Records broken by Washington schools at Cougar Classic
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 months, 1 week AGO
A trio of runners from Eastern Washington, Central Washington and Washington State compete in a tight race at the Cougar Classic.
COUTRESY PHOTO/CWU ATHLETICS
The Eagles’ Lexi Meyer (4) turns the corner during her race at the Cougar Classic in Pullman Friday. Meyer set the 800m school record, breaking the previous record set in 2018.
Washington State track and field seniors line up on the track to be recognized for their contributions to the Cougars program.
PULLMAN — The Washington State Cougars hosted the Cougar Classic Friday that saw fellow Washington colleges like the Eastern Washington Eagles and Central Washington Wildcats compete.
“It's an honor to compete at WSU. Our athletes have a deep respect for the program's rich history, and it brings meaning to every event for us,” Wildcats Head Coach Jonathan Hill said in a statement by CWU Athletics.
Central Washington
The Wildcats delivered a strong all-around showing at the WSU Cougar Classic, highlighted by multiple event victories, personal bests, and nationally ranked performances, according to a statement by CWU Athletics.
“Being within a week of our championships, we had a couple of goals: qualify and polish. We accomplished both goals,” Hill said. “It wasn't our primary focus, but our women won the meet and made the statement that we're one of the best teams in the Northwest. It was a strong all-around effort with big contributions from distance and throws.”
Freshman Colton Magruder led the men's sprints with wins in both the 100 meters (10.62) and 200 meters (21.04). His personal-best time in the 200 moved him to No. 23 in NCAA Division II this season and fourth all-time in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history. Senior Elise Hopper added another victory for the Wildcats in the women's 200 meters, finishing in 23.76.
In the women’s 4x400 relay, Ellie DeGroot, Carley Huber, Donna Marie Harris, and Hopper teamed up for a first-place finish in 3:41.54. The season-best mark ranks ninth nationally and breaks their own CWU school record to place third in GNAC history. DeGroot also won the women's 400-meter hurdles in 1:00.56, while Harris placed second in the women's 400 meters in 57.78.
In distance events, Luke Hurd won the men's 5000 meters in 15:16.08, leading a Wildcats sweep of the top three with Kellen McInelly second and Ares Van Straaten third. On the women's side, Lillian Neff won the 5000 meters in a personal-best 17:45.55, followed closely by Hannah Pidduck in second with another personal best.
In the field events, Cariann Bryant claimed the women's pole vault title, while Tehya Moore placed second in the triple jump with an NCAA Division II top-50 mark. Cal'von Baker added a runner-up finish in the men's high jump, and Dan Close, Bailey Board and Maliyah Gordon each recorded third-place finishes in the throws.
Eastern Washington
The Eagles saw a school record fall, multiple personal bests, and several top finishes across both meets, continuing to build momentum as the postseason approaches, according to a statement by EWU Athletics.
“Quick trip down to the Palouse didn't disappoint. After coming so close to the school record last week, Lexi Meyer decided she'd just go ahead and take it this week,” said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Erin Tucker. “Congrats to her, she's now the best of all time. Coach K is doing a remarkable job with that group, and they're not done yet.”
On the men's side, Cort Gebbers uncorked a personal-best throw of 55.22m in the discus, improving his No. 3 standing in the EWU record book and moving to No. 67 in the NCAA. Logan Ashbeck claimed first in the javelin with a season-best mark of 63.78m.
In the shot put, Jason Nwaka recorded a season-best throw of 16.27m (53-4.50) to finish second, while Koda Woodard placed fourth, Bryson Chase sixth, and Javen Livas seventh. On the track, Henry Nelson finished fourth in the 800m with a time of 1:52.88.
On the women's side, Meyer highlighted the day by breaking the 800m school record (previously set in 2018) with a time of 2:10.33. Sara Sanders led the Eagles in the 3000m steeplechase with a first-place finish (11:05.11), while Rylee Brandon placed fourth. Ifechi Okoye added a third-place finish in the 400m.
In the field events, Ashley Fuller took second in the discus with a throw of 42.61m. Capping off the meet, the mixed 4x400m relay team of Okoye, Plant, Meyer, and Nelson raced to a first-place finish in 3:39.79.
