Feb. 14, 2009

Medalist Invitational: Complete Results

Pocatello, ID --- Junior pole vaulter Sam Pierson set an NCAA provisional qualifying mark on Friday night, clearing a height of 17-00.75 on his way to winning the event at the Medalist Invitational at Holt Arena.

Pierson qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2008 with a vault of 17-02.75, but his best indoor mark this season before Friday was a 16-04.50, which he set at the Bengal Shootout on Jan. 16.

"I'm stoked," Pierson said. "Practice has been going well. (ISU track and field coach) Dave (Nielsen) and (assistant coach) Paul (Litchfield) have been really encouraging these last few weeks especially. I'm looking forward to two weeks from now in Flagstaff, and I'm hoping to put up another mark that will be even more competitive in the NCAA provisional pool."

Pierson's mark is the third NCAA provisional qualifying standard reached by an ISU athlete this season, and the first on the men's side. Sydney Wendt set NCAA provisional marks in the pentathlon and the high jump at last week's Mountain States Games.

"I'm very excited to have another Bengal athlete get another qualifying standard for nationals," Nielsen said. "Sam had been working up to this, but he didn't quite get it right. Today was very good, but there is still more there he can achieve. I'm excited to see what happens next at the Big Sky Conference meet."

Senior throw Jed Sion also had a good night, improving his Big Sky Conference-leading mark in the shotput by recording a throw of 16.91 meters, 0.16 meters better than his previous season best.

On the women's side, Ashley Turner strengthened her Big Sky-qualifying mark in the 60-meter hurdles, winning the event with a mark of 8.84 seconds, tying her for the second-best performance in the conference this season. Sasha Buylova and Wendt also improved their season-best marks in the triple jump, with Buylova winning the event.

Wendt captured the high jump and long jump events, and Trinelle McKinley won the 400-meter dash. Gemma Maini and Zach Barrett won the women's and men's 800-meter dashes, respectively, and Sergio Jones captured the 60-meter dash title.

The Medalist's Invitational was the last regular meet of the indoor season, though some Bengal athletes will travel to Ogden, Utah, to compete in the Wildcat Indoor Open on Feb. 21. The Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships are Feb. 27-28 in Flagstaff, Ariz.