WSU splits up to compete in Eugene and Spokane

One half will travel to Eugene for Hayward Premiere, other half to Spokane for H.I.R Invite

ZACH RUBIO | DAILY EVERGREEN FILE

Senior high jumper Mitch Jacobsen jumped 2.08 m last week to claim first place.

DANIEL SHURR, Evergreen reporter

WSU outdoor track and field will split up their team this weekend with some athletes going to Spokane for the H.I.R. Invite on Friday and some down to Eugene, Oregon, for the Hayward Premiere on Friday and Saturday.

The WSU outdoor track and field team started the season off on the right foot, as the team has found success in the three weeks of outdoor competition. They have seen many first-place finishes and personal records set in the young season.

The H.I.R. Invite will mark the third trip to Boppell Track at Whitworth University for WSU this season. The team started the 2021 outdoor campaign by splitting the team into two, sending one group to USC and the other group to Whitworth.

The following and most recent week was also in Spokane, hosted by Whitworth. The Cougars performed exceptionally well again, including 11 first-place event finishes between the men’s and women’s squads.

Among those first-place finishes was freshman thrower Carolina Ulloa-Daza, who in just her second collegiate meet now sits in second place for longest hammer throw in WSU history. She threw the hammer 59.65 meters, breaking the freshman record that she had set herself the week before.

Freshman Kaylee Sowle also set a new personal record last week at Boppell Track, as she jumped 1.76 meters in the high jump event. The jump set a new facility record at Whitworth’s track.

Sophomore Skyler Walton collected a win in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.75 seconds. That time was a personal best record and placed her sixth all-time in WSU history.

Whitworth announced that no fans or parents will be allowed to attend the event. Only athletes are allowed to attend.

The first event at the H.I.R. Invite will be the women’s 10-kilometer race, which will start at 1:50 p.m. Friday. The full schedule of events and their times are listed in the H.I.R Invite’s meet information form.

The Hayward Premiere will be a two-day event that consists of both men and women athletes.

The first competition in Eugene will be the women’s discus at 12:15 p.m. and will end with the men’s 10,000-meter invitational at 8:20 p.m. The full schedule for the Hayward Premiere can be seen on their tentative schedule.

The events can be watched on the Hayward Premiere live stream and the live statistics can be followed on Athletic Live.