CJ Allen finishes fourth in Wanda Diamond League 400H finals; cross country starts Friday for Zags, Eags & Cougs...
ZÜRICH--Washington State alum CJ Allen (Paul Merca photo) ran to a season best in the final of the Wanda Diamond League men's 400 hurdles Thursday night at the Weltklassse Zürich meet at Letzigrund Stadium.
Allen was in a must-win situation to unlock the wild card for next month's world championships in Tokyo entering the meet after finishing fourth at the Toyota USATF Championships on August 3rd, as was Trevor Bassitt, who did not qualify for the finals of the national championships due to injury.
Allen, who was looking to make his second world championship team finished fourth in a time of 48.00, a season best, eclipsing his previous mark of 48.10.
Karsten Warholm of Norway, the defending world champion and Tokyo Olympic champion from four years ago, established himself as the favorite after winning the title in a meet record 46.70.
Woodinville native Olivia Markezich, who was ninth at last year's Diamond League finals in Brussels, finished seventh in the women's 3000 steeplechase in a time of 9:22.20. Kenya's Faith Cherotich won the Diamond League title in a time of 8:57.24.
Washington alum Gianna Woodruff finished fourth in the women's 400 hurdles, as she ran 54.24. Femke Bol of the Netherlands, who will be the favorite to win the 400 hurdles in Tokyo, won the Diamond League crown in a meet record 52.18.
Complete results of the Wanda Diamond League finals at the Weltklassse Zürich meet are available here.
THE 2025 CROSS COUNTRY SEASON BEGINS FRIDAY WITH MEETS IN CHENEY AND COLFAX...
Eastern Washington, Gonzaga and Washington State begins its 2025 cross country season, with the Eagles hosting the annual Clash of the Inland Northwest on the EWU campus practice fields, starting at 8:30 am.
Gonzaga is tabbed by the West Coast Conference coaches as the pre-season favorites to defend the conference crown on the women's side, while the men's team was voted by the coaches to finish third.
Both Eastern Washington squads were tabbed to finish fifth in the preseason Big Sky Conference coaches poll.
Eastern Washington is undergoing a coaching change, as long time cross country coach and distance assistant Sam Read left to become the head coach at Drake University. EWU director of track and field Erin Tucker is working with the distance runners while the search for a new coach continues.
Idaho is the only Division I school in the meet besides Eastern and Gonzaga, with Lewis-Clark, Spokane CC, Walla Walla, Whitman and Whitworth rounding out the field.
The women will run 4k at 8:30 am, while the men race over 6k at 9 am.
The Cougar men were voted by the WCC coaches to finish second behind Portland, but have some firepower up front with All-American Evans Kurui, along with Texas Tech transfers Solomon Kipchoge (photo courtesy Texas Tech Athletics) and Vincent Koech, and true freshman Rogers Chelal.
The women's team was voted by the WCC coaches to finish second in the preseason poll. The Cougs will be led by NCAA cross country qualifier Zenah Cheptoo and Caroline Jepkorir.
The women's 4-kilometer race will begin at 5 p.m. and the men's 6-kilometer race will start at approximately 5:45 p.m..
ATHLETICS CANADA ANNOUNCES WSU ALUM JASNEET NIJJAR WILL TRAVEL TO TOKYO AS PART OF 4 X 400 RELAY POOL...
As she did at last year's Paris Olympics, Washington State alum Jasneet Nijjar was selected by Athletics Canada to travel to Tokyo for next month's World Athletics Championships as a reserve.
Nijjar finished fifth in the 400 meters at the Canadian championships, running 52.75.
She'll be on both the mixed and women's 4 x 400 meter relay pools. The mixed relay (heats and final) will be contested on the meet's first day on September 13th, while the women's 4 x 400 relay will compete on the meet's final two days of September 20th and 21st.
The relay composition are announced the day before or the day of competition by the team.
Athletics Canada also announced that Washington alums Kieran Lumb and Justin O'Toole will be on the squad in the men's 1500 and 800, respectively.
Washington alum Aaron Ahl (m 3000 steeple) and incoming grad transfer Chloe Thomas (w 5000) were not on the list, but could be added pending scratches from other federations before the world championships entry deadline of September 1st.
NOTE: The Weltklasse Zürich meet, the Wanda Diamond League, World Athletics, and Athletics Canada contributed to this report.
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