Boise State track and field had nine athletes capture podium finishes at the 2022 Mountain West (MW) Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Feb. 24-26 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Broncos came out with 10 medals (three gold, five silver and two bronze). These are the most medals Boise State has won since 2018 when they received 11 medals at the MW conference meet.
“We competed hard from day one until the end,” said head coach Corey Ihmels. “Anytime you have event winners it’s a fantastic thing for your program, and we had three event winners today, all exciting finishes.”
Freshman Maggie Larson, sophomore Anita Taviore and senior Kristie Schoffield captured the three gold medals for the Broncos in their events.
Larson’s gold-medal triple jump came from her sixth and final attempt where she posted a personal record of 12.90 meters. This marks the third-longest distance in school history.
Taviore won gold in the women’s 60-meter dash with a time of 7.44 seconds, beating her own school record. She also picked up a silver medal in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 23.76 seconds.
Schoffield won gold in the women’s 800-meter run, finishing with a time of 2:05.92, edging her teammate, junior MaLeigha Menegatti who finished with a time of 2:06.88, securing silver in this event.
“We had a lot of young people step up,” Ihmels said. “It’s fun to see someone like Maggie [Larson] who is a freshman capture an event win the first time out. Then, someone like Kristie [Schoffield], who’s been here more than one time and has come really close, earns the right to stand atop the podium. It’s fun to see both sides of that.”
Junior Dafni Georgiou finished her 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.31 to take home silver.
The women’s 4×400-meter relay closed out the competition on a high note, coming in third to take home the bronze. Menegatti, Taviore, freshman Alyssa Cullen and sophomore Nyenuchi Okemgbo finished with a time of 3:40.69 to crush the previous program record of 3:44.36 from 2013.
The women’s team finished fourth overall with 73 points, marking their highest finish and most points scored since 2018 when they placed third with 82 points.
In the men’s events, the distance medley relay team gathered a first podium finish, shattering the school record and receiving silver.
Seniors Henry Mong, David Pierce, Jonathan Shields and freshman Angus Fitzgerald posted a time of 9:44.65. This time was four seconds faster than the previous mark set in 2016. This was the third-consecutive podium finish for the men’s team in the distance medley.
Shields was the first Bronco to earn medalist honors, finishing second in the men’s mile with a time of 4:05.17.
Freshman Ahmed Ibrahim finished with a bronze medal in the men’s 3,000-meter with a time of 8:09.36.
As a team, the men finished seventh overall, earning 28 points.
“It was a fun few days experiencing these finishes and watching our athletes get better,” Ihmels said. “There were lots of positives. I’m excited about where we are and where we are headed.”
Boise State will enjoy a few weeks off before traveling to San Diego, California, to open the outdoor track and field season on March 24-26.
RESULTS:
THURSDAY, Feb. 24
Men’s Distance Medley Relay – 2nd | 9:44.65 (School Record)
Women’s Distance Medley Relay – 7th | 11:15.75 (Lap Short)
