LARAMIE, Wyo. – With historically chaotic spring weather expected to strike again in Greeley, Colo., on Saturday, the University of Northern Colorado has moved the Tom Benich Invite back a day to Sunday in hopes of warmer competition weather. A small group of Wyoming athletes will head to Nottingham Field in Greeley for UNC’s annual outdoor meet, which will begin at 10 a.m. MT with the men’s javelin and men’s shot put. Track events start at 11:50 a.m. with the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The Pokes’ lone competitor on the track on Sunday will be senior Jordan Charles, who is looking to bolster his impressive start to his final outdoor season for the Brown and Gold. Charles clocked a time of 13.88 seconds in his first 110-meter hurdles race of the season at the Jerry Quiller Classic on March 18, just six hundredths of a second away from his personal best. Charles’ personal record of 13.82 is just one hundredth of a second behind the school record held by Tom Garrison (1990) and Jason Medearis (1999). Charles currently ranks eighth in the nation for the event, and will look to stay among the nation’s top performers in order to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track & FIeld Championships for the first time in his career. Last outdoor season, Charles missed qualification to the national championships in the 110-meter hurdles by just one place.
A group of throwers will also compete in Greeley after a successful season debut in Fort Collins, Colo., at the Fum McGraw Open. Wyoming’s throws squad notched a number of personal bests in Fort Collins, highlighted by Emelda Malm-Annan’s toss of 188 feet, 8 inches in the hammer throw that moved her to No. 8 on the UW all-time list for the event. Junior Hannah Carr landed just outside the UW all-time top 10 for the women’s shot put with a toss of 47-1, while junior Damon Unland won the men’s hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 194-2. After fouling a couple of potential massive personal-best throws in Fort Collins, sophomore Martin Fitzwater will attempt to record a big mark in the men’s shot put this Sunday.
Ja'la Henderson will lead a group of UW jumpers in Greeley after the sophomore star posted her outdoor personal best with a leap of 19 feet, 5.5 inches in Fort Collins. Henderson passed the 20-foot barrier in the event for the first time during the indoor season and is searching to pass the same milestone outdoors. She currently ranks ninth on the UW all-time list for the event but is less than five inches out of the No. 2 spot.
Next Up
The Cowboys and Cowgirls return to Boulder, Colo., for the CU Invite on April 7-8.
