Eagles open 2015 indoor track & field season with Candy Cane Invite in Cheney...

Believe it or not, the 2015 indoor track & field season gets underway Friday and Saturday at Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse on the campus of Eastern Washington University in Cheney, as the Eagles host the seventh annual Candy Cane Invitational.

The meet is set up as a dual against the University of Montana, who are looking to reverse a 53-38 loss pinned on them by the Eagles in last year's meet by the men's team.  The two teams tied last year at 52.

Not all running events are offered in this early season meet, with the longest distance being 600 meters, with all other races on the straightaway.

Friday's competition consists of the women's pentathlon and the first four events of the men's heptathlon.

Saturday's events consists of the final three events of the heptathlon, along with the men's and women's shot, weight, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, high jump, 55 hurdles and dash, and the 600.

Eastern will be led by reigning Big Sky weight throw champion Jordan Arakawa (above/photo courtesy EWU), who ended the 2014 season by qualifying for the NCAA championship meet outdoors in the hammer.

The Eagles are looking to start the 2015 season strong, as marks in this weekend's meet will count towards qualifying for the Big Sky championship meet in Flagstaff at the end of February.


In other news, University of Washington alum Katie Mackey of the Seattle-based Brooks Beasts finished seventh in the Flotrack Flo Beer Mile World Championship race Wednesday night at the Circuit of the Americas.

Mackey ran 6:55.34, as Elizabeth Herndon ran 6:17.76 to set a women's world record in the beer mile, which consists of chugging one 12-ounce beer before each lap, then running.

In the men's race, 2013 world championships silver medalist Nick Symmonds of the Brooks Beasts was seventh in 5:41.71.


NOTE:  The sports information office of Eastern Washington University contributed to this report.

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