NNU Track and Field traveled north again this weekend to The Podium in Spokane, WA to compete in the Inland Northwest Invite. The Nighthawks collected fifteen new personal records and moved four athletes up on NNU's Top Ten lists.
Abbey Wood has had a stellar start to her indoor season, and Saturday's races only added to her accomplishments. She took the 60m dash title home with a time of 7.64 seconds. Later, she became third in NNU history in the 200m dash with a time of 25.60 seconds.
"I was excited before my races and wanted to implement what I'd been working on in practice," said Wood.
"I was thrilled to come close to my PR in the 60m and cannot wait to try and break my record again. I was also shocked when I saw my 200m time!
"It is rewarding to finally see some progress in the 200m even though it was nowhere near perfect. The 200m has never really been my race, and it's crazy to see how close I am to that record too! I still have plenty to work on in all of my races, and am looking forward to trying to place at Conference in a few weeks," explained Wood.
Freshman Emily Powers competed in multiple events this meet, including 60m hurdles, 800m, and the high jump. Powers took home personal records in the 800m (2:33.97) and in the high jump (1.47m).
"I was very nervous before the meet, but my teammates and friends were super encouraging leading up to my events," Powers explained.
"Hurdles didn't go as well as I had hoped, but I was happy with the 800 and HJ results. I learned that doing two events at the same time, like the 800 and HJ, is very difficult, but you have to trust your coaches because they really do have it all planned out.
"As far as what I'm looking forward to, I'm just excited for another shot at competing in a collegiate meet and seeing how much I can improve for next time," mentioned Powers.
The rest of the women's team had multiple notable achievements as well. Freshman Mackenzie Knowles tied for 5th place in the 800m with a time of 2:25.5 while Destany Herbert took her place as fifth in NNU history in the weight throw with a toss of 15.24m.
Freshman distance runner Morgan Erler became third in NNU history with her 3000m time of 10:27.03, while her teammate Olivia Klein snagged the tenth spot in NNU 3000m history with a time of 10:59.02.
On the men's side, sophomore Hunter Braseth placed second in the 200m dash, crossing the line in 21.91 seconds while teammate Brayden Durfee placed 5th in the 60m dash with a time of 6.97 seconds. The men's 4X400m composed of Hunter Braseth, Quincy Ellis, Shalkar Wilkins, and Brayden Durfee placed second with 3:24.84.
Dylan Hendry placed third in the weight throw with a toss of 16.27m. Gerohm Rihari placed third in the high jump with a height of 6'3.25," and Quincy Ellis placed fifth in the 800m with a time of 1:59.53
Sophomore Lars Lamb added two new PRs to his resume in the shot put (10.90m) and in the weight throw (10.56m) this weekend.
"Shot put went very well. I was feeling particularly good that day, and all week I was working on a few things in shot that I finally put together for the meet. In weight, I PR'd by a few centimeters, which felt fantastic," Lamb explained.
"I don't usually feel nervous walking up to the ring, but talking positively to myself about an hour before the meet is essential when the nerves are at their highest," added Lamb.
"Next meet, I want to work on blocking my left hand so I can get more power out of my right hand. This week, I'm going to work with Coach Peterson to block my left hand to give myself more power for this coming weekend."
Lars shed light on the synergy between the athletes and the coaches, especially in the stressful competition environment that accompanies these collegiate meets.
"It's a very positive team to be a part of. Coach Peterson is a great coach and incredibly encouraging. If I have any doubt, he is quick to re-instill belief in myself that I can do it."
The Nighthawks will be competing next in La Grande, Oregon at the Eastern Oregon University Invite on Saturday, February 4th.
