Mawindi Leads WSU, UI Placers At Modesto

College track and field

Hilary Mawindi’s victory in the long jump for Washington State led a strong Inland Empire contingent Saturday at the Modesto Relays, a meet that featured history’s seventh-fastest time in the 100 meters and two American records in the women’s pole vault.

Mawindi’s leap of 25 feet, 6-3/4 inches, coupled with his fourth-place mark (51-4-1/2) in the triple jump, gave the Cougars two of their eight top-five finishes. Idaho’s Niels Kruller was fourth a 24-8-1/2, giving him one of Idaho’s six top-five finishes in the men’s division.

Idaho’s 400-meter relay team placed second to the powerful H.S. International team of Olympic 100-meter bronze medalist Ato Boldon, his training partner Jon Drummond, Maurice Greene and Gentry Bradley. Boldon’s team was timed in 39.18 seconds, and Idaho in 40.18.

The Vandals’ 1,600 relay team also finished second, but was 7 seconds off the winning pace of Southern University.

Also for Idaho, Shawn O’Brien placed second in the 800 meters (1:51.25), Geoff Judd second in the high jump (6-9-3/4), Chris Kwaramba third in the triple jump (52-0-3/4) and Tawanda Chiwira fifth in the 400 meters (46.68).

Washington State’s women’s 400 relay team placed second (45.22) to Lincoln University (44.97).

Also for the WSU women, Cathy McNeely, a member of the basketball team, placed third in the high jump (5-5-3/4); Sharika Higgins was fourth in the 100 (11.89); and Tamika Brown fifth in the 200 (24.17).

Also for the WSU men, Ian Waltz placed fifth in the men’s shot put (60-11-1/2), and Demetrius Murrary fifth in the men’s triple jump (50-11-1/2).

Boldon, who won two sprint bronze medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, became the sixth man to break 9.9 seconds in the 100 meters, clocking 9.89 - five-hundredths of a second off the world record set by Donovan Bailey at the Atlanta Olympics.

In tying Frankie Fredericks’ silver-medal winning 9.89 at Atlanta, Boldon joins Bailey, Fredericks (twice), Leroy Burrell (twice), Carl Lewis, and Linford Christie as the only six to go under 9.9.

Stacy Dragila, who has broken her American record five times in five weeks, upped her pole vault record twice.

Dragila set a record by clearing 14 feet, 1-1/4 inches on her second try, then improved the mark by 6 inches by clearing her first attempt at 14-7-1/4.

Montana Last Chance Meet

At Missoula, Community Colleges of Spokane’s 1,600-meter men’s relay team finished first (3:24.49), Erika Colin captured the women’s 3,000 meters (10:32.15) and Lasina Smith of CCS won the women’s 400 meters (59.28) to lead the contingent of CCS athletes.

Jenifer Bauman excelled for Eastern Washington, winning the women’s triple jump (36-4-1/4) and placing third in the women’s long jump (16-10).

Others to finish in the top three for EWU included Kevin Whitson, third in the men’s shot put (48-2), and Les Timm, second in the men’s hammer (181-0) and third in the men’s discus (105-9).

CCS placed in a number of sprints and relays. James Childs was third in the men’s 100 meters, third in the 200 meters and third in the long jump. Jon Bell placed third in the men’s 400 meters.

The men’s relay teams also had a thirdplace finish in the 1,600 relay and a second in the 400 relay.

Smith, at 33-0-1/2, was second to Bauman in the women’s triple jump.

, DataTimes