Track & Field 04/23/2012

Levkiv jumps into top 10

NORWALK, Calif. – University of Idaho track and field capped off its weekend with one more record book entry and 15 total career-best marks between the Beach Invitational and Cougar Invitational on Saturday.

In the Beach Invitational at Cerritos College, Vandal sophomore Andrey Levkiv broke into Idaho's all-time top-10 in the men's shot put with a second-place finish and a heave of 57-7.75 (17.57m), which adds to his Western Athletic Conference lead in the event and moves him to 50th in the NCAA, 25th in the West Region and ninth all-time at Idaho.

Fellow sophomore Ugis Svazs hit a career-best 216-6 (65.99m) to finish fifth in the men's javelin to improve on his second-place WAC standing behind teammate Mike Marshall, who threw 207-11 (63.38m) and finished seventh at the meet.

Idaho got three career-best marks on the track, with one on the women's side and two on the men's. Sophomore Cait Rowland ran a 14.79 in the women's 100m hurdles to finish 40th. For the first-year high hurdler, it marks her first race under 15 seconds.

For the men, Idaho got career-bests of 1:55.37 from junior Kyle Tylor in the men's 800m and 22.13 from freshman Ben Ayesu-Attah in the 200m. Ayesu-Attah also finished ninth in the men's 400m with a time of 48.19.

Senior Andrew Blaser took fifth in the men's 110m hurdles on Saturday with a time of 14.20, while senior Jeremy Klas cleared 16-9.5 (5.12m) and finished sixth in the men's pole vault.

Junior Kristine Leonard hit a season-best 45-9 (13.94m) and finished 11th in the women's shot put, then took 12th in the discus throw at 151-11 (46.31m).

In local action, a successful group of Vandal posted 10 career bests on Saturday at the Cougar Invitational at Pullman, Wash.

Junior decathlete Colin Briggs tallied personal records in four different events with a 16.42 in the 110m hurdles, a 34-3.5 (10.45m) in the shot put, a 115-5 (35.18m) in the discus throw and a mark of 152-0 (46.32m) in the javelin. He also competed in the high jump and cleared 6-0.75 (1.85m) to finish 11th.

For the women, senior Emma Goode notched a pair of career-best marks on Saturday with a fourth-place finish in the 400m in 57.65 and a ninth-place 200m time of 25.54. Also for the Vandal women, redshirt freshman Molly Meyers posted a career-best 148-0 (45.11m) in the hammer.

Men's middle distance runners Colton Hastings, a freshman, and Jeff Osborn, a junior, each posted career bests in the 1500m with fifth- and sixth-place finishes in 3:58.35 and 3:58.97, respectively.

Junior Alyssa Covington was Idaho's one winner of the day with a leap of 18-1.75 (5.53m) in the women's long jump, while junior Donavon Cunningham made his outdoor debut after wrapping up spring football and posted a second-place finish in the men's discus throw at 151-11 (46.31m), which is third-best in the WAC this year.

The performances wrap the busiest week of the season for Vandal track and field. Idaho's next competition will be next weekend, when the team travels to Spokane, Wash., for the Duane Hartman Invitational.

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Players Mentioned

Mike Marshall: THROWS; Junior

Emma Goode: SPRINTS; Senior

Jeremy Klas: POLE VAULT; Senior

Andrew Blaser: MULTI-EVENTS; Senior

Alyssa Covington: SPRINTS; Senior

Andrey Levkiv: THROWS; Redshirt

Kyle Tylor: DISTANCE; Junior

Colin Briggs: JUMPS; Junior

Jeff Osborn: DISTANCE; Junior

Molly Meyers: THROWS; Freshman

Kristine Leonard: THROWS; Junior

Cait Rowland: SPRINTS; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Mike Marshall
: Junior
: THROWS

Emma Goode
: Senior
: SPRINTS

Jeremy Klas
: Senior
: POLE VAULT

Andrew Blaser
: Senior
: MULTI-EVENTS

Alyssa Covington
: Senior
: SPRINTS

Andrey Levkiv
: Redshirt
: THROWS

Kyle Tylor
: Junior
: DISTANCE

Colin Briggs
: Junior
: JUMPS

Jeff Osborn
: Junior
: DISTANCE

Molly Meyers
: Freshman
: THROWS

Kristine Leonard
: Junior
: THROWS

Cait Rowland
: Sophomore
: SPRINTS