yote notes - edition 12

COMING UP: at John Knight Twilight (Monmouth, Ore.), Friday; at Eastern Oregon Open (La Grande, Ore.), Saturday.

LAST WEEK: at CCC Multi-Event Championships (Men 1st, Women 3rd)

BASTERRECHEA BREAKS DECATHLON RECORD: The Coyote men grabbed the lead in the Cascade Conference Track and Field Championships after the first event, thanks to a school record-setting performance from Austin Basterrechea (Gooding, Idaho / Gooding HS) in the decathlon.  The sophomore scored 6,567 points – the third-highest score in the NAIA this season, placing second in the event.  He placed in the Top-2 in five different events, including a win in the 1,500-meters (4:26.17), while recording PR’s in the pole vault, javelin, shot put, and discus.

HURD, SIBERT SHINE: It was a 2-3 finish for the Coyotes (giving the team 14 points heading into the rest of the meet in May), as Mike Hurd (Payette, Idaho / Payette HS) also cracked the 6,000-point mark, scoring 6,069 points.  Hurd dominated the sprints, winning the 110-hurdles (15.50), 400-meters (50.18), and the long jump (21-9), placing second in the 100-meters (11.50).  On the women’s side, Jasmine Sibert (Boise, Idaho / Centennial HS) competed in her first heptathlon, scoring 3,607 points to place third.  The sophomore won the 100-hurdles (15.53), while placing second in the 200-meters (27.10).

NOT ONE, BUT TWO MEETS THIS WEEK: The Yotes will compete in not one, but two meets this weekend, as the track and field season is in high gear.  The distance runners will be the focus on Friday night at the John Knight Twilight, hosted by Western Oregon – as C of I harriers will compete in highly-competitive evening 1,500, 5,000, and 10,000-meter races.  Saturday, the team will hit the Eastern Oregon Open in La Grande on their way back to Caldwell, a chance for the sprinters and jumpers to get quality marks at altitude..

QUALIFIERS: NAIA “A” Standard – Nick Hampton (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) (800), Dominic Bolin (Payette, Idaho / Payette HS) (800), Austin Basterrechea (decathlon), Mike Hurd (decathlon).  NAIA “B” Standard – Jason Hunt (Meridian, Idaho / Mountain View HS) (5,000), Andre Archer (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) (triple jump). CCC Meet Standard – Mike Hurd (100, 200, 400, 110-hurdles, long jump, pole vault), Austin Basterrechea (200, 400, 110-hurdles, high jump, long jump, javelin, pole vault), Dominic Bolin  (800, 1,500), Nick Hampton (800, 1,500), Jason Hunt (1,500, 5,000), Derek Janssen (Pocatello, Idaho / Pocatello HS) (800), Andrew Hugill (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Coronado HS) (5,000), Andre Archer  (triple jump), Simon Boycott  (Mbabane, Swaziland / United World College) (triple jump), John Fronk (McCall, Idaho / McCall-Donnelly HS)  (long jump), Diamond Mitchell (San Diego, Calif. / Eastlake HS) (100, 200), Brittany Beame (Middleton, Idaho / Middleton HS) (100, 200), Jasmine Sibert (100, 100-hurdles, long jump, high jump), Elynn Smith (Caldwell, Idaho / Vallivue HS) (800, 1,500), Sora Klopfenstein (Meridian, Idaho / Meridian HS) (1,500, 3,000-steeple, 5,000), Sarah Johnson (Shelton, Wash. / Shelton HS) (800, 1,500, 5,000), Kayloni Perry (Nine Mile Falls, Wash. / Lakeside HS) (800, 1,500), Kenna Middleton (Nine Mile Falls, Wash. / Lakeside HS) (5,000), Kaitlyn Gerard (Kimberly, Idaho / Kimberly HS) (800, 1,500, 5,000), Andi Hayes (Fort Collins, Colo. / Poudre HS) (5,000), Stevee Alletag (McCall, Idaho / McCall-Donnelly HS) (100-hurdles), Audrey Youren (Gooding, Idaho / Gooding HS) (long jump, high jump), Lexis Lange (Ephrata, Wash. / Ephrata HS) (pole vault), Candace Crew (Boise, Idaho / Capital HS) (high jump), Hailey Bull (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) (long jump, triple jump), Melinda Fuimaono (Chula Vista, Calif. / Southwestern CC) (shot put, discus, javelin).

ABOUT THE COACH: Pat McCurry enters his eighth year at the helm of the track & field and cross country programs at The C of I. In eight years (after the Coyote running programs were dormant for nearly 30 years), McCurry has built the Coyote men and women into perennial NAIA Top-25 programs - with the men’s cross country team earning six berths to the NAIA Championships, with the Lady Yotes advancing to four-straight NAIA meets, winning the 2008, 2009, and 2011 CCC titles, with his 2011 squad placing seventh at Nationals.  For his efforts, McCurry was named 2008, 2009, and 2011 CCC women's cross country Coach of the Year. Student-athletes have claimed 18 individual CCC titles on the track, 11 NAIA All-American awards in cross country and track & field, seven All-NAIA Region I awards in cross country, 38 All-CCC awards in cross country - along with 67 NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete awards.   Prior to his arrival at The C of I, McCurry was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Eastern Oregon University, helping EOU to a national runner-up finish at the 2002 NAIA Men’s Cross Country Championships and the 2003 CCC title in men’s track & field. As an athlete at EOU from 1997-1999, McCurry claimed two consecutive CCC titles at 5000-meters and finished eighth at the NAIA Championships at 10,000-meters. His best athletic years came after college while running for Nike Portland, and later the Eastside Track Club - where at the 2003 University of Oregon Preview Meet, the Coyote skipper took home the title in the 3000-meters and has a personal best of 8:13 at that distance. He also holds the Willamette Invitational meet record and Charles Bowles track record at 10,000-meters from his 2004 performance there. McCurry has also claimed the title at many Treasure Valley area races, including the infamous Race to Robie Creek in 2005, 2009. and 2010, along with the City of Trees marathon.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more on The C of I track and field program, head to the official homepage of the Coyotes, http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/trackandfield.