Walk-On Struts Stuff For Idaho
There was Washington State’s Francesca Green, winning the women’s long jump and 55 meters, and teammate Rasto Kiplangat, taking the men’s 800 in a time that qualified him for the NCAA Track and Field Championships.
There was WSU’s Bernard Lagat, shaving nearly 17 seconds off his 3,000 time, crossing the finish line in 8 minutes, 5.43 seconds and blowing away the rest of the Vandal Indoor Invitational field Friday night.
And then there was Idaho freshman Jeanine Korus, a walk-on from Moscow High School, calmly setting two school records, then acting almost as if no one should be surprised.
“I love the pressure,” said Korus. “That’s when I do my best - when the pressure’s on.”
Barely 2 hours after setting the UI record in the 400 meters (56.62) in the Kibbie Dome, Korus anchored Idaho’s record-setting 1,600-relay team, holding off Washington State to finish in 3:47.24.
Who is this woman?
“I don’t know,” WSU coach Rick Sloan said, “but I wish she was in a crimson uniform.”
A background check showed Korus winning two state titles - one in the 800, the other in the medley relay - as a Moscow High senior last season and finishing second in the 400.
But her times were admittedly ordinary - 58.6 in the 400 and 2:18.1 in the 800 - and no Division I programs were interested. That made for an easy decision.
“That’s the reason I came here, because I wanted this level of competition,” Korus said.
“I didn’t really have that much competition in high school,” she said. “I think that’s the reason my times are so much better, because I actually have people pushing me now.”
Those people include teammates Kerri Fife, Shavone Jennings and Debbie Ogden, who put Korus in position to hold off a brief charge from WSU frosh Nicole Henderson.
Green’s sweep of the high jump and 55 meters was far less surprising. The WSU sophomore was the favorite; and, more than anything, focused on posting NCAA qualifying marks.
She came up just short of a provisional mark in the high jump, barely missing on 5-10-3/4, an inch above the requisite. Green’s 7.06-second sprint in the 55 was well off her season- and personal-best 6.89, set in the season’s first indoor meet.
She’ll spend much of today back in the Kibbie Dome for the McDonald’s II Open, attempting to qualify in the 55 and long jump. If things go smoothly, she might even try the 200.
Kiplangat was another big winner Friday, running the 800 in 1:48.47 - .9 faster than his personal best.
The time was good enough to break the Kibbie Dome record, held previously by Eversley Lindley (1:48.90), and just slower than the 1:48.65 needed to assure his participation in the NCAAs.
Meanwhile, with Olympic decathlon champion Dan O’Brien absent after having moved from Moscow to Arizona, former WSU star Dominique Arnold ran away with the 55 high hurdles.
Arnold, now representing Sigma Track Club, won in 7.41 - well off the 7.20 posted by O’Brien last year. Patrick Muturi, a possible favorite in the 3,000, coasted to third after serving as the rabbit in the mile.
Cougars strike out
Olympian Dan Reichert tossed a three-hitter and struck out a school-record 22 Washington State batters in 8-2/3 innings as Pacific blanked the Cougars 4-0 in Stockton, Calif.
Pitchers Burdette Greeny (0-2), Wade Parrish and Marcus Glaze scattered six hits for WSU (0-5).
The two teams continue their three-game series today with a single game at 1 p.m.
, DataTimes MEMO: Changed from the Idaho edition