Cougars Ready for Pac-12 Championships at Elevation
PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State men's and women's outdoor track and field teams get set to send their top athletes to Boulder, Colo., this week for the 2024 Pac-12 Championships (May 10-12) at Potts Field. The Cougars have a pair of men in John Paredes (110m hurdles) and Jared McAlvey (400m hurdles) who each boast the top time in the conference in their respective events heading into the week, and 11 individuals ranking in the conference's top-five as the teams look to make a final push for positioning at this year's 2024 NCAA First and Second Rounds (May 22-25) in Fayetteville, Ark.
Meet Info - 2024 Pac-12 Championships:
- Dates: May 10-12
- Venue: Potts Field | Boulder, Colo.
- Results: FinishedResults.com
- Watch: Pac-12 Network
- Meet Schedule
- Meet Records
2024 WSU Season Highlights:
Washington State will look to see an uptick in scoring at this year's conference championships as 11 total individuals sit in the top-five of the conference event rankings heading into the weekend. The hurdles pair of John Paredes (110m hurdles) and Jared McAlvey (400m hurdles) each own the top spot in their respective events going into this year's conference meet, with the latter looking to improve on a runner-up finish at last year's Pac-12 Championships.
First-year distance phenom Zenah Cheptoo, the Cougars' record holder in the 5,000m at 15:40.09, will aim to make her first big splash at the Pac-12 Championships following a stellar indoor campaign which she followed up with an equally impressive outdoor season. Cheptoo set indoor WSU women's program records in both the mile (4:48.90) and 3,000m run (8:56.15) this Winter, and she ranks fifth in the conference going into this weekend's conference meet in Boulder. Maribel Caicedo and Micaela De Mello will each hope to score for the Cougar women in the 100m hurdles, having each held the Cougars' women's school record during their respective careers. De Mello clocked a 12.98 at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships, a then-school-record time, while Caicedo has since lowered that mark twice in 2024 including a 12.85 to win the Cougar Classic late last month.
Washington State will also be sending five field athletes sitting in the top-five of the Pac-12 in their respective events to Colorado, led by Lee Walburn who put up a program-record 7,694 points at the Texas Relays decathlon to earn the second-best mark in the Pac-12 going into the weekend. Shot putters Ronald Grueso Mosquera (18.25m) and Nana Gyedu (16.07m) each sit at No. 5 in the conference on the men's and women's side, respectively, while Eva Lowder's WSU school record mark of 4.26m stands as the fourth-best women's pole vault mark going into Sunday's competition.
Cougs to Watch:
Women's 100m Hurdles Prelim (Finals on Sunday)
- Micaela De Mello
- Previously held the WSU School Records in both the 60m hurdles (8.20) and 100m hurdles (12.98).
- Runner-up at 2022 Pac-12 Championships.
- Brazilian National Champion in the 100m hurdles.
- Maribel Caicdeo
- WSU School Record and Ecuadorian National Record after winning the Cougar Classic in 12.85.
- Set the WSU School Record (7.99) at last season's Don Kirby Elite in Albuquerque, N.M.
Men's 400m Hurdles
- Jared McAlvey
- Seventh all-time on WSU outdoor top-10 list with a 50.23 in the men's 400m hurdles, first at last season's Pac-12 Championships and again at this season's Cougar Classic.
- Appeared in the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field where he placed 18th with a prelims time of 52.03.
Women's 5,000m Run
- Zenah Cheptoo
- Became the first Cougar woman in program history to break nine minutes in the indoor 3,000m run, setting the all-time WSU record in 8:56.15.
- Has lowered the outdoor 5,000m run all-time record twice, finishing third at the Bryan Clay Invitational in a record time of 15:40.09.
Men's/Women's 3,000m Steeplechase
- Caroline Jerotich
- Set the WSU program record in the steeplechase at last season's NCAA First Round in Sacramento (10.07.70).
- Kelvin Limo
- Placed fourth at last season's Pac-12 Championships, and set a PR at the NCAA First Round in Sacramento in 8:40.22.
Women's Pole Vault
- Eva Lowder
- Won the Cougar Classic with a WSU outdoor record of 4.26m.
- Set a WSU Indoor Program record, vaulting over 4.38m to qualify for the 2024 Indoor Championships.
Decathlon
- Lee Walburn
- Set a program record with 7,694 points at the Texas Relays, ranking second in the Pac-12 heading into the weekend.
- Walburn reached PR's in the javelin, discus and long jump during his record-setting finish in Austin.
- Mason Mahacek
- Fifth-year graduate transfer from Michigan, Mason Mahacek, reached a WSU program record with 5,762 points at the NM Collegiate Classic, earning a trip to the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston, Mass.
Up Next:
Washington State men's and women's track and field teams will have their sights trained on the West Region rankings this week and next, as student-athletes look to secure a top-48 region ranking and a place in the NCAA First and Second Rounds (May 22-25) in Fayetteville, Ark. The 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships return to the Pacific Northwest next month, taking place at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., from June 5-8.
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