Idaho wins five more

MOSCOW, Idaho – The University of Idaho track and field team tallied five first-place finishes with a small group of competitors at the Kibbie Dome on Saturday at the Idaho Open II.

The Vandal women had four first-place finishes and senior Ugis Svazs added an individual victory for the men.

Idaho director of track and field Wayne Phipps said Saturday was about fine tuning in preparation for the Western Athletic Conference Championships and that overall, things went well.

“Some people were taking the whole weekend off in preparation for conference,” Phipps said. “It was important to get a few people racing and doing field events to help their chances of making the roster for conference.”

Senior Lauren Schaffer finished first in both the 200m, with a first-place time of 26.05, and the 400m with a time of 56.85. Senior Mercedes Blackwood added a win in the 60m dash with a season-best time of 8.09 and senior Kristine Leonard threw 59-9.5 (17.31m) to win the weight throw.

Svazs lead the men with a first-place time of 7.12 in the 60m dash. Senior Joseph Charles threw a second-place mark in the shot put of 50-5.75 (15.37m), while senior Donavon Cunningham had a third-place mark of 55-8.25 (16.97m) in the weight throw.

With the final regular meet of the indoor season finished, Idaho shifts its attention to the WAC Indoor Championships, which start next Thursday at Albuquerque, N.M.

“We always go into conference with the mentality of winning a championship,” Phipps said. “On the men's side, we lost some really key people last season and we are redshirting a number of people, but I still expect really good things on that side.

"On the women's side, I think we have a really good chance to contend for the championship. We have a lot veteran, senior athletes who are doing very well and we are really excited about next week.” Phipps said.

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Players Mentioned

Ugis Svazs: THROWS; Senior

Joseph Charles: THROWS; Senior

Mercedes Blackwood: SPRINTS; Senior

Lauren Schaffer: DISTANCE; Senior

Kristine Leonard: THROWS; Senior

Donavon Cunningham: THROWS; Senior

Players Mentioned

Ugis Svazs
: Senior
: THROWS

Joseph Charles
: Senior
: THROWS

Mercedes Blackwood
: Senior
: SPRINTS

Lauren Schaffer
: Senior
: DISTANCE

Kristine Leonard
: Senior
: THROWS

Donavon Cunningham
: Senior
: THROWS