(Wyoming release)
CLOVIS, Calif. – Senior Damon Unland made it back-to-back Mountain West Championship crowns in the men’s hammer throw with a mark of 199 feet, 1 inch on the second day of the MW Track and Field Championship in Clovis, Calif. on Friday. It was a family affair in the event, as he would best his brother and teammate Kirk Unland by nearly 17 feet. Wyoming has won the conference title in the event in three-straight years.
“Overall it was a solid day for us,” Wyoming head coach Bryan Berryhill said. “It was good to see Damon and Kirk go one-two in the event and really take care of business. It is special to see two brother finish in the top two of an event.”
Damon Unland’s toss topped his winning mark of 197 feet, 8 inches last season. His brother, Kirk, followed him for second place with a mark of 182 feet, 8 inches. Junior Hap Frketich finished sixth in the event at 178 feet, 4 inches to help the Pokes’ earn 21 points in the event.
Freshman William Nolan placed third in the men’s long jump with a mark of 23-10.75 tying a season-best. He earned six team points for UW in the event. Junior Ja’la Henderson also finished third in the women’s long jump with a mark of 20-1.5, as it marked a season-best.
Junior Emelda Malm-Annan earned a fourth-place finish in the women’s hammer throw event with a mark of 198 feet, 6 inches, which was a career-best and ranks third all-time in school history.
In the running events, freshman Harry Ewing placed third in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:03.55. He added six points to the Cowboys team score in the final event of the evening.
“We qualified quite a few runners for tomorrow’s finals,” Berryhill said. “It’s track so you will have a few mishaps every now and then. We just have to come out tomorrow and make up for them by finishing out the championships strong.”
Junior Jace Marx finished the men’s 100 meters with the second-best time in the prelims with a time of 10.57. It was his top mark in the event this season. Marx also qualified for the finals in the 200 meters with a mark of 21.77 for the eighth-best time in the race. Junior Sam Kirkeide also qualified for the finals in the 100 meters at 10.72.
Junior Jackson Wood qualified for Saturday’s finals in the 400 meters clocking in at 48.79, as he finished with the fifth-fastest mark. In the 110 meter hurdles, freshman McCade Johnson qualified for the finals with a time of 15.73. In the men’s 800 meters, Junior Bryce Ailshie clocked in with the seventh fastest time in the preliminaries with a mark of 1:52.48.
“We have a lot of guys in different events, which sets us up well to score points,” Berryhill stated. “The guys have to go out and finish strong and work themselves on to the podium.”
Junior Jerayah Davis finished sixth in the 100 meter dash during Friday’s preliminaries with a time of 11.49, as she also qualified for tomorrow’s finals. She also finished sixth last season in the prelims before finishing fourth in the event in the finals.
Junior Lauren Hamilton finished with the sixth-best time in the preliminaries in the 1,500 meter run with a mark of 4:38.1. Junior Emily Person clocked in at 4:40.15 to finish 10th in the event and also qualify. Junior Ariana Williams finished eighth in the 100 meter hurdles qualifying for tomorrow’s finals with a mark of 14.14.
Senior Heidi Pfoor finished with the sixth-best time in the women’s 400 meter hurdles at 1:01.44, as she just missed out on the second fastest time in the event. Senior Kerry White finished with the eighth fastest time in the women’s 800 meters to qualify for the finals at 2:12.47.
“In the women’s events we have to take advantage of our positions and score some points tomorrow,” Berryhill said.
The Cowboys enter the final day of competition in Clovis with 34 points, good for fourth in the team standings, while the Cowgirls enter Saturday’s action in eighth place with 11 points. The women’s shot put will be the first event in the field on Saturday, gearing up at 3 p.m. MT, while a full schedule of event finals on the track will begin at 6 p.m. with the women’s 4×100-meter relay. Stream the action live at the links above and follow @wyo_track on Twitter for additional updates.
