Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

King leads Cougs trio to NCAAs

The Spokesman-Review

A couple of men may have grabbed the spotlight for Washington State at the NCAA West Regional Track & Field Championships on Saturday at Northridge, Calif., but a trio of Cougars women made their own headlines.

Sophomore Lorraine King finished second in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking 58.67 seconds; freshman Marissa Tschida was fourth in the javelin with a toss of 158 feet, 4 inches; and junior Sara Trane finished fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a school-record 10:14.29 to qualify for the NCAA Championships June 11-14 in DesMoines, Iowa.

The Cougars, who saw freshman Jeshua Anderson and junior Barry Leavitt go 1-3 in the men’s 400m hurdles, will also send their men’s 4x400 relay team to the national meet. Leavitt and Anderson joined Justin Woods and Reny Follett to place third in 3:07.48.

The top five individuals and top two relays earn automatic NCAA berths.

It was a disappointing day for Cougars women high jumpers Ebba Jungmark and McKinnon Hanson. Jungmark, a freshman, was eighth at 5-91/4 and Hanson tied for ninth at 5-71/4.

Idaho senior Russ Winger earned a national spot in a second event, placing third in the discus with a throw of 194-6. He qualified in the shot put Friday.

Vandals senior Marcus Mattox unleashed a lifetime best hammer throw of 212-3 to place fourth and qualify for the NCAA meet for the first time.

In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, Paul Dittmer turned in the best time by an Idaho freshman, 13.90, in placing seventh, while WSU junior Robert Williams struggled, hitting all 10 hurdles in finishing eighth in 14.16.

WSU had two other top-eight placers, Central Valley grad Anna Layman sixth in the women’s 800 (2:06.97) and Moreno Zapata leaping 50-81/4 for eighth in the men’s triple jump.

Washington collected upset victories by junior Jared O’Connor in the men’s pole vault (17-5) and senior Michelle Turner in the women’s 1,500 (4:14.94), where the Huskies’ Katie Follett finished second and Amanda Miller sixth.

Eastern Washington freshman Amanda Peterson threw 150-10 to finish 10th in the women’s javelin. Eagles junior Cameron Moore from Ferris was 15th in the men’s triple jump at 45-93/4.

Area athletes with top-eight finishes were Laef Barnes of UCLA (Mead, eighth, men’s 1,500, 3:45.90) and Rich Nelson of BYU (Shadle Park, eighth, men’s 3,000 steeplechase, 8:53.48).

In team competition, UW was fourth and WSU tied for ninth in the men’s and the WSU women tied for eighth. Arizona State won both.

In the Midwest Regional in Lincoln, Neb., David Lissy, an Air Force senior from Sandpoint, placed ninth in the men’s discus (166-8).