A CONVERSATION WITH: Eastern Washington's Stan Kerr, Marcia Mecklenburg & Sam Read...

In this edition of A CONVERSATION WITH, paulmerca.blogspot.com speaks to Eastern Washington University men's head track & field coach Stan Kerr, women's head track & field coach Marcia Mecklenburg, and cross country and distance coach Sam Read.

Working with a group consisting of freshmen and sophomores, the Eagle men's team finished ninth in the Big Sky Conference championship meet, while the women placed tenth.

Carter Ledwith and Isaac Barville were the top runners on the men's side, while freshmen Kenzie Gaines and Rees Jacot were the standouts of a very young women's squad.

Kerr and Mecklenburg talk about the 2020 indoor season, which cumulated with a sixth place finish by the men's squad and a ninth place finish by the women's team.

Keshun McGee (above/photo courtesy EWU Athletics) won the Big Sky championship in the triple jump, taking home his seventh career conference crown indoors and outdoors, while Lane Community College transfer Grant Shurtliff took the heptathlon championship.

Among the athletes they highlighted were hurdler Parker Bowden, sprinters Katie Petsch, Nyenuchi Okemgbo, throwers Vernice Keyes, Garrett Peoples and Colton Kautz, along with pole vaulter Samantha Raines, & multi-event specialists Rebecca Thareek & Aulane Mpouli.

Both coaches heaped plenty of praise towards vault coach Eric Allison, and jumps/multis coach Dave Nielsen, as those event areas were one of the Eagles' strong suits during the indoor season, and entering the outdoor season before the pandemic wiped out all competition this spring.

After talking about the expectations for the outdoor season, they finish the conversation by discussing the athletes returning for the 2020-21 season, the incoming recruits, along with plans for a new outdoor track facility on the EWU campus, and the new indoor track & field complex in downtown Spokane that the Spokane Sports Commission is building, which will help the Eagles in their quest to host the Big Sky championship meet, as well as possible home meets.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the video content, please don't hesitate to post a comment at the bottom of this page or in the comments section of the YouTube channel.

Here's the video:




NOTE: The Eastern Washington University sports information office contributed to this report.

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