Track & Field | 2/6/2010 12:54:23 PM

What's happening:
The Western Oregon University track & field teams will be sending 16 men and 17 women to the Pilot Indoor, Saturday, Feb. 7th, in Portland. The meet will feature 11 events for both men and women, but will not include any hurdle or horizontal jumping events. The Pilot Indoor is scheduled to run from 10:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Head Coach Mike Johnson:
On the meet: "This will be a throwback meet like the traditional East Coach meets of 20 years ago. They were held in basketball arenas where sightlines are less than perfect but where the competition was enjoyable"

On the team's goals for the meet: "We have two objectives at this meet: the first is to earn marks to qualify us for the GNAC Indoor meet and the second is running complementary events to prepare us for the conference meet."

On the meet location: "The facility does not lend itself to many top 10 marks, but it is an enjoyable and memorable place to compete."

On the training/preparation: "Many of the student-athletes did a better job over Christmas. I felt the hardest part was not having a facility to hone the skills, but it is outdoors and it is Oregon, so we will get it done."

Applebee leads NCAA with auto mark:
Annan Applebee leads NCAA Division II in the 800m, with a time of 2:11.43. That mark also earned her the only NCAA automatic qualifying standard in the event this season. That time also solidified her atop the WOU record books and gave her the fourth-best mark in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history. The 2:11.43 topped her previous season-best mark of 2:12.08.

Recap of the UW Invite:
The Western Oregon University track & field team had its most successful meet since moving to Division II posting four provisional qualifying standards and one auto mark. Annan Applebee earned the Wolves' first automatic standard of the 2010 season with a time of 2:11.43 in the 800m. Janelle Everetts also got a provisional standard in the same event with a time of 2:15.90. Ashley Potter had the other provisional mark for the women with a leap of 37-11.5 (11.57m) in the triple jump.

On the m en's side, Jeff Long earned a provisional standard with a time of 4:11.49 in the mile. The men's 4x400m relay team of Matt Kaino, Ashtin Mott, Josh Moore and Anthony Yakovich, also got a provisional mark with a school-record time of 3:17.41.

The Indoor Season:
The Wolves will compete in four races in preparation for the GNAC Championships which will be held Feb. 20, at the Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho.