THE WEEKEND AHEAD: Seven of eight Washington D1/D2 schools competing this weekend...
This weekend, all of Washington's Division I and II schools but Seattle Pacific will have athletes competing in various venues around the country.
HUSKIES TO NEW YORK...
A small group of three runners from the University of Washington are headed to The Armory in New York City for Friday & Saturday's Dr. Sander Columbia Scorcher, hosted by Columbia University.
Friday, Washington freshman Chloe Symon (Paul Merca photo) and Jenica Swartz will run in the women's invitational 800 meters.
Symon goes into the meet ranked number 5 on the current NCAA D1 descending order list, and looks to solidify her position in the top 16, while Swartz, who is number 8 in the descending order list in the mile, is looking to establish a mark.
The duo race Friday in the first of five heats at 11:19 am Pacific time.
Foerster, who was named co-B1G Ten women's track athlete of the week for her 2:37.79 school record clocking in the 1000 meters at last week's UW Preview, makes her season debut in the Pro-Elite section of the women's mile on Saturday at 11:24 am Pacific.
She'll see a couple of familiar faces in the field, including Teagan Schein-Becker and Laura Pellicoro of the Seattle based Brooks Beasts, as they open their 2026 campaign.
Media partner RunnerSpace.com ($) will stream both days of the meet starting at 6:20 am.
WILDCATS TO ALBUQUERQUE...
A small group of athletes from Central Washington University head off to Albuquerque, New Mexico for Friday & Saturday's Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Ashlyn Nielsen will run both the women's 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Elise Hopper will also run the 200 meters and is slated to compete in the 400-meter dash.
Reigning national champion Emy Ntekpere will compete in the women's high jump. Ntekpere holds the CWU and GNAC records with a mark of 1.79 meters (5-10.5) and is currently tied for first in NCAA Division II. She will also compete in the long jump and triple jump,
Colton Magruder will compete in the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash against a field of Division I athletes, while David Brown will run the 60-meter hurdles.
Flotrack ($) will stream both days of the meet.
WSU, EASTERN, GONZAGA, CENTRAL & WESTERN HEAD TO MOSCOW FOR LAUREN MCCLUSKEY MEMORIAL...
The remainder of Central Washington's squad, plus teams from Washington State, Eastern Washington, and Western Washington's combined events competitors are in Moscow, Idaho for the Lauren McCluskey Memorial meet at the Kibbie Dome, hosted by the University of Idaho.
Action got underway Thursday afternoon with the combined events.
UPDATE (8:45 am January 23): The women's pentathlon finished Thursday night, with Hanna Tait of Idaho winning with a score of 3987 points. Eastern Washington's Ella Seelhoff was third with 3495 points.
Western Washington's Nicole Avery was seventh with 3049 points. Teammates Marisa Klaas was eleventh with 2740 points, and Khloe Huskic was twelfth with 2645 points.
After the first day of competition, Eastern Washington's Pry'nce Millman stands third with 2812 points, 226 points behind first day leader Joe Reiber.
Kaden Miller of Western Washington is sixth at the break with 2334 points.
Friday's portion of the meet begins at 1 pm with the women's pole vault, while track action starts at 3 pm with the men's 1000.
The men's long jump starts Saturday's action at 8:30 am, while track racing begins at 10 am with the men's 60 hurdles qualifying, and ends close to 4 pm with the women's 4 x 400 relay.
Start lists for the main portion of the meet are now posted. ESPN Plus ($) is streaming the meet.
SAINTS TO PORTLAND...
According to their schedule, Saint Martin's will send a group of athletes to Portland for the Portland Indoor meet on Sunday at the Chiles Center on the University of Portland campus.
Several field events will be held the day before at Portland State University's Viking Pavilion.
HENRY WYNNE OF BROOKS BEASTS ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT...
In an Instagram post a few days ago, Henry Wynne (Paul Merca file photo) of the Brooks Beasts announced his retirement from the sport.
After winning the NCAA indoor mile title in 2016 as a junior, Wynne joined the Brooks Beasts the following year, debuting at the 2017 USA championships in Sacramento.
At the 2021 US Olympic Trials, he finished fifth in the finals of the 1500. He was fifth in the 2023 USA championships, and sixth in the 2024 US Olympic Trials.
Wynne was part of the Beasts' world record setting team in the distance medley relay, when Brannon Kidder, Brandon Miller, Isaiah Harris and Wynne on the anchor took down the existing world record of 9:15.50 set by the US national team of Kyle Merber, Brycen Spratling, Brandon Johnson and Ben Blankenship at the IAAF World Relays on May 3, 2015 in Nassau, Bahamas, as the Beasts ran 9:14.58 on April 19, 2024.
That remains the existing world record, though the University of Washington ran 9:14.10 last February. It wasn't considered for world record ratification due to World Athletics' mixed nationality rule.
Wynne's Instagram post is below:
NOTE: The sports information offices of Washington, Central Washington, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, Washington State, Western Washington and Saint Martin's contributed to this report.
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