Coming Up This Weekend:
Idaho makes its home debut this weekend with the 35th Annual Vandal Indoor on Friday evening and the Runners Soul Open on Saturday morning.
The Vandals welcome more than 1,000 competitors from 21 schools to the Kibbie Dome this weekend, to find the best in the Northwest and beyond. In addition to Idaho, the meet also features athletes from Washington State, Eastern Washington, Central Washington, Montana, Concordia (Ore.), Whitworth and Community Colleges of Spokane, among others.
Also in attendance at the Vandal Indoor on Friday will be former Vandal great, Russ Winger, a 2008 Idaho graduate and 10-time NCAA qualifier, who will compete. Friday's action will also feature a rare event in the men's and women's indoor discus. Idaho's Kibbie Dome is one of a select few venues in the NCAA capable of hosting such an event, which is generally reserved for outside competition. Fans who watch that event will have a chance to see a pair of All-Americans square off, in Winger and Washington State's Matt Lamb.
Last year's Vandal Indoor featured an age group world record and two Idaho school records, in addition to four NCAA provisional qualifying marks. Master's competitor George Mathews, who will compete again in 2010, threw the 20-pound weight 19.93m (65-4.75) to break the 65-69 age group world record. In all, 12 athletes will return to defend their 2009 titles, seven of which are Vandals, three are from Eastern Washington, and one each from Community Colleges of Spokane and unattached.
Returning 2009 Vandal Indoor Champions:
Mykael Bothum, Idaho (women's shot put/discus); Ben Codgill, EWU (men's pole vault); Darcy Collins, Idaho (women's high jump); K.C. Dahlgren, Idaho (women's pole vault); Krystal Deyo, EWU (women's 60m); Paul Dittmer, Idaho (men's 60m hurdles); Deonta Edwards, CCS (men's high jump); Kelly Jacka, Idaho (women's 200m); Nicole Luckenbach, EWU (women's weight throw); Steve Potratz, Idaho (men's mile); Lauren Schaffer, Idaho (women's 800m); Russ Winger, Unattached (men's shot put/discus)
Weekly Honor Roll:
Idaho senior Lucas Pope heads the Honor Roll this week after breaking the men's indoor pole vault record for a third weekend in a row. He earned Verizon Wireless WAC Men's Field Athlete of the Week accolades after winning the vault at the UW Invitational last Saturday with a lifetime-best and school-record height of 17-7.5. That performance came on the heels of a meet-record, 17-3.5 effort one week earlier in winning the WSU Cougar Indoor.
Senior thrower Mykael Bothum earned Verizon Wireless WAC Women's Field Athlete of the Week last week after taking the shot put title at the Cougar Indoor with a season-best toss of 59-2.25. Bothum comes into this weekend riding a three-meet win streak in the event. Dating back to 2009, she has won nine straight regular-season shot put competitions, with the only non-first-place finish coming at the NCAA Championships, where she took seventh.
Last Week In Vandal Track and Field:
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.
