EOU Track and Field Receives Verizon Team of the Week
LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University women’s and men’s indoor track and field teams have been named the “Verizon Team of the Week” in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, the conference office announced Sunday.
“It's a bit of a surprise to receive the honor given how well the conference did as a whole,” EOU head coach Ben Welch said. “But we are very pleased with the weekly conference honor as a result.”
The Mountaineer men finished seventh in the team standings, a school-record finish at the indoor national championships, while the EOU women came in 16th place. Eastern’s men totaled 34.35 points and its women had 14 points. Eastern Oregon had seven student-athletes at the meet, and all seven finished as All-Americans.
“For the men, the goal was to finish in the top 10 and for the women in the top 20,” Welch said. “We knew all seven would need to finish as All-Americans to make that happen. To see them actually pull it off was an amazing experience.”
Eastern’s Robbie Haynie defended his heptathlon and pole vault national indoor titles. The senior broke the meet’s heptathlon point total record (5,781), the meet’s heptathlon high jump record (seven feet, 0.25 inches) and the meet’s heptathlon pole vault record (17 feet, seven inches). Haynie’s winning mark in the pole vault was 16 feet, 10.75 inches. The Nampa, Idaho, native also placed third in the high jump.
The other EOU All-American finishes were Kimmy Moore placing fifth in the pentathlon, Asa Miller in sixth in the high jump, Alma Garcilazo was fourth in the women’s 800 meters, Karlee Coffey came in fourth in the 3,000 meters, Brian Bragg was fourth in the men’s 3,000 meters, and John Ellingson finished in sixth place in the pole vault.
“Having all seven athletes finish in the top six was immensely satisfying,” Welch said. “The Track and Field staff has been pursuing the goal of every athlete at the national meet earning All-American honors for a number of years, so that makes their accomplishment even more special. All seven came in ranked high and lived up to their expectations in grand fashion. The way the athletes supported and encouraged one another was a key component in their success.”
The Mountaineers travel back to the northwest, and will compete next at the Crusader Open hosted by Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. The meet is on Saturday.
Previous Verizon Team of the Week awardees.