Eagles track and field finishes eighth in men’s and women’s competition

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Eagles men’s and women’s track teams finished eighth overall at the Big Sky Conference Championships on Saturday, according to a statement by EWU Athletics.

The women scored 34 points while the men finished with 33.5 points. The final day was highlighted by bronze medals from Maddy Shekhawat, Owen Higgins and Sydney Thweatt.

“We had some highs and some lows, but we kept fighting,” said Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Erin Tucker. “Starting off with the 4x100, we got points there and we will be better next year, I promise you that.”

On the men’s side, the team of Daniel Gaik, Enoch Okoh, Maddy Shekhawat, and Modou Kinteh kicked off Day 4 with a sixth-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay, clocking in at 41.04. Following that, Shekhawat earned a bronze medal in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.10. Gaik also made the final in the 400-meter and placed sixth, running a season-best 47.36.

“Maddy was third in his first Big Sky outdoor meet to two seniors, and he was not happy,” Tucker wrote in the statement. “That just shows you how far we have come as a program when we get third in events, and we are yearning for more. This will help him going into the week, I guarantee it. Daniel didn’t cap his career the way we planned, but he did end the year with a season’s best and that’s all you can ask for. Next up was Owen Higgins, for him to get third in that race with all the contact is crazy. For him to run under 1:50 with a PR was crazy. What a day for him and I am happy for him for sure.”

Owen Higgins battled his way to a third-place finish in the 8,000-meter run, running a personal-best time of 1:49.86. That performance moved him to fourth all-time in the EWU record book. In the 5,000-meter, Noah Hasselblad placed 10th with a time of 14:45.33.

To close out the men’s meet, the 4x400-meter relay team of Kinteh, Shekhawat, Okoh, and Gaik placed seventh with a time of 3:15.15.

“Sydney Thweatt, going into the weekend she was ranked 13th in the Big Sky, and in the four previous conference meets, she has not made a final. Today, she was gunning for gold and nearly got there,” Tucker wrote.

Thweatt ran the race of her life, dropping an astonishing two-second PR in the 400-meter hurdles to place third in 59.22 — earning her first Big Sky medal and moving her to second all-time at Eastern.

The 4x100-meter team of Gilana Wollman, Diana Fernandez, Sydney Thweatt, and Anna Caporali placed seventh with a time of 47.45. In the 4x400-meter relay Caporali, Fernandez, Ashleigh Burke and Lexi Meyer also finished seventh with a time of 3:52.04, placing ninth all-time in school history.

“In the field events, our young gun Cort (Gebbers) made the finals in the hammer but was unable to score and the same for our senior thrower Dyvhine. Ninth is a tough place to be for sure. Good thing for Cort, the two ninth-place finishes he had in his first year are going to turn into something massive going forward,” Tucker said.

In the field, Nic Cunningham fought through the first flight of the triple jump to make the final, where he placed eighth with a personal best of 14.32 meters (46-11.75). Cort Gebbers opened the meet in the hammer throw, making the final but just missing out on points with a ninth-place finish and a throw of 52.85m (173-4). On the women’s side, Zoe Dunn also finished ninth in the triple jump with a leap of 11.74 meters (38-6.25).

“Kudos to Nic on scoring in the triple jump with a PR. We are going to change his name to PR because that’s what he does every time out, Zoe just missed scoring and had to settle for that dreaded ninth but watch what they both do next year,” Tucker wrote.

Both 4x400-meter squads capped off the meet with seventh-place finishes. The men improved their team standing from ninth to eighth, while the women held steady at eighth overall.

EWU 2025 Big Sky Outdoor Championship Podium Finishes

Caitlin Simmons, women’s long jump, first

Maddy Shekhawat, men’s 110-meter hurdles, third

Sydney Thweatt, women’s 400-meter hurdles, third

Owen Higgins, men’s 800-meter, third