POCATELLO, Idaho – Mar. 1 – Southern Utah track and field wrapped up competition at the Big Sky Indoor Championship on Saturday with a fourth-place team finish on the men's side and a fifth-place finish for the women's squad. Senior multi athlete Shaye Maurer-Springall was named the female Most Valuable Player after tallying 31 points toward the women's final score of 59. The men's team posted a total of 74.5 points.
“This was a really good championship for us” head coach Eric Houle commented. “We didn't really have any issues and I think we finished right where we expected we would, so we are very happy about it.”
Maurer-Springall earned the individual title in the 60-meter hurdles on Saturday, racing to a first-place time of 8.25 during the final heat of the event. She also made it to the podium in the 60-meter dash with a second-place finish and time of 7.48. The senior had already recorded a second-place pentathlon finish and a fourth-place high jump finish earlier in the championship. She also moved up in the national rankings to tie for 13th place in the NCAA Division I after racing to a school record time of 8.21 during the 60-meter hurdles preliminary on Friday.
Sprinter Jamila Pullum also tallied points for the Lady T-Birds with a fifth-place individual finish in the 400-meter dash finals. Her time of 55.59 improves her third-place standing in the Southern Utah records for the event. Pullum also raced as a member of the 4x400-meter relay team, along with Andrea Martinez, Aubrey Bryson and Haley Harris, which posted an eighth-best SUU record time of 3:52.70.
Thrower Kayla Kovar racked up 20 points for the Thunderbirds with individual titles in both the shot put and weight throw. The senior once again improved her school record in the weight throw on Saturday with a first-place mark of 67-2.25, which places her 22nd in Division I. Kovar had already earned the individual title in the shot put after a 53-3.75 finish on Friday.
Sprinters Preston Myers and Shaun Murray led the T-Birds on the men's side, taking the top two positions in the 60-meter dash and also scoring in the 200-meter dash. Myers took the individual title in the 60-meters with a time of 6.79, which ties with his second-best record for Southern Utah. He was followed immediately by Murray, who posted a second-place time of 6.80 in the 60-meters and a third-place time of 21.70 in the 200-meters. Myers tallied one point in the 200-meters with an eighth-place finish in the final heat, posting a time of 56.02 after falling while racing around the curve.
Multi athlete Alex Anderson earned a spot on the podium after a second-place finish in the high jump, having cleared a height of 48-0.5. Anderson also raced to a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a fifth-best SUU record of 8.22.
Anderson, Murray and Myers joined with fellow sprinter Arnold Carrillo to compete in the men's 4x400-meter relay. The Thunderbirds posted a second-place team finish with a time of 3:17.17.
The men's distance team raced to several scoring finishes on the final day of the championship, led by Ryan Barrus with a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meters and time of 8:22.45. He was followed by Hayden Hawks in eighth place with a 8:25.58 finish. Mike Tate represented the Thunderbirds in the men's mile, posting a fifth-place time of 4:10.97.
Jayson Kovar and Russell Nielson posted one point each for the T-Birds, each placing eighth in his respective event. Kovar posted a 51-10.50 finish in the shot put, while Russell tied for eighth place in the high jump with a mark of 6-4.75.
Northern Arizona claimed both team titles with a total of 130 points for the men and 116 for the women. Sacramento State (89.5) and Montana (87) finished second and third on the men's side, followed by the Thunderbirds in fourth place with 74.5 points. Weber State (93), Montana (91) and Sacramento State (72) placed second, third and fourth on the women's side, followed by Southern Utah in fifth place with 59 points.
That concludes the indoor season for the majority of the Thunderbirds, who will begin outdoor competition with the UNLV Track Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., on March 7-8.
Depending on whether they remain in the Division I top-16 at the conclusion of the various conference championships taking place this weekend, Kayla Kovar and Shaye Maurer-Springall will represent Southern Utah at the NCAA Indoor National Championship, set to take place on March 13-15 in Albuquerque, N.M.
