member Allie Buchalski, with UW alum Eleanor Fulton and Bowerman TC member Emily Pritt, both of whom were on the 2017 USA world cross country team, thrown in the mix.
Men’s 3000 (4:15 pm): Could be intriguing, with Craig Engels of the Nike Oregon Project going against Canadian cross country champ Luc Bruchet from Vancouver, Washington alum Izaic Yorks, the NACAC 1500 champ, and last year’s NCAA D2 1500 champ David Ribich of the Brooks Beasts.
In addition to the distance races, perhaps the best fields of the meet are in the men’s and women’s pole vaults, with the top sections starting at 1pm (women) and 2pm (men).
The women’s vault features Katie Nageotte from Pullman, ranked #6 in the world last year, last year’s USA champion indoors, and oh, by the way, the newest member of the American 16-foot club.
She faces new Husky and defending NCAA champ Olivia Gruver (who will compete unattached), along with Germany’s Anjuli Knasche, who is training with Nageotte in Pullman; WSU commit Chloe Cunliffe from West Seattle HS, one of the nation’s top prep vaulters; and four of the top five finishers in last year’s Pac-12 championships—Stanford’s Kaitlyn Merritt (2nd) and Erika Malaspina (3rd); Washington State’s Molly Scharmann (4th); and Washington’s Annika Dayton (5th).
The men’s pole vault features five 18-foot vaulters in Texas A&M alum Audie Wyatt; Samford University alum Olen Oates; Princeton alum Adam Bragg, Arizona State alum Garrett Starkey, and current Husky Chase Smith, who is competing unattached. They’ll go up against reigning Pac-12 champ Sander Moldau of Washington State, who could be knocking on the door of 18 feet this season in his second year under Cougar jumps coach and American record holder in the pole vault Brad Walker.
The start lists for the UW Indoor Preview are available here. Washington's release is available here.
LAUREN MCCLUSKEY MEMORIAL OPEN
The University of Idaho hosts the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Friday and Saturday, with the women’s pentathlon and the first day of the men’s heptathlon contested Friday, and the main portion of the meet Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.
Eastern Washington, Saint Martin’s, and Central Washington will send full squads to Moscow.
Start lists for the Lauren McCluskey Memorial are available via the University of Idaho track web site.
BRONCO INVITATIONAL
A group of athletes from Washington State who are not making the trip west to Seattle will instead head east to Nampa, Idaho for the Bronco Invitational, hosted by Boise State University.
The group of Cougars heading to Jackson’s Track is comprised of sprinters, horizontal jumpers, throwers, and hurdlers.
Washington State’s release with their rosters for both meets is available here, while the start lists for the Bronco Invitational are available here.
NOTE: The sports information offices of the University of Washington, Washington State University, the University of Idaho, and Boise State University contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON hosts WASHINGTON STATE, GONZAGA, SEATTLE UNIVERSITY, and WESTERN WASHINGTON Saturday in the UW Indoor Preview that begins at 9 am and ends sometime after 6 pm at the Dempsey Indoor.
In addition to those schools, a number of notable Washington pros will compete at the UW Indoor Preview, led by several athletes from the Brooks Beasts, as well as defending US indoor pole vault champ Katie Nageotte.
Meanwhile, EASTERN WASHINGTON, SAINT MARTIN’S, and CENTRAL WASHINGTON will head to Moscow, Idaho Friday & Saturday for the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open meet, named after the Pullman native and University of Utah multi-event athlete who was murdered in the fall.
WASHINGTON STATE will also send a group of sprinters, horizontal jumpers, hurdlers and throwers to Nampa, Idaho for the Bronco Invitational Saturday, hosted by Boise State University.
UW INDOOR PREVIEW
To the surprise of absolutely no one that’s attended the Huskies’ season-opening meet, with the distance races taking center stage, featuring pros from both the Seattle based Brooks Beasts and the Beaverton based Nike Oregon Project.
With the IAAF world track & field championships scheduled for the end of September/early October, not as many pros are opening up the 2019 campaign early, particularly in the sprints and jumps, as opposed to last year’s meet, which was helped by a truncated pro indoor season because of the world indoors in early March.
As a disclaimer, entries are always subject to change.
Races to watch:
Men’s & women’s 1000 (11:10/11:20) and mile (11:35/12:10): Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhöfen makes her Nike Oregon Project debut, as the 21-year old, who was fourth in the 5000 at last year’s European Championships in the 5000 doubles in the 1000 and the mile in a span of 25 minutes.
