FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Jan. 25 - The Thunderbirds finished their second week of indoor competition with a few more school records and Big Sky qualifying marks, led by thrower Kayla Kovar who once again improved her all-time school record in the weight throw.
Kovar placed third in the weight throw at the Lumberjack-hosted meet, recording a 61-11 toss and setting a new all-time record for Southern Utah for the second time this season. Kovar also finished third in the shot put with a mark of 52-3.75.
Fellow throwers Jennika Wright and Whitney Singleton also competed in both throws events, each recording top-ten Southern Utah marks and Big Sky qualifiers in the shot put. Wright's 10th-place toss of 45-3 in the shot put ranks fourth in the school record books, while Singleton's 11th-place mark of 44-9.5 ranks fifth.
Shaye Maurer-Springall recorded her third Big Sky qualifier of the season with a fourth-place 60-meter dash time of 7.62. Her preliminary time in that event was 7.61 and matched Southern Utah's all-time record, which she set in 2013. Alex Anderson led the men's multi athletes with a fifth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles and final time of 8.95.
The T-Bird women also broke into the school records in the jumps events at Northern Arizona. Leslie Kinkade's pole vault mark of 11-0.75 tied for fourth place in SUU's top ten and Taylir Garrison's third-place mark of 5-5 in the high jump matches the sixth-place school record she set last week at Idaho State.
The distance squad also recorded several top finishes, led by Ashley Hawks with a second-place showing in the 1,000-meter run and time of 3:05.15.* Hawks also recorded the top T-Bird finish in the mile with a fifth-place time of 5:03.02, while Dayna VanArsdol led the women in the 3,000-meters with a third-place time of 10:26.41.
Mike Tate led the men's distance squad with a third place finish in the 1,000-meters and time of 2:29.02. The freshman's 800-meter time of 1:54.60 ranks 10th in Southern Utah's records and missed the Big Sky qualifying standard by only .60 seconds.
The Thunderbirds also recorded their first 4x400-meter relay finish of the season, with Kayla Shakespeare, Haley Harris, Andrea Martinez and Jamila Pullum posting a combined time of 4:03.77.
Preston Myers, Shaun Murray, Arnold Carrillo and Colten Warren made up the men's 4x400-meter relay team and recorded a time of 3:18.90. Carrillo also raced in the 600-meters and posted a fifth-place time of 1:24.80,* followed by Jon Lee in sixth place with a time of 1:25.53.* Myers raced to an 11th-place time of 50.45 in the 400-meters.
The Thunderbirds will split up for the next round of indoor competition, with a portion of the team traveling to Seattle, Wash., for the UW Invitational and the rest of the athletes returning to Pocatello, Idaho, for the ISU Mountain States Games. Both meets will take place on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
* The 1,000-meters and 600-meters are not official indoor events and these times are not adjusted for altitude.