Washington State
In addition to hosting, the Cougars also recognized eight seniors, according to a statement by WSU Athletics.
The Women's 1500m started the afternoon for the Cougs, with Senior Maya Nichols winning the race in a time of 4 minutes and 31.46 seconds. Faith Kipmaiyo started the first heat strong, about 50 meters ahead of the rest of the runners.
She held her lead through the first 800 meters but Maya Nichols was gaining ground into the final 400 meters. Nichols and Alvarado battled it out down the last 100 stretch with Nichols coming out on top of the first heat.
In the second heat, Kaleena Narus ran a strong race, finishing first in her heat and 11th overall. Lauren Hoyt set a personal best time of 4 minutes and 49.15 seconds, good for 13th overall and 3rd in her heat.
The next race of the day was the Henry Rono Memorial Mile in which Evans Kurui took home first with a time of 4 minutes and 3.88 seconds. Ku Stevens started the race out strong, leading after the first 400 meters.
Koech and Kurui were battling for the first-place position after the first half of the race. Kurui took the lead going into the home stretch and just missed out on the sub-4-minute mile. Vincent Koech finished 2nd overall with a time of 4 minutes and 8.49 seconds.
Josphat Meli also finished in the top 5 with a time of 4 minutes and 12.84 seconds. In the second heat, Muhammed Ahmed ran a competitive race, finishing fourth in his heat and 12th overall.
Hailey Cossey was the highest finisher for the Cougs in the Women's 800m, finishing third with a personal best time of 2 minutes and 15.64 seconds. Her time was just behind former Coug Maya McCabe who finished first. Lindsay Siebert also gave a strong performance, finishing in sixth. Chase Bartlett ran in the 800, finishing in sixth with a season-best time of 1 minute and 54.26 seconds.
WA team results
Place, team, score
Men
2- Central Washington, 77
3- Eastern Washington, 48
5- Washington State, 23
Women
1- Central Washington, 182
3- Eastern Washington, 40
4- Washington State, 36
The Eagles’ Lexi Meyer (4) turns the corner during her race at the Cougar Classic in Pullman Friday. Meyer set the 800m school record, breaking the previous record set in 2018.
Washington State track and field seniors line up on the track to be recognized for their contributions to the Cougars program.ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
Correia reflects on making All-State team
COULEE CITY — Multiple basin athletes qualified to play in the All-State Baseball Series from June 27-28 in Yakima, with Almira/Coulee-Hartline graduate, Caden Correia being one of them. Correia said he was initially selected for a feeder game ahead of his state qualification. “I was at practice one day, and my head coach (Hunter Lee) came up to me and he’s like, ‘Hey, you got selected for an All State feeder game,’” said Correia. “I actually got invited to two, the Central Washington one and the Spokane one.” Correia said he decided to go with the Spokane feeder game since it was taking place at Avista Stadium and he had a desire to compete at that venue. Once he played there, Correia was informed that he was also selected to play for Team Baker in the All State games, an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.
Quincy standout ‘Duckie’ Workinger returns home to lead Vikings womens wrestling
MOSES LAKE — Shannon “Duckie” Workinger was named the new head coach of women’s wrestling at Big Bend Community College on June 18, bringing one of the Basin’s own back to help build the next generation of women’s wrestlers. “I'm super excited,” Workinger said. “I spent some time wrestling at different places, and it feels really good to be able to come back to the community that I was born in and really establish more connections here and build on the ones that I already have, and just help grow our Basin into a great wrestling (community), even better than it already is, because we have some good wrestlers that come from here.”
ACH wrestlers earn All-American honors at women’s national duals
COULEE CITY — Karis Butler and Kyanna Garza from Almira/Coulee-Hartline earned All-American status after a strong showing in the 2026 Women’s National Duals in Westfield, Indiana that ran from June 16-20. “It feels really good,” Karis said. “It was very surprising last year when I got on here, and then this year they were like, ‘You can go to whatever weight class you want,’ and it made me feel very recognized for the hard work I've put in.” Wrestlers competed in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman throughout the four-day tournament. Karis competed in both earning a 7-1 record in freestyle and 4-3 in Greco-Roman. Throughout her path in the tournament, she noted a lot of growth as a wrestler came out of it.