Track and field to compete at Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships

By SCARLETT MCCOURT Published February 21, 2013 at 1:57am Updated February 21, 2013 at 1:57am

The Wildcats will compete at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships this weekend in Seattle, Wash.

The No. 14 men’s and No. 11 women’s squads will face Arizona State, BYU, California, Cal State Northridge, Colorado, Hawaii, Long Beach State, Oregon, Stanford, UC Irvine, UCLA, Utah, Washington and Washington State.

Last year, the women‘s track and field team took the runner up spot at the MPSF Championships for the second-straight year, while the men’s team took fourth place.

On Friday for the men’s team, junior Keegan Cook will represent the Cats in the heptathlon. Senior thrower Tyler Johnson will compete in the men’s weight throw. Later on, the distance relay (1,200M, 400M, 800M, and mile) will be taken on by junior Lawi Lalang, sophomore Branden Helms, junior Braden Timpe and sophomore Sam Macaluso.

For the women’s squad, senior Taylor Freeman and sophomore Baillie Gibson will compete in the weight throw. Taking on the pentathlon will be junior Amber Passalaqua. Senior Jen Bergman and sophomore Stephanie Bulder will compete in the 5K. Both juniors Shapri Romero and Germe Poston will run the 200 meter. Freshman Hanna Peterson, junior Shale’ Garland, sophomore Nicci Corbin and sophomore Kate Menney will compete in the distance medley relay.

On Saturday, the men will begin the day with Cooke finishing the last three events of the heptathlon. Junior Sean Delfani and senior Clifton Leake will compete in the 400 meter. In the high jump, senior Edgar Rivera Morales, freshman Jonny Giess and sophomore Jovon Cunningham, who is also set for the triple jump, will compete. Junior Lawi Lalang is set to run in the 800-meter. The 4×400-meter relay will be made up of: Delfani, Leake, junior Neil Houlihan and freshman Bernard Dickerson-Quinn.

The women’s squad will begin on Saturday with Freeman, senior Julie Labonté, senior Omotayo Talabi, junior Alyssa Hasslen, and Gibson in the shot put competition. Senior Brigetta Barrett and sophomore Shakayla McEaddy will compete in the high jump. Barrett will seek her third-consecutive title in this event.

The competition will continue with Corbin running the mile, and Romero and Garland running the 400-meter. Bergman will continue competing, this time in the 3,000-meter. Senior Georganne Moline will compete in the 800-meter. The quartet competing in the 4×400-meter relay will be Romero, Garland, junior Tamara Pridgett and Moline.