Track Moved to Pullman Saturday
4/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane Memorial track meet has been cancelled, and the Gonzaga women's and men's teams will now be competing at the Cougar Invitational hosted by Washington State University Saturday.
The Spokane Memorial Open, at Spokane Falls Community College, was cancelled early this week due to a lack of entries, and Gonzaga Director of Track Pat Tyson was left scrambling.
"I received the e-mail about the meet being cancelled Tuesday night," Tyson said. "Gonzaga brings in a boatload of quality distance runners to add to the energy of this meet. That has always been the case since we've been going to the Duane Hartman (now Spokane Memorial) for the last seven years.
"We needed to quickly adjust. We love the twilight 5K under the lights and the atmosphere at Spokane Falls. At the same time, we are taking the positive road by understanding it will be nice to compete against three other Division 1 schools. Our energy is back and its full speed ahead for the Zags!"
This will be the fifth time, and first since 2011, that the Bulldogs have competed in the Cougar Invitational. Now in its 15th year, the meet on the Palouse features student-athletes from WSU, Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Spokane CC.
"This will be the last race for some, which is pretty tough this early," Gonzaga women's head coach Patty Ley said. "I'm just hoping for all of them, that the effort they give on Saturday is reflected in marks they can be proud of and happy with for the season. It should be fun, even with the change in venue."
This is the penultimate regular season event on the GU schedule. Only a select number of Zags will travel to Provo, Utah, for the BYU Last Chance Invitational on May 14. These are the last opportunities to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary in Austin, Texas, on May 28-30.
"We will travel 16 athletes to Provo," Tyson said. "I have 12 athletes on my list who are guaranteed spots based on their performances this spring. That means the rest of the Zags competing need to show their stuff! I've set some standards that they must meet. Hopefully from this competition, I'll know the other four who will make that traveling squad."
Three Zag women that feel pretty good about where they are at on the west qualifying lists are Maggie Jones, Jessica Mildes, and Shelby Mills. Jones is currently 36th in the west in the 5,000 meters (16:27.86). Mildes is 24th in the 5,000 (16:16.88) and ninth in the 10,000 (33:40.82). Mills is 11th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:18.42). Amelia Evans is right on the edge of qualifying, sitting in 48th in the 10,000 (35:07.03).
"Maggie is right on the cusp of a qualifier in the 5000, so if conditions allow we would like to see if she can drop another two to three seconds to be safe," Ley said. "Shelby is using this 5k as both a chance to really race the distance and as part of her work for Austin. Amelia will be taking the weekend off in her recovery from last weekend, and we are looking for options for her qualifying as well.
"It's awesome to be sure of two athletes, and a little nerve racking to have two others on the bubble. We don't want to take anything for granted and we don't want to over race at this point either. These four are really setting the standard for our team and giving us great exposure."
On the men's side, Willie Milam has enjoyed another successful season. The senior holds the program's 1,500 meter, 5,000 meter, and 10,000 meter school records. He set the 5,000 and 10,000 marks this season. Milam is currently 19th in the west in the 5,000 (13:53.74) and 41st in the 10,000 (29:49.78). He is scheduled for the 1,500 Saturday.
"Most of our top guns will be using this meet as a ‘workout meet' doubling up in the 1,500 and 800 to get some speed in prior to our competition at BYU," Tyson said. "Troy Fraley and Nick Roche will run their specialty, the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Our goal is to get another race in as both have not run a steeple since our trip to the Bay Area. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will be in our favor."
Fraley is at comfortable 23rd spot on the west steeplechase list. The sophomore broke the school record at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival with a time of 8:56.23. Roche currently sits in 38th. His time of 9:00.19 is firmly on the bubble for a return trip to the NCAA West Preliminary meet for the senior.
There will be no live coverage for the meet, but results can be found immediately following all the events on GoZags.com. GU begins its Saturday slate with Corrine Murray in the women's steeplechase at 12 p.m.
Gonzaga weekend schedule| SATURDAY | ||
| 12:00 p.m. | Women's steeplechase | Murray |
| 12:15 p.m. | Men's steeplechase | Branch, Fraley, Manley, Morris, Roche |
| 12:45 p.m. | Women's 1,500 | Albrecht, Bergmann, Chucka, Culver, O. Evans, A. Fraher, |
| Henling, Johnson, Stroosma, Thurston, Williams | ||
| 1:00 p.m. | Men's 1,500 | Amann, Beard, Crichlow, Hensley, McCandless, Milam, |
| O'Neil, Phillips, Pollard, Quintana, Sicalo, Wendle | ||
| 2:20 p.m. | Women's 800 | Coic, C. Fraher, Nordin, Riley, Saunders, Wika, Williams |
| 2:30 p.m. | Men's 800 | Amann, Beard, Crichlow, McCandless, Milam, O'Neil, |
| Pollard, Quintana, Sicalo, Smith, Wendle | ||
| 3:35 p.m. | Women's 5,000 | Jones, Mildes, Mills, Urcadez, Winters |
| 4:00 p.m. | Men's 5,000 | Branch, Fischer, Fraley, Kaderabek, Lunder, Pearce, Stout, |
| Van Deynze | ||
| 4:30 p.m. | Women's 4x400 relay | A. Fraher, C. Fraher, Riley, Saunders, Stroosma , Williams |
