SEATTLE - It's becoming a redundant storyline for the Idaho track and field team, but the men's pole vault record fell again and Vandal athletes put up impressive numbers against solid competition at the Washington Invitational on Saturday.
Senior Lucas Pope, who just last week became the first indoor vaulter in Idaho history to clear 17 feet, achieved the feat again, then went a little higher for good measure. Pope won the competition by clearing 5.37m (17-5.5) on his second attempt.
Sophomore Jeremy Klas also broke into the 17-foot club on Saturday, as he cleared a career-best 5.22m (17-1.5) and tied for second place in the competition. That mark makes him the second NCAA provisional qualifier for the men's team this year, along with Pope.
A pair of international Vandals - both German - got things done for Idaho on the track. Junior Paul Dittmer won the men's 60m hurdles with a time of 7.97, while sophomore Markus Geiger ran a career-best 14:48.51 in the men's 5,000m to finish fourth overall and second among collegiate runners.
Junior Eugenio Mannucci put together the WAC's top men's shot put performance to date, as he launched the shot 17.39m (57-0.75) and finished fifth. That throw is the best in the conference by a little more than a foot.
Senior K.C. Dahlgren took sixth in the women's pole vault, as she cleared 3.87m (12-8.25), while senior Beau Whitney threw the men's 35-pound weight 17.84m (58-6.5) and also took sixth. On the track, senior Sam Michener ran a 6.90 preliminary time, then ran a 6.94 in the final round for a fifth-place finish in the 60m dash.
Five Idaho athletes competed in the multi-event portion of the meet and all of them did so for the second straight week. Seniors Darcy Collins and Lindsey Goodman and sophomore Ellen Rouse competed in the five-event women's pentathlon, while junior Andrew Blaser and sophomore Ryan Bowen competed in the seven-event men's heptathlon.
Collins took seventh overall with a score of 3,341, while Goodman was 11th (3,263) and Rouse was 13th (3,206). On the men's side, Blaser took 10th with a score of 4,873, while Bowen did not finish.
Idaho's teams will be in action again on Friday and Saturday in their first home meets of the year. First up will be the 35th Annual Vandal Indoor on Friday evening, followed by the Runner's Soul Open Saturday morning.
