Four Wins Highlight Huskies' Spokane Trip

Saturday, December 14

Spokane, WA

9:00 AM

University of Washington

Spokane Invitational

December 14, 2024 | Track & Field

By: UW Athletic Communications

Complete Results on TFRRS

SPOKANE, Wash. – A small group of Husky jumpers and sprinters turned in an excellent season opener today at the Spokane Invitational, grabbing four event victories and posting five new top-10 marks. The Dawgs will now break for finals and the holiday season before starting the Dempsey home schedule mid-January.

Competing at the Podium in Spokane, the Dawgs had multiple impressive debuts from new Dawgs, both transfers and true freshmen.

The final win of the day came from All-American pole vaulter Scott Toney, an NCAA podium finisher indoors last year. Toney went to No. 2 nationally in the early season scene, as he had a clearance of 17-feet, 9-inches. Senior Simon Park was third in the same event going 16-6.

Freshmen sprinters Mikayla Gardley and Bodi Ligons each had stellar debuts over 400-meters today. Gardley, a product of Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup, went straight to No. 9 in school history with a run of 55.36 seconds, good for second-place.

Ligons, a Los Angeles product, was third in the men's 400m in 47.51, just a tenth of a second away from the No. 10 spot in the Husky records.

Senior Danielle Hunter opened up her season with a pair of personal-bests, in the 60m and the 200m. In the 60-meters, Hunter went 7.54 in the semis to tie for the No. 10 spot in school history. She then ran 24.23 in the 200-meters to take the win, and move up two spots to fourth in school history.

Two more new top-10 marks came out of the men's 60-meter hurdles today as Jami Schlueter and Jonathan Frazier each ran PRs. Schlueter had a new personal-best of 8.00 seconds that he ran in both the prelims and the final. That puts him up to fifth in school history. Frazier went 8.06 in the final to climb to a tie for eighth in school history.

The first win of the day came from junior Leland Lieberg, who had a huge indoor PR in the high jump, clearing 6-feet, 9-inches. That's more than two inches better than his old indoor best. Schlueter made 6-0 ¾ in his first high jump of the year.

First Team All-American and 2024 Pac-12 Champion Prestin Artis opened with a win in the long jump today, as he flew 24-6 ½ on his best of six attempts.

Other openers on the track included Elle Rutherford getting a big personal-best at 600-meters, running 1:34.52, now 10^th in school history. Rhonda Newton ran the 300-meters in 40.67 and Moa Segerholt finished in 46.60.

Elsewhere in the field events, Avril Wilson had a pole vault clearance of 12-10 for fourth-place, and Rachel Bir was seventh in the triple jump at 36-4. Ava Washburn had a long jump of 15-9 ¾ and a shot put of 28-8 ½ with a 60-meter hurdles time of 9.27.