FRIDAY, Feb. 25
Men
Mile (Prelim) – 2nd | Jonathan Shields – 4:09.54 (Q), 5th | Henry Mong – 4:08.50 (Q), 12th | Brogan Giffin – 4:17.35, 14th | Angus Fitzgerald – 4:19.44, 15th | Hunter Lucas – 4:25.80, 16th | Aidan Roberts – 4:28.44
400m Dash (Prelim) – 14th | David Pierce – 50.06, 15th | Jose Rubio – 51.64
800m (Prelim) – 14th | Jadon Mansur – 1:56.52, 15th | Caleb Stamper – 1:56.59, 16th | 1:57.98
200m Dash (Prelim) – 11th | David Pierce – 22.07
5,000m Final – 7th | Ahmed Ibrahim – 14.22.58, 9th | Chandler Underwood – 14:36.23, 10th | Jack Leitch – 14:39.92, 11th | Matty Mackay – 14:45.14, 13th | Murdoch McIntyre – 14:46.64, 15th | Freddie Carcas – 14:55.38, 19th | Ben Sherman – 15:04.74, 20th | Aidan Palmer – 15:06.85, 22nd | Max Milarvie – 15:23.12, Nathan Dunn – DNF
Women
Long Jump – 9th | Maggie Larson – 5.77m (PR), 26th | Grace Oldham – 5.00m
High Jump Finals – 11th | Alison Kremer – 1.67m (PR)
Mile (Prelim) – 9th | Delaney Griffin – 5:03.26 (Q), 12th | Ines Borba – 5:04.54, 15th | Bella Brickner – 5:08.44, 21st | Oakley Olson – 5:15.11, 23rd | Lauren Larson – 5:17.02, 27th | Hannah O’Connor – 5:25.60
60m Hurdles (Prelim) – 1st | Dafni Georgiou – 8.22 (Q), 4th | Nyenuchi Okemgbo – 8.63 (Q; PR)
400m Dash (Prelim) – 11th | Alyssa Cullen – 56.16 (PR), 36th | Rebecca Vander Poel – 1:02.47
60m Dash (Prelim) – 2nd | Anita Taviore – 7.49 (Q; PR)
800m (Prelim) – 2nd | Kristie Schoffield – 2:11.03 (Q), 3rd | MaLeigha Menegatti – 2:13.28 (Q), Elsa Wallenius – 2:24.32 (PR)
200m Dash (Prelim) – 2nd | Anita Taviore – 23.83, Emily Stefan – DNF
5,000m Final – 4th | Yasmin Marghini – 16:38.87 (PR), 12th | Yukino Parle – 17:18.29, Ashley LaJocies – 17:27.36, 18th | Sailor Hutton – 17:43.59
SATURDAY, Feb. 26
Men
Mile Final – 2nd | Jonathan Shields – 4:05.17, 7th | Henry Mong – 4:08.80
3,000m Final – 3rd | Ahmed Ibrahim – 8:09.36, 13th | Matty Mackay – 8:24.83 (PR), 14th | Dario De Caro – 8:25.03, 16th | Chandler Underwood – 8:25.77, 17th | Brogan Giffin – 8:26.41 (PR), 18th | Ben Sherman – 8:27.02 (PR), 21st | Freddie Carcas – 8:29.67, 23rd | Jack Leitch – 8:30.18, 24th | Nathan Dunn – 8:31.03, 25th | Angus Fitzgerald – 8:33.14 (PR), 27th | Murdoch McIntyre – 8:38.74, 28th | Aidan Palmer – 8:39.82, 30th | Max Milarvie – 8:49.24 (PR), 32nd | Aidan Roberts – 9:07.36
4x400m Final – 7th | David Pierce, Caleb Stamper, Jadon Mansur, Austen Apperson – 3:21.38
Women
Triple Jump – 1st | Maggie Larson – 12.90m (Third-Longest Jump)
Mile Final – 9th | Delaney Griffin – 5:02.47
60m Hurdles Final – 2nd | Dafni Georgiou – 8.31, 5th | Nyenuchi Okemgbo – 8.63 (T-PR)
60m Dash Final – 1st | Anita Taviore – 7.44 (School Record; PR)
800m Final – 1st | Kristie Schoffield – 2:05.92, 2nd | MaLeigha Menegatti – 2:06.88
200m Dash – 2nd | Anita Taviore – 23.76
3,000m Final – 7th | Yasmin Marghini – 9:30.76 (PR), 19th | Ashley LaJocies – 9:54.89, 20th | Ines Borba – 9:56.09 (PR), 22nd | Sailor Hutton – 10:01.09, 26th | Yukino Parle – 10:03.51, 32nd | Bellsa Brickner (PR) – 10:10.13, 33rd | Delaney Griffin – 10:17.16, 34th | Autumn Ost – 10:18.05, 36th | Oakley Olson – 10:23.58, 40th | Hannah O’Connor – 10:32.14, 43rd | Elsa Wallenius – 10:35.98 (PR), 44th | Abby Kendrick – 10:39.25, 46th | Lauren Larson – 10:46.02 (PR), 47th | Sunitha Black – 10:54.89
4x400m Final – 3rd | Alyssa Cullen, Anita Taviore, Nyenuchi Okemgbo, MaLeigha Menegatti – 3:40.69 (School Record)
