by Andrew Forhan
The Whitworth Track and Field team traveled to Pullman, Washington this past weekend for the Washington State Open II indoor track meet.
The Whitworth women’s distance runners stood out from the rest in the mile run, where Tonya Turner and Dana Misterek finished first and second respectively. Turner clocked in a 5:09.09 winning time while Misterek finished at 5:16.86.
Joy Shufeldt and Katie Williams also had strong performances for the Pirates in the 3,000 meter run. Shufeldt was second with a time of 10:47.78 and Williams came in fourth at 11:17.71.
Sophomore Jheri Gates set a season-best mark, clearing 5’-4.5” to finish third in the high jump. Senior Allyssa Thompson finished fourth in the long jump, with a mark of 4.81 meters.
“A lot of people were able to perform season or all-time bests within their respective events. WSU is a familiar indoor location for us,” sophomore high jumper Frank Lima said.
Lima and shot putter Sam Wright displayed strong performances for the Pirate men. Wright’s distance of 50’-7.25” in the shot put was good for a third place finish. Lima posted the fourth best high jump mark, clearing 6’5”.
Whitworth Track and Field competition resumes on March 5.. The majority of the team will compete at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. A select group of Pirate athletes with times and marks close to NCAA qualification will head west over the mountains to Seattle for the University of Washington Last Chance meet.