Orange County, CA — Idaho State Track and Field took the long journey down to Southern California this weekend to compete at the Pacific Coast Invitational, Bryan Clay Invitational, and Beach Invite to compete against some of the best D1 colleges in the nation. The Bengal team showed their strength, as the team set 9 all-time marks and one of those was a massive school record.
Women's Highlights
The women's throwing ring took center stage for the field events, as
Laura Young moved up the all-time list in the shot put with a throw of 13.98m (45' 10.5"), which puts her #8 all-time in ISU outdoor history. Continuing in the ring,
Jordyn Kearn led the squad in the discus, with a mark of 48.36m (158' 8") that puts her #4 in school history for the event. She now has two top-10 marks in throws, with a #7 mark in shot put coming from the Utah Spring Open (14.09m/46' 2.75").
Tori Conrad led the Bengals in the high jump with a new PR of 1.71m (5' 7.5"), which brings her within an inch of a top-10 mark as only a freshman. Lastly
Brynn Bider recorded a solid collegiate PR in the long jump, with a mark of 5.66m (18' 7") to lead the team over the weekend.
On the track, the distance showed out with standout performances at the prestigious Bryan Clay Invitational.
Ashley Reeck led off the history book rewriting in the 3000m steeplechase, with an enormous PR of 9 seconds to re-break her school record in a time of 10:06.91, which puts her #25 in the NCAA. She then went on to set a #4 all-time mark in the 5000m (16:47.81) along with
Kamber Scott setting a mark of #8 (17:11.40). Kamber then doubled back in the 1500m the next day to run 4:29.60 and set herself to #6 in school history. At the Beach Invite,
Daphne Cordioli led the sprinters in the 200m (25.28), while
Meg Murdock set a PR in the 400m of 57.12. Lastly,
Anise Becker fought back in the 100m hurdles, as she set a season best 14.14 to lead the team at the meet.
Men's Highlights
On the track, the men's distance team gave the record books a run for their money, as both
Sunny Gunn and
Seth Babbel recorded lifetime PRs and new top-10 marks.
Seth Babbel kicked off the Bryan Clay Invitational for the men in the 5000m, as he ran 14:07.18 against a loaded field to rank himself #4 all-time.
Sunny Gunn then followed up this performance by running in the 4th fastest heat in the 1500m behind great competition from the University of Washington to set a new PR of 3:44.70 and now ranks #3 all-time.
Khutsisa Rampete led the Bengals in the sprints, with a windy 100m clocking of 10.68s and Myles Johnson-Nichols made his return from injury to open up the 400m in 48.78.
The throws on the men's side featured another outstanding performance in the hammer throw, as Chris Lupkes launched a massive 3-foot PR, moving up to #2 all-time in the event with a mark of 61.80m (202' 9"). Axel Tirdao-Sanchez also showed out in the shot with a PR mark of 17.36m (56' 11.50"), to move him closer to #7 all-time. Lastly,
Kaiden Lee recorded a great mark of 2.06m (6' 9") to come very close to his lifetime PR and tie for first at the Pacific Coast Invitational.
The trip to California provided the team a great opportunity to compete against the best athletes in the NCAA, and with it many athletes capitalized, recording multiple top-10 performances in addition to a multitude of PRs.The Bengals will now head to Boise, ID to compete at the Ed Jacoby Twilight (April 24th).
