MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University cross country/track and field teams are excited to announce their first batch of recruits. The entire class will be announced in four separate press releases.
Gracious Lusby
Lusby competed at Roseburg High School in Roseburg, Ore., competing in the 100, 200 and 400-meters, along with the long jump. Lusby continued to improve across the board as she set a new personal-record in the 100-meter with a time of 12.11 during the 2019 outdoor season. She then posted a time of 24.54 in the 200-meter that same season and added a new PR in the 400-meter as well. She reached a height of 13-8.5 in the long jump during the 2017 season. Lusby posted five wins in the 100-meter, one in the 200-meter, two in the 400-meter and added several 4x400 relay wins during the year.
Kaitlyn Kruse
Kruse competed at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Ore., competing in the 4x400 relay, 800-meter, 1,500 and 3k throughout her career. During the 2017 season, she set a PR in the 800 in the outdoor season and then was part of the 4x400 relay, she had a PR split record time of 1:07.84 in 2019. Later that year, Kruse posted a PR in the 1,500-meter with a time of 5:00.85 and then with a time of 10:48.34 for another PR in the 3k. Kruse picked up several wins in 2019 with five meet wins in the 3k and one in the 1,500, while adding a pair of 4x400 relay team wins.
Bailey Smith
Smith recently competed at Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad, Colo., running both cross country and track and field. The Cody, Wyo., native placed third in 2018 in the NJCAA Region 9 Cross Country Championship and later that year during the track season he posted a career-best mark in the 800 with a time of 2:10.35 to place seventh in the NCAA Qualifier. His strong season continued setting PR's in both the 5k with a time of 16:32.42, in the 3,000-meter steeple with a time of 10:12.69 and in the 1,500 with a time of 4:08.80. During the 2019 cross country season he again posted a strong finish in the NJCAA Region 9 Championships coming in fourth. He finished his career in the NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships where he set personal-best marks in both the mile with a time of 4:26.54 and in the 3k with a time of 8:49.37.
Brisyn Maller
Maller competed at Scappoose High School in Scappoose, Ore., competing in the 400-meter, 110 and 300-meter hurdles, along with the triple jump. Some of his top marks include posting a 4x400 meter split time of 53.94 during the 2018 season. He then set a pair of PR marks during the 2019 outdoor season in both the 110-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 15.15 in the 110 and 39.79 in the 300. Maller reached a distance of 40-10 in the triple jump for a PR. He had an impressive stretch of wins in the 110-meter hurdles throughout the 2019 season with 10 meet wins and seven wins in the 300-meter hurdles. He also added two triple jump wins and was part of a 4x400 relay victory.
Wyatt Smith
Smith competed at Oakland High School in Oakland, Ore., competing in the 400, 800, 1,500 and 3k and the 2k steeplechase. Smith posted PR's throughout the 2019 season in the 400-meter with a time of 53.01, in the 800-meter with a time of 2:02.46, in the 1,500-meter with a time of 4:12.62 and in the 2k steeplechase with a time of 7:15.53. He had a PR in the 3k during the 2018 outdoor season with a time of 10:14.2. Smith picked up meet wins in the 400-meter once during the 2019 season, six wins in the 800-meter, four wins in the 1,500-meter and three wins in the 3k. Smith also added three wins in the 4x400 relay.
