Cougs have four first-place finishers at conference championships

Taylor, Verlin among Cougars who lead for WSU track and field during weekend meet in Seattle

ABIGAIL LINNENKOHL | DAILY EVERGREEN FILE

Then-freshman Charisma Taylor competes in the long jump during the WSU Indoor Meet on Jan. 19, 2019 at the Indoor Practice Facility. On Saturday, Taylor took first place in the triple jump.

JAN RAC, Evergreen reporter

The WSU track and field teams went to Seattle over the weekend to compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. The women’s team tied for fifth and the men’s took home sixth place.

Sophomore Charisma Taylor, junior Kreete Verlin and seniors Sam Brixey and Emmanuel “RayRay” Wells Jr. led their respective squads.

Taylor competed in the triple jump and took home first place with a leap of 43 feet 7 1/4 inches. She also finished fourth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.29 seconds.

Verlin finished first in the long jump with a jump of 20 feet 2 1/2 inches. She also took home fifth in the 60m dash with a time of 7.47 seconds.

Redshirt senior Stephanie Cho, senior Kaili Keefe, and juniors twin sisters Zorana and Jelena Grujic finished in fourth place in the distance medley relay with a time of 11:23.11. The group made history and cemented their names in the WSU records books by having the fourth best time for this event in school history.

Redshirt freshman Faimalie Sale finished in sixth place in the weight throw as she tied for second all-time in WSU history with a throw of 61 feet 6 1/4 inches.

Senior Jordyn Tucker also made Cougar history by setting the school record in the 60m dash with a time of 7.43 seconds in the prelims. She finished eighth in that event after running 7.53 seconds in the finals.

Wells Jr took home one of the first-place finishes for the men’s team in the 60m dash. He had a time of 6.55 seconds, moving him up to second-place in the NCAA in that event, according to USTFCCCA.org.

Teammate redshirt senior Ja’Maun Charles finished fifth in the 60 with a personal-record time of 6.71 seconds. Charles also competed in the 200m dash as he finished in sixth place at 21.63 seconds.

Senior Sam Brixey took home first place in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.75 seconds, and behind him was teammate senior Nick Johnson who finished second with a time of 7.89 seconds, a personal record.

Sophomore Jacob Englar took home fifth place with a time of 17 feet 1 1/2 inches, a personal record and ninth all time in WSU history for this event.

Redshirt Senior Reid Muller also had a personal record. He finished the mile with a time of 4:02.42, taking home seventh place.

Redshirt Junior Colton Johnsen was another top Cougar performer. He finished in third in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 7.59.05.

The next meet for the Cougars will be the NCAA Indoor Championships. The athletes who qualify will compete on Friday and Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.