Mosquitoes Leave Mark On Talented Pelluer Field

In a highly unusual development, the 23rd Pelluer Invitational was one track meet in which every athlete scratched.

Not scratched from their events.

But scratched nearly every square inch of itching epidermis that had been punctured by the swarms of giant, rapacious, blood-sucking mosquitoes that descended upon Woodward Stadium Friday evening.

Three meet records were broken or tied during the cool evening event, but, actually, all athletes on hand earned commendation for trudging ahead despite the great loss of blood.

“The mosquitoes took home the team trophy,” said Rob Cassleman, Washington State women’s coach. “They were the real winners.”

“Look at this,” said WSU triple jumper Chris Mosley, pointing to an angry knot on his temple. “I can’t believe these things.”

Cougars hurdler Dominique Arnold was attacked by a bug so vicious the athlete was left walking with a limp.

“You should have been here the last couple of days, it was so bad they’d chase you off the track,” Eastern Washington men’s coach Jerry Martin said. “They sprayed this morning, so it could have been a lot worse; if it was like it was, we couldn’t have held the meet.”

A couple high jumpers were glad the meet went as planned as EWU’s Murray Landauer set the men’s record (6-foot-11) and Brenda Naber, a University of Montana athlete competing unattached, tied the women’s (5-8).

Neither seemed to mind the cold - or the bugs. “I’m from Colfax, so I’m used to meets like this,” Landauer said.

The third meet record was in the women’s 4x100 relay, where EWU clicked off a 46.34-second clocking to break the mark the Eagles set last year.

Although there were not that many records set, there were plenty of good stories to go around.

In the women’s sprints, for instance, EWU’s superlative Joyce Rainwater saw her string of 11 consecutive wins in the 100 and 200 snapped.

Feeling under the weather a bit, Rainwater was nipped in the 100 by teammate Christian White, and in the 200 by WSU’s Tamika Brown.

“We’re definitely competitive on the track, but not the bad kind,” Rainwater said of the EWU sprint troops. “We push each other, so it’s not like anybody is thinking we have to go out and get even or anything like that.”

Probably one of the athletes most likely to set a meet record was Cougars pole vaulter Christos Pallakis, whose best of 18-6 1/2 far exceeded the record of 16-7.

But Pallakis had troubles getting his pole planted properly and missed three times at his opening height of 17-4. Afterward, Pallakis conducted his own workout and cleared that height many times.

EWU grad and veteran weight thrower Lex Strom won the hammer (208-10) and discus (178-10), but passed on his final three throws in the latter event when he irritated a knee injury.

Another former local standout appeared at the Pelluer as Lisa Dressel won the women’s 3,000 (10:06.43). Dressel drew national attention at Rogers High (winning the Golden West Invitational 3,000 in a record 9:46.70).

Now 24, Dressel said she has control over the “allergy-asthma problems, anemia, mono and surgeries” she’s fought the past four or five years.

Other top-flight efforts on the men’s side included Idaho’s Niels Kruller in the long jump (24-10 1/2), WSU’s George Loucaides in the 1,500 (3:52.04), Arnold in the high hurdles (14.29) and WSU’s Bobby Thompson with a Pac-10 qualifying mark in the hammer (189-7).

North Idaho College’s Michelle Edmonds in the discus (147-3), Idaho’s Jill Wimer in the shot (46-3 1/2) and Vandal Shelley Zickler in the 800 (2:14.49) registered other top performances on the women’s side.