At the Big Sky conference finals in Ogden, Utah, three Eagles would win their individual events, one Eagle broke records, one team would win their event (men’s 4×100 meter relay), and nine Eagles would qualify to travel to Texas for the regional championships this week.

The nine Eagles that qualified include Parker Bowden, the senior hurdler who broke the EWU 110 meter hurdle record, and recorded the second-fastest time in Big Sky Conference history. 

Bowden said his goal was to win the 110 meter hurdles all year. 

“The goal and the intent all year was to win the event,” Bowden said. “Having the team there to see it … having the team there to support me … it was pretty surreal.”

Bowden was the first EWU men’s athlete to win the 110 meter hurdle event, and won the most outstanding performer of the Big Sky Conference finals. 

Junior valutar Katrina Terry, who won the Big Sky women’s pole vault, will head to Texas as well as two other Eagle valutars: Big Sky runner-up Morgan Fossen, and Savannah Shultz who finished seventh down in Utah. 

“It was really exciting to go to a big competition with other Big Sky schools,” Terry said. 

Terry added that she was very excited to see some of her fellow teammates reach their PR at the conference championships, and was very pleased with how her fellow Pole Vaulters did.

She also described how she felt when she won. 

“I was very happy,” Terry said. “You always go into [an event] wanting to win … but it’s not like I expected it to happen … there was very good competition from my own team as well as the Idaho State team.”

Other lady Eagles who will be competing down in Texas this week include junior hammer thrower Vernice Keyes, and senior javelin thrower Emmanuelle Engle. 

There are three more members of the men’s team who will be competing in Texas as well. Junior javelin thrower Gavin Lee, senior hammer thrower Colton Kautz and sophomore Justin Rooma, who will be competing in the steeplechase. 

The regionals will be competed in College Station, Texas from May 26-29.