Eastern's Cort Gebbers pulls off one of the biggest upsets of NCAA West meet in the discus...
FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas--In one of the biggest upsets of the NCAA West First Round meet at John McDonnell Field on the campus of the University of Arkansas, Eastern Washington sophomore Cort Gebbers (EWU Athletics photo) picked the right day for a personal best, as he threw the discus 186-6 (56.86m) on his final attempt to finish eleventh and move on to the national championships in Eugene.
Gebbers, who was one of the last qualifiers accepted into the meet, was seeded 50th before declarations, but moved up to 47th in the regional meet seedings after scratches from athletes above him on the final descending order list.
Throwing in the first of four flights, Gebbers, a graduate of Brewster HS who came into the meet with the number 90 mark in NCAA Division I, set a personal best in the first round, throwing 183-0 (55.79m), beating his previous best of 181-2 (55.22m) set at the Cougar Classic in Pullman on April 24th.
After throwing 178-1 (54.29m) in round two, Gebbers let it fly 186-6 (56.86m) to take the lead, and not relinquish it until the third flight.
With that throw, Gebbers becomes the first Eagle to qualify for the national championships since 2023 when Bobby Say made it in the triple jump. It also moves him to second on the school's all time list behind Brad Boland's mark of 193-4 (58.94m) set in 1980.
Washington's Martin Barco finished third overall in the 1500 meters, running a personal best 3:37.94. Teammate Reuben Reina Jr, a former Arkansas Razorback, returned to his old stomping grounds and qualified for Eugene, was sixth in 3:38.14 and got one of the two time qualifiers to nationals.
The Huskies' Tyler Bilyard was 11th overall, but had the misfortune of being in the faster of the two heats, as his time of 3:42.91 was faster than the winning time of heat one. All of the time qualifiers came out of the second heat.
In the steeplechase, Washington's Isaac Briggs ran 8:31.75 to earn a time qualifier to nationals. The mark is the second fastest in UW history behind Ed Trippas' 8:31.36 from three years ago.
Cashmere's Rob McManus of Montana State ran 8:40.57 to finish third in heat three and earn an automatic qualifier. In two separate heats, Gonzaga's Paul Talens ran 8:51.65, while Logan Law finished in 8:59.12.
Former Seattle University and Hazen HS standout Miguel Rosario qualified for the national championships in the 200 meters, running 20.21 to win his heat. Former WSU Cougar Mason Lawyer of Arizona finished second in his heat in 20.28 to earn an auto qualifier.
Earlier in the meet, another former WSU Cougar, Louie Hinchliffe of Houston, beat Lawyer in a head to head rematch of the Big !2 championships, Hinchliffe ran the 100 meters in 10.01, while Lawyer ran 10.03, with both getting auto qualifiers for Eugene.
Rosario ran 10.21 and missed advancing by one place and 1/100th of a second.
In the 110 hurdles, former Cougars John Paredes and Parker Duskin of Arizona ran 13.47, and 13.58, respectively. Paredes was one of the three time qualifiers, while Duskin finished 14th overall.
In the 400 meters, Washington's Alex Rhodes earned a time qualifier, running 45.43 to finish fourth in his heat and tenth overall. Bellingham's Jacob Andrews was 17th overall in 45.92.
Washington State's Evans Kurui qualified for his second event of the NCAA championships as he finished third in his heat of the 5000 meters in 13:41.96.
Evan Jenkins of the Huskies finished in 33rd overall in 14:19.33, while Logan Schwartz of Gonzaga ran 14:36.30 to finish 42nd.
The Huskies' Jonathan Frazier ran a season best of 50.57 in the 400 hurdles to finish 18th overall.
In the triple jump, Washington's Roman Hutchinson jumped 50-6.75 (15.41m), while teammate Trevontay Smith had a best of 50-3.25 (15.32m) to finish 24th and 26th overall. Dieumerci Migani of Eastern Washington had a best of 48-1.25 (14.66m) and finished 42nd overall.
Washington's Leland Lieberg cleared a beast of 6-11.5 (2.12m) in the high jump to finish 19th, while Tomeko Cates did not clear a height. However, Cates is advancing to the national championships in the decathlon.
RELAY ROUNDUP...
In the 4 x 100 relay, Houston, with Louie Hinchliffe on the anchor, finished second in 38.86 to earn an automatic qualifier.
Arizona, running 3/4ths of Washington State's 4 x 100 relay team of John Paredes, Parker Duskin, and Mason Lawyer, finished second in 39.02.
USC, with Jacob Andrews running leadoff, finished second in the 4 x 400 relay in 3:02.61. Andrews split on the opening leg was 46.62.
EAST REGIONAL RECAP...
In Lexington, Kentucky, Bellingham native Andre Korbmacher finished fourth in his heat of the 110 hurdles at the NCAA East First Round meet, hosted by the University of Kentucky.
Korbmacher, competing for Florida State, ran 13.44 as the fastest of the three time qualifiers advancing to Eugene.
Former WSU Cougar Kai Twaddle-Dunham, competing for Auburn, finished ninth in the discus, throwing 190-2 (57.96m). Rainier HS grad Jeremiah Nubbe of Virginia, who won the hammer on Wednesday, finished 18th with a throw of 182-4 (55.59m).
In the 4 x 400 relay, former WSU Cougar Grant Buckmiller, now competing for LSU, ran a split of 44.36 on the third leg, as the Tigers won their heat in 3:00.39 to advance to Eugene as an automatic qualifier.
HERE'S WHO'S COMPETING SATURDAY:
The women return to John McDonnell Track to close out the meet. Here's the list of competitors with Washington ties competing Saturday in individual events at both the West and East Regionals (there may be several competing on relay teams; relay composition and order aren't declared until roughly an hour before the race).
100H Micaela De Mello (Oregon); Sofia Cosculluela (UW)
1500M: Rosemary Longisa (Washington State) Chloe Foerster (UW), Wilma Nielsen (Oregon), Mia Cochran (UW)
3000 ST: Caroline Jepkorir & Mercy Biwott (Washington St); Josephine Welin (UW); Ashley Reeck (Idaho State)
800M: Chloe Symon and Jenica Swartz, both Washington
400H: Kapiolani Coleman (UCLA)
5000M: Chloe Thomas, Julia David-Smith, Mia Cochran (UW); Zenah Cheptoo (WSU); Rosina Machu, Logan Hofstee (Gonzaga)
EAST REGIONAL:
400M: Braelyn Baker (Duke)
3000 ST: Victoria Rodriguez (Wake Forest)
The final day of the NCAA West First Rounds will be streamed live via ESPN+ ($). The start list and link to live results for the NCAA West First Round is available here.
NOTE: The NCAA, USTFCCCA, and the sports information offices of Washington, Washington State, Gonzaga and Eastern Washington contributed to this report.
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