Two Titles Won By Wyoming at MW Track Championships

Senior Damon Unland and junior Ja’la Henderson came through with conference titles for Wyoming at the 2018 Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Unland posted his second straight victory in the hammer throw with a toss of 199 feet-1 inch last Friday. He won the event by nearly 17 feet over his younger brother, Kirk Unland, who was runner-up with a throw of 182 feet-8 inches. It’s the third consecutive year a Wyoming thrower has won the conference title in the men’s hammer.

Henderson shined on Saturday with a new school record of 43 feet-10.5 inches in the women’s triple jump. She became the first Cowgirl in 30 years to win this event at a conference meet. Henderson topped the field by over a foot. She also added third-place finish in last Friday’s long jump with a season-best leap of 20 feet-1.5 inches.

The Cowboys took fifth place in the MW Championships with 81.5 points. The Cowgirls struggled and came in 11th place with just 44 points.

Other notable performances included freshman William Nolan, who took second in the triple jump (48 feet-9.5 inches) and third in the long jump (23-10.75). Another runner-up finish came from freshman Brandon McGuire. He recorded a break-through performance in the 400-meter hurdles (52.65 seconds).

Third place efforts came from juniors Jace Marx in the 100-meters (10.76) and Jackson Wood in the 400-meters (47.49), as well as freshman Harry Ewing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:03.55).

For their efforts, all eight of these Wyoming track and field student-athletes received All-MW honors.

Henderson has now won three individual titles in her career and has six all-conference honors. These were the first two for her in the outdoor season.

Damon Unland earned his second All-MW honor, while brother Kirk got his first. Nolan picked up the second and third All-MW honors of his freshman season (one indoors). Wood received All-MW honors for a third time, while it was the second for Marx. This marks the first all-conference accolade for both McGuire and Ewing.

Wyoming track and field waits to see who will receive an invite to the NCAA West Preliminary Round meet May 24-26 in Sacramento, CA. Those regional participants will be announced Thursday.