Sadie Engelhardt, Mia Brahe-Pedersen Ready To Begin 2023 Season Sunday in Spokane; Oregon and USC Sprint Crews Highlight Friday's Cougar Classic

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Sadie Engelhardt from Ventura CA, who enjoyed an historic freshman year on the track, will begin her 2023 season Sunday at the Spokane High School Invitational Presented by Idaho Central Credit Union. 

Engelhardt, who is entered in the meet in the invitational mile, is one of a handful of top high school athletes on the West coast who are headed to The Podium in Spokane. 

Mia Brahe-Pedersen and Sophia Beckmon from Inner Circle Track Club of Oregon, and Andre Korbmacher from Ready-Set-Go-Sprinters in Washington are among the top entries in Sunday's meet. 

The Podium, which is in its second year, will have one of its busiest weekends so far with three meets stacked back-to-back-back, beginning with Friday's Cougar Classic, hosted by Washington State, followed by the Spokane Indoor Challenge, which begins late Friday and rolls into Saturday. 

Here is a breakdown of the three meets on tap at The Podium. 

Cougar Classic (Friday)

WEBCAST INFO

The first of the two college meets features the teams from Oregon, USC, Washington State, Idaho, Montana State, Fresno State and UNLV. 

Athletes from all of those schools will get their first meet opportunity of 2023 and the featured events are the sprints. 

Micah Williams, an Oregon junior, ran 6.48 in the 60 meters last year in this event. That was the facility record until Christian Coleman lowered it to 6.45 at the USATF Indoor Championships a few weeks later. 

Williams ran 9.90 to finish fourth in last year's USATF Outdoor Championships men's 100-meter final, missing a spot on the U.S. team for the World Championships by one spot. Williams is entered in both the 60 meters and 200. 

USC's Nicholas Ramey and Johnnie Blockburger, members of the Trojans' second-place 4x400 relay team at the NCAA Championships, are also set for Friday. Ramey is entered in the 200 meters and Blockburger is listed in the 60. 

Johnny Brackins is set to make his USC debut after qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 110-meter hurdles and long jump last June for Baylor. He's also in the 60. 

Freshman Malik Mixon, who represented the U.S. in the World U20 Championships last summer, is set to run the 60-meter hurdles. Mixon ran to a silver medal in Colombia when he ran 13.27 in the 110 hurdles final (39-inch hurdles). 

USC's Jasmine Jones, the NCAA runner-up in the women's 100-meter hurdles last June, is one of the top entries in the women's 60 dash. 

Oregon will have 10 women in the event, including Jadyn Mays, Shaniya Hall, Ella Clayton and freshman Lily Jones. 

Jan'Taijah Jones and Bailey Lear, who were first and third in the women's 400 meters at the Pac-12 Championships, are also returning for USC. Jones is entered in the 400 meters and Lear is in the 200. 

Spokane Indoor Challenge (Fri-Saturday)

WEBCAST INFO

The second meet begins with a pair of field events on Friday evening (men's high jump and weight throw) and the rest of the meet is Saturday. 

A new group of schools, primarily small colleges, will take part in the meet and there are a couple of notable high school athletes who are entered and will compete unattached. 

Will Floyd of GLS Speed, a Stanford recruit who competed for Canada at the World U20 Championships in Colombia in August, will open his season racing college competition in the 60 and 200. 

Floyd, who attends Seattle Prep, is the Washington Class 3A state champion in the 100, 200 and 400 meters. 

Zack Munson from Galbraith Track Club (Sehome WA) is entered in both the men's 5,000 meters and 3,000. 

Stanford's Garrett Brown, currently No. 4 on the NCAA list in the pole vault, will return to The Podium after jumping 17-8.50 at the Spokane Invitational on Dec. 10. 

Wil Smith and Yacine Guermali are among the 18 Gonzaga Bulldogs will compete in the 3,000 meters across four sections. 

Lorenz Herrmann of Idaho, an NCAA qualifier last June, is the top entrant in the men's 800 meters. High schooler Wes Shipsey from Portland (Central Catholic) is also entered in that event. 

Stanford freshman Alyssa Jones, one of the most versatile athletes in the high school class of 2022, is entered in both the high jump and 200 meters. 

Boise State's MaLeigha Menegatti is the top entry in the women's 800 meters. 

Spokane High School Invitational Presented by Idaho Central Credit Union (Sat-Sunday)

WEBCAST INFO

Sadie Engelhardt enters a highly anticipated sophomore track season after smashing freshman class records last year in the mile and 1,500 meters, Her best mile time, 4:35.16 at the Arcadia Invitational, was a world 16-and-under best. 

Engelhardt overcame some illness througout the fall and managed to finish 10th at the Champs Sports Cross Country Championships last month in San Diego. 

Mia Brahe-Pedersen will race for the first time since representing Team USA at the World U20 Championships in Colombia. The junior matched and exceeded the long-standing Oregon sprinting records held by Margaret Bailes Johnson (1968) and finished her season with a fourth place (200) and seventh place (100) in the World U20 finals. 

One of Brahe-Pedersen's best friends, senior Sophia Beckmon, won her second straight Nike Outdoor Nationals title last June with an Oregon all-time best 20 feet, 8 inches. 

Andre Korbmacher figures to be one of the top hurdlers in the U.S. this year and won the New Balance Nationals Indoor title last year in the 60-meter hurdles with 7.70. He is entered in the hurdles and the 200. 

Sophomore JaiCieona Gero-Holt of Washington Track and Field Academy, the youngest member for the U.S. team that competed in Colombia, was 17th in the heptathlon at just 15 years old. Gero-Holt is entered in four events this weekend: shot put, 60 hurdles, long jump and high jump. 

Will Heslam (unattached/Roosevelt OR) and Conner Wirth (unattached/Emerald Ridge WA) are two of the top entries in the boys 3,000. Wirth won the Washington 4A cross country title last fall. Heslam was the Oregon 6A runner-up in the 1,500 meters (3:51.13).