WSU's Caicedo gets Olympic standard in 100 hurdles in qualifying at Pac-12 championships...
BOULDER, Colorado--Washington State's Maribel Caicedo (photo courtesy WSU Athletics) ran the fastest time in the qualifying rounds of the 100 hurdles to highlight day 2 of the Pac-12 Conference track & field championships at Potts Field on the campus of the University of Colorado.
In the first of two preliminary heats, Caicedo ran 12.61 with a legal wind of +1.6 meters per second.
In the process, Caicedo, whose previous personal best was 12.93 at the Stanford Invitational, went past both the 12.70 and 12.80 marks all the way to 12.61 to put herself inside the top 20 on the 2024 world list, and most importantly, put herself inside the Olympic qualifying standard of 12.77.
As if that weren't enough, the mark also broke her own Ecuadorian national record, tied the Pac-12 meet record, and broke the Potts Field facility record.
Washington State director of track/cross country Wayne Phipps said, "She’s been running great all year in less than ideal conditions, so it was very exciting to see her hit that Olympic mark today, especially at the Pac-12 championships!"
In the only running event finals contested, Washington's Joe Waskom, who was the runner-up in the steeplechase three years ago at USC, finally got the monkey off his back in that event after losing a shoe on the second water jump at last year's Pac-12 championships in Walnut, California.
Waskom was patient for most of the race, letting Colorado's Kole Mathison do most of the leading.
As they entered the bell, Mathison had almost a three-second lead on Waskom, with UW teammate Sam Affolder in second, before Affolder passed the Colorado runner.
Rounding the turn heading for the final water jump, there was a slight question on whether or not Waskom was going to let Affolder take the win and be happy with a 1-2 Husky finish, knowing that he had to come back for Sunday's 1500.
Waskom charged hard over the final water jump to leave Affolder, and cleared the final barrier cleanly to exorcise the demon of last year and give the Huskies its third straight win in the steeple, joining Brian Fay in 2022, and Ed Trippas last year.
With the altitude, the winning time was a modest 9:03.66, with Affolder second in 9:06.13, just ahead of Mathison's 9:06.55.
Washington State's Kelvin Limo was fifth in 9:18.37, and former SeattleU runner Giuliano Scasso, now running for Oregon, was eighth in 9:41.30.
In the women's steeple, Washington State's Caroline Jerotich got the Cougs six points, with her third place finish in a time of 10:54.51.
On the field, a second attempt miss at 17-6.25 (5.29m) was the difference between Washington's Max Manson winning the men's pole vault title and a second place finish behind Cal's Skyler Magula, whose second attempt clearance earned him the win on fewer misses.
Simon Park of the Huskies was third at 17-2.25 (5.24m), giving the Dawgs 14 team points.
Jayden White, who had struggled through most of the competition, pulled off a fifth round throw of 225-4 (68.68m) to finish fifth in the hammer, as Rowan Hamilton of Cal dominated the competition with a best of 251-1 (76.53m).
Washington's Jami Schlueter, the first day leader at 4089 points, finished second with a final score of 7664 points, as Oregon's Rafael Raap won with 7719 points.
Schlueter started day 2 well, winning the 110 hurdles in 14.39, and finishing the discus in second at 135-1 (41.19m).
But it was the pole vault that was his undoing, as he only clearded 13-5 (4.09m), losing 204 points to Raap in that event.
He came back to finish second in the javelin at 185-3 (56.48m), then closed it out with a second place finish in the 1500 in 4:47.39, but was not enough to overcome Raap's third place finish in 4:50.37.
Mason Mahacek of Washington State, who was second entering day 2, finished fifth with 6814 points, despite not finishing the 1500, due to an injury suffered in the pole vault.
In the women's shot put, Washington State's Nana Gyedu finished second with a throw of 55-2 (16.81m), as Oregon's Jaida Ross won by over 7 feet, throwing 62-4.5 (19.01m). Washington's Kaia Tupu-South was fourth at 54-10.25 (16.72m).
The men's shot saw the Cougars' Ronald Grueso Mosquera finish fifth at 57-10.5 (17.64m).
Besides Caicedo, teammate Micaela De Mello also advanced to Sunday's finals in the 100 hurdles.
Washington State's John Paredes and Parker Duskin, along with Washington's Jonathan Frazier advanced in the men's 110 hurdles. while Jasneet Nijjar was a time qualifier in the women's 400.
Cougar freshman Grant Buckmiller was the final time qualifier for the finals in the men's 400, running 46.08.
The Huskies advanced three women in the 800--Samantha Friborg, Wilma Nielsen, and Marlena Preigh, while Nathan Green and Luke Houser will return on Sunday in the 800 after qualifying to the finals Saturday.
In the men's team competition, Washington holds an 82-67 lead over second place Cal with USC and Arizona in third & fourth with 29 and 26 points.
USC is expected to make their move in the sprints and hurdles on Sunday, which could mean a battle to the wire between the Huskies and Trojans over the last few events.
Washington State stands eighth with 17 points.
On the women's side, Oregon leads UCLA by a 65-56 count. Washington State is sixth with 20, and the Huskies are ninth with 13 points.
SIMMONS AND SCHULTZ EARN PODIUM SPOTS FOR EAGLES; STEVENSON HS GRAD BERNT WINS BIG SKY HAMMER...
In Bozeman, Montana, Eastern Washington's Egypt Simmons broke through with another podium finish, placing second in the women's triple jump as the Big Sky Conference championships concluded at the Bobcat Track & Field Complex on the campus of Montana State University.
Simmons, who entered the weekend as the conference leader in the triple jump, was nosed out by Northern Arizona's Kenashalee Kerr, who won with a jump of 42-7.5 (12.99m), while Simmons finished with a best of 42-3.25 (12.88m), two centimeters short of her best this season.
The only other top three finish for Eastern Washington Saturday came in the women's pole vault, as Savannah Schultz cleared 13-7 (4.14m) to finish third. as Brielle Davis of Idaho State won at 13-11 (4.24m).
Stevenson HS alum Garret Bernt of Northern Arizona won the men's hammer with a throw of 203-8 (62.09m), and was third in the discus Friday at 171-3 (52.19m).
NOTES FROM THE EDITOR...
As we are traveling early Sunday morning to Denver to drive to Boulder to cover the final day of competition at the Pac-12 track & field championships, we will recap the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Western Athletic Conference, and the Sound Running Track Fest later.
Here are the links to the results of those meets:
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
NOTE: The Pac-12 Conference, Big Sky Conference, Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Western Athletic Conference, and the sports information offices at the University of Washington, Washington State, and Eastern Washington contributed to this report.
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