Men’s and women’s track & field compete at Washington State Open
Sophomore Keshun McGee becomes Big Sky leader in triple jump, men win three titles
Sophomore Keshun McGee performs a triple jump during a home meet last season. McGee became Big Sky conference leader in the event last week with a jump of 50-8 1/4 | Photo courtesy of EWU Athletics
January 24, 2018
A week after the EWU men’s and women’s track and field teams took home a combined nine individual titles at the Vandal Indoor Invitational in Idaho, both squads were back in action on Jan. 20 at the Washington State Open.
On the men’s side, the Eagles won three first place titles. The highlight came in the triple jump as EWU sophomore Keshun McGee became the Big Sky Conference leader with a jump of 50-8 1/4 feet.
“Keshun’s triple jump performance was an enormous accomplishment,” said EWU men’s head coach Stan Kerr. “He is having a banner indoor season in the long and triple jump.”
McGee also placed second in the long jump, with a jump of 23-7 1/4 feet. For his performance during the meet, McGee was named the conference’s Men’s Field Athlete of the Week.
McGee was the triple jump champion at the 2017 Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships as well as the conference’s Male Freshman of the Year.
“[McGee] is clearly one of the most talented athletes in the Big Sky Conference,” said Kerr. “His consistent performances and adapting quickly to his third coach in as many years is a tribute to his desire to improve everyday.”
Senior Larry Still, who took first in the pole vault in Idaho, repeated the feat on Saturday. His best clearance on the day was 16-0 3/4 feet, not quite as good as his mark of 16-6 3/4 feet last week.
Scott Miller took first place in the shot put with a throw of 51-7 3/4 feet.
On the women’s side, after six first-place finishes in Idaho, the Eagles were held winless at WSU.
EWU did take second and third place in the 60 meter dash. Freshman Alexis Rolan finished with a time of 7.56, while senior Rebecca Tarbert had a time of 7.78.
“I thought our crew did a great job competing,” women’s head coach Marcia Mecklenburg said. “Once again we had some outstanding performances and I was glad to see that, given the hard training we have been putting in the last several weeks.”
Kerr is already looking forward to next week, where both squads will compete at the University of Washington Invite.
“In Seattle we expect our distance crew to make a strong showing as many of them competed in shorter races today,” said Kerr. “With the Big Sky Championships just a few weeks away, it is exciting to see the team performing at this high level.”