Klosterhöfen then goes in the mile at 11:35, where she’ll face Washington hall of famer Katie Mackey, who finished eighth at last year’s world indoors in the 3000, one spot behind Klosterhöfen, along with NACAC steeple champ and fellow Husky hall of famer Mel Lawrence.
Also in the mix in the women’s mile are UW All-Americans Lilli Burdon and Katie Rainsberger, and Canadian world championships competitor in the 800 Lindsey Butterworth from Vancouver.
In the men’s mile, Kejelcha will go against NOP teammate and Olympic 800 bronze medalist Clayton Murphy, along with last year’s world indoor championships silver medalist Drew Windle of the Brooks Beasts. Georgetown alum Amos Bartelsmeyer, who ran 3:57.53 last year, is in the field along with NC State alum Sam Parsons.
Women’s 600 (2:00): Olympia native and Oregon alum Brooke Feldmeier, an NCAA scorer for the Ducks, goes against 2017 Pac-12 800 finalist Hannah Derby.
Men’s and women’s 800 (2:35/2:50): Stanford alum and French Olympian Justine Fedronic, who lives and trains in Seattle is the headliner here, while the mens race features new Beast and reigning NCAA indoor mile & '17 1500m champ Josh Kerr.
Kerr goes against Cal Poly alum Derek Thomas, who ran 1:47 last year, along with the Husky duo of Devan Kirk and Connor Morello, both of whom were in the finals at last year’s Pac-12. Husky freshman 400m hurdler Cass Elliott from West Seattle HS, a finalist at last year’s USA U-20 championships, is also in the field.
Women’s 3000 (3:35 pm): Veteran Shannon Rowbury of the NOP a 2009 world championships medalist in the 1500, makes her return to the track after taking maternity leave last year. She’s slated to run against UW alum Mel Lawrence, who’s doubling back from the mile, along with new Brooks Beasts member Allie Buchalski, with UW alum Eleanor Fulton and Bowerman TC member Emily Pritt, both of whom were on the 2017 USA world cross country team, thrown in the mix.
Men’s 3000 (4:15 pm): Could be intriguing, with Craig Engels of the Nike Oregon Project going against Canadian cross country champ Luc Bruchet from Vancouver, Washington alum Izaic Yorks, the NACAC 1500 champ, and last year’s NCAA D2 1500 champ David Ribich of the Brooks Beasts.
In addition to the distance races, perhaps the best fields of the meet are in the men’s and women’s pole vaults, with the top sections starting at 1pm (women) and 2pm (men).
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| WSU's Molly Scharmann (Paul Merca photo) |
She faces new Husky and defending NCAA champ Olivia Gruver (who will compete unattached), along with Germany’s Anjuli Knasche, who is training with Nageotte in Pullman; WSU commit Chloe Cunliffe from West Seattle HS, one of the nation’s top prep vaulters; and four of the top five finishers in last year’s Pac-12 championships—Stanford’s Kaitlyn Merritt (2nd) and Erika Malaspina (3rd); Washington State’s Molly Scharmann (4th); and Washington’s Annika Dayton (5th).
The men’s pole vault features five 18-foot vaulters in Texas A&M alum Audie Wyatt; Samford University alum Olen Oates; Princeton alum Adam Bragg, Arizona State alum Garrett Starkey, and current Husky Chase Smith, who is competing unattached. They’ll go up against reigning Pac-12 champ Sander Moldau of Washington State, who could be knocking on the door of 18 feet this season in his second year under Cougar jumps coach and American record holder in the pole vault Brad Walker.
The start lists for the UW Indoor Preview are available here. Washington's release is available here.
LAUREN MCCLUSKEY MEMORIAL OPEN
The University of Idaho hosts the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Friday and Saturday, with the women’s pentathlon and the first day of the men’s heptathlon contested Friday, and the main portion of the meet Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.
Eastern Washington, Saint Martin’s, and Central Washington will send full squads to Moscow.
Start lists for the Lauren McCluskey Memorial are available via the University of Idaho track web site.
BRONCO INVITATIONAL
A group of athletes from Washington State who are not making the trip west to Seattle will instead head east to Nampa, Idaho for the Bronco Invitational, hosted by Boise State University.
The group of Cougars heading to Jackson’s Track is comprised of sprinters, horizontal jumpers, throwers, and hurdlers.
Washington State’s release with their rosters for both meets is available here, while the start lists for the Bronco Invitational are available here.
NOTE: The sports information offices of the University of Washington, Washington State University, the University of Idaho, and Boise State University contributed to this report.
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