Eastern’S Men Finish Surprise 3Rd In Big Sky Eagles’ Best Performance Includes Javelin Win For Cole
It was a third that was a first for Eastern Washington on Saturday.
Ryan Cole defended his men’s javelin title and the Eagles snagged enough points elsewhere to finish third in the Big Sky Conference track and field championships Saturday in Sacramento - their highest placing ever.
The Eagles totaled 97 points to top a crowded pack well behind winner Weber State (202 points) and Northern Arizona (180).
Eastern’s women, led by Mandi Fish’s second-place effort in the shot put, finished eighth with 54 points behind champion Cal State Northridge.
Cole threw the javelin 222 feet, 8 inches for a 3-foot win over NAU’s Heath Fisher. Teammate Eric Boyd, second in the decathlon earlier in the week, was fourth in the javelin at 193-11.
The Eagles also got a solid performance from sprinter Johnnie Williams, who came back from a nagging hamstring injury to take second in the 100 meters in 10.54 and third in the 200 at 21.73.
Another big windfall came in the triple jump, where Tim Archer and Kurt Kraemer finished 2-3 - Archer posting a rare win over his teammate and topping 50 feet for the first time with a 50-6-3/4 effort. He’s the fifth Eagle in history to crack the 50-foot barrier.
Brian Trimble snagged a fourth place for the Eagles in the 800 meters, clocking 1:52.61. Idaho State’s Bryce Knight, a graduate of Coeur d’Alene’s Lake City High School, defended his title in 1:48.37, winning by nearly 3 seconds.
Fish continued her late-season surge in the shot put with a 47-1/4 toss that is the second-best in EWU history.
The Eagles also had a strong showing in the women’s 800 meters, with Katie Ellison placing fourth in 2:12.63 and Lisa Harrison taking sixth in 2:14.45.
Amber Johnson of Spokane - second in the 10,000 meters on Friday - doubled back to take sixth in the 5,000.
Charles Clinger of Weber State turned in an impressive double, winning the high jump at 7-2-1/2 and claiming the triple jump with a bound of 52-10.