Spartans Set Four Facility Records at Cougar Classic OpenSpartans Set Four Facility Records at Cougar Classic Open

Spartans Set Four Facility Records at Cougar Classic Open

RESULTS (PDF)

SPOKANE, Wash. - Roman Johnson, Bryson Smith, Mekahi Evans Bey and Gabby Spencer each set a facility record at The Podium for the WSU Cougar Classic Open on Friday in the Spartans' 2022 indoor debut. The Spartans won eight events and set four facility records. Washington had seven first-place finishes.

"As openers go today could not have been much better," Charles Ryan, Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, said. "Athletes, coaching staff, sports med all did a fantastic job and I'm very proud to lead this team. Great work by all!" 
 

  • Spencer set a facility record winning the women's 200m dash in 24.66; #2 all-time finish in San Jose State indoor track and field
  • Roman Johnson set a facility record winning the men's 60-meter dash  with a PR of 6.75
  • Kaiya Johnson won the women's 60-meter dash in a time of 7.68, good to move her into third on the all-time San Jose State indoor track and field list
  • Bryson Smith set a facility record winning men's 35-lb. weight throw with an 18.04m throw
  • Mekhi Evans Bey set a facility record winning the men's 400 meters with a time of 48.44

"I was very pleased with the progress of our 60m dash people on both sides, especially Kaiya [Johnson] and Roman [Johnson] taking the win with the best opening performances of their career," assistant track & field coach Ernie Clark said. "Gabby [Spencer] also exploded to a nice win in the 200m. They each did a great job of progressing and learning in practice, and then put it to use at the meet. Mehki [Evans Bey] did the same thing executing and now has a great start to the season."

"We went into the meet expecting to hit our goal time so, I wasn't surprised by how well they ran this afternoon," cross country Head Coach Charmaine Darden said. "Today's performances is a good way to start the season. We continue on from here."

  • Daniela Salazar (5:12.33), Juliette Noyer (5:12.46), and Jicel Fernandez (5:14.61) swept the women's mile 1-2-3 in the collegiate race
  • Kyle Jankans won the men's high jump (2.05m)
  • Micah Hairston won the men's 60-meter hurdles in 8.08; ran 8.06 in a prelim heat (PR is 8.00)

"The addition of Micah [Hairston] is critical to the goals we have for the 2022 season," Ryan said. "He's only been here for about a week but he has already found a place on this team and what we learned today is that he's a real competitor, which is always exciting, you cannot teach that part. As he continues to improve his craft he could make some real noise out west this year."

  • Jacob Lopez won the men's shot put with a throw of 16.07m

"I cannot understate how critical it is to have more quality venues to race in out west," Ryan said. "The Podium is a beautiful space, world class all the way! The Beynon surface is fast, has great views from any angle, plenty of seating, and a good warm up area, and easy to travel to. SJSU will continue to come back to Spokane."

#SpartanUp