Vandal Indoor Has Top Throwers
The Vandal Indoor track and field meet turns 25 tonight, so it figures that they’ll be throwing a party. Or at least that there will be a throwing party.
Three of college track’s finest shot putters and the pre-eminent high school hammer thrower on the continent highlight the area’s annual indoor showcase, scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start in the Kibbie Dome.
Under new meet director Wayne Phipps, the Vandal has gone heavy on the, well, heavy.
Idaho’s Joachim Olsen, Washington State’s Ian Waltz and Washington’s Ben Lindsay - 60-foot shot putters all - will have a meeting of the muscle in the featured field event, in which the meet record of 58-5-1/4 set by Olsen a year ago seems certain to fall. Olsen, third in both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor meets last season, has topped 64 feet already this winter. Waltz has thrown 63-2. The two have split victories in a pair of meetings this year.
Likewise, the 35-pound weight record of 63-3-3/4 is in danger, thanks to the presence of young Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops, British Columbia. Last spring, Armstrong rewrote the North America high school hammer record by throwing the 12-pound prep hammer 258-1, after reaching 87-5-1/4 with the 25-pound weight.
On the women’s side, the marquee performer is emerging middle distance standout Marla Runyan, who ranked second in the U.S. last year in the 1,500 meters after a 10th-place finish in the World Championships. Among the other top competitors entered are Washington sprinter Ja’Warren Hooker, who’s back to defend his title in the 60-meter dash
Both track and field events begin at 6:30 p.m., with the final event - the 4x400 relay - scheduled to go off at 9:35. On saturday, the McDonald’s II Open meet sees action resume at 8 a.m.
EWU drops coach
The contract of Eastern Washington University women’s soccer coach Jennifer Martin will not be renewed for the 2000-2001 fiscal year, athletic director Scott Barnes has announced.
Barnes said Martin will be assigned other duties in the department until the conclusion of her contract on June 30. He hopes to name Martin’s successor as soon as possible.
Martin has been the only coach in the three-year history of the Eastern’s women’s soccer program. The Eagles were 9-36-3 overall and 3-11 in the Big Sky Conference with Martin at the helm.
Old-Timers hockey set
The Spokane Old-Timers will play a hockey game Saturday night at Eagles Ice-A-Rena to benefit the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery.
Former NHL star Eddie Shack will referee the 7 p.m. game between former Spokane senior amateur players and a team from the RCMP of Kelowna, British Columbia.