Denim Millward
Sports Editor
The Idaho State University men’s and women’s track teams will send representatives of their respective teams to the Big Sky Conference Championships, which will be held in the cozy confines of Holt Arena from Feb. 27 to March 1.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, the Bengals took advantage of one final opportunity to lower their times and increase the distance on their jumps in the Conference Tune-Up, which, just like the Conference Championships will be, was held in Holt Arena.
Though the additional practice was appreciated, the tune-up wasn’t just used for getting extra reps in. The men’s track team had two more members qualify for the Big Sky Conference Championship, while the women’s team saw four more qualifiers.
Senior and Pocatello native Justin Critser-Lucas qualified for the Big Sky Championships in two separate events.
Critser-Lucas won the 60-meter hurdles event with a time of 8.28 seconds. The mark, good enough to win the event, was also a career best.
Critser-Lucas was also victorious in the long jump event with a distance of 22-09.25. The jump netted Critser-Lucas the victory and a spot in the Big Sky Conference Championships.
Senior Andy Curry also qualified for the conference championship in the pole vault. Curry won the event with a vault of 15-11.00.
On the women’s side of things, the Bengals saw three team members qualify for the Big Sky Conference Championships in the pole vault. Seniors Caitlin Maulin and Rebecca Clark and sophomore Samantha Simmons swept the top three spots of the pole vault event at the Conference Tune-Up.
Maulin, the defending Big Sky Champion, won the event with a vault of 12-11.50. Clark came in second, vaulting 12-05.50, and Simmons took third with a vault of 11-11.75. Junior Caitlin Sorensen will compete in the Big Sky Conference Championship in the triple jump after coming out victorious in the event at the Conference Tune-Up. Sorensen jumped 38-00.25, which was enough to win the event.
The additional qualifiers for the Bengals add to an already impressive squad of athletes set to represent Idaho State at the Big Sky Conference Championships.
The Conference Tune-up was the first event for the Bengals since Feb. 8, when the Bengals qualified six for the conference championships at the Bronco Invitational in Boise. The Bengals made an especially strong showing in the pole vault competitions. Maulin won the women’s pole vault with a vault of 13-01.50, the second-best Big Sky vault and 44th-best in the nation.
Clark and Simmons also qualified at the Bronco Invitational as well, posting identical vaults of 11-11.75.
For the men, Connor Pate vaulted into the conference championships and second place in the men’s pole vault, posting a mark of 16-02.75.
The event, which was won by former Bengal Mike Arnold, also saw Clint Gossack qualify with a third-place vault of 15-03.00. Junior Brittany Hottel qualified for the high jump event at the conference championships with a height of 5-05.50, good enough for third place.
At the Bronco Invitational, Idaho State also saw its men’s 4x400m relay team win its event with a time of 3:17.02. The team, composed of Sorensen, sophomore Logan Henderson, sophomore Corbin Latimore and senior Garret Wood, returns two of the members who won the 4x400m Big Sky Championship last season.
The Big Sky Conference Championships will be held at Holt Arena Feb. 27 to March 1. The combined events, the heptathlon and pentathlon will be held Feb. 27, while some field events will be held Feb. 28.
The running events will begin with the prelims on February 28 and will conclude on March 1 with the finals. The remaining field events will be held March 1, after which the awards ceremony will be held at 4 p.m.
