NCAA track and field: Mid-Columbia athletes lead EWU contingent to regionals

Three Richland Bombers and a Kennewick Lion walk into a track meet.

That situation can go all kind of sideways, unless you are Eastern Washington University track coach Stan Kerr, and those athletes are four of the best the Eagles have this season.

Kaytlyn Coleman of Kennewick, and Katie Mahoney, Joey Payne and Larry Still of Richland all will compete at the NCAA west regional meet Thursday through Saturday in Lawrence, Kan., where a top-12 finish will earn you a trip to the NCAA Championships in Eugene.

“Where can we duplicate them?” Kerr asked.

Coleman will compete in the hammer throw, where she is ranked 18th in the nation and ninth in the west. Mahoney will take on the 3,000-meter steeplechase, where she is ranked 17th in the west region and 31st nationally.

“They have had an amazing year and are both prepared to make this the meet of their lives,” EWU women’s coach Marcia Mecklenburg said in a news release. “It will be exciting to watch both of them.”

Still, a freshman, has competed above and beyond expectations in the pole vault, setting the school record with a height of 17 feet, 0 3/4 inches. Payne finished second in the javelin at the Big Sky Championships and is ranked 30th in the west.

“Larry has been a terrific surprise,” Kerr said. “It usually takes a full year to mature and develop technically, but he is fearless and he’s consistent. Joey has been good for us all the years he’s been here.”

Kaytlyn Coleman

A transfer from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, Coleman, a communication major, has had a senior year to remember, including her first trip to regionals.

“After conference, I was on Cloud 9,” Coleman said. “Regionals, that’s the cherry on top. Anything postseason is awesome.”

A six-time NAIA All-American at LCSC before she transferred, Coleman won the Big Sky hammer title and set the school record with a throw of 203 feet, 1 inch. That mark ranks fifth in conference history.

“Setting the school record was cool,” she said. “That was crazy. I can’t even say it. Everyone else believed in me before I believed in myself. They all told me I could do it. It’s mind blowing.”

And the season isn’t over yet.

“I’m excited to compete against some of the best,” Coleman said. “Nationals would be a dream, and to go with Maci would be really fun.”

Utah State hammer thrower Maci (Whitby) Bingham was a star athlete at Connell High School and is ranked eighth in the west heading into regionals.

Coleman also won Most Outstanding Performer honors at the Big Sky meet, and she won a conference-record five Big Sky Athlete of the Week honors, to go along with three during the indoor season.

“That got to be embarrassing,” Coleman said.

Before Coleman became a household name at EWU, she was a volleyball player and thrower at LCSC.

“I went there to play volleyball, and that didn’t work out as planned,” Coleman said. “The track coach contacted me and I started throwing. My last year there, there were coaching conflicts. It was a bummer to leave Lewiston. I really liked it there.”

Coleman had never thrown the hammer before college, but she took to it quickly. Her best throw at LCSC was 185-1.

“I truly believe if I came to Eastern as a freshman, I don’t know if I would have excelled,” Coleman said. “LC was the perfect transition for me.”

At 6-2, Coleman has the perfect stature for a hammer thrower. She said the biggest obstacle she has had to overcome is her feet.

“I have large feet, and turning tight with large feet is hard to learn,” she said. “Being tall, you have longer levers and that helps. I think I picked the right sport.”

Kerr agrees.

“The legacy she leaves behind is impressive,” Kerr said. “Eight Athlete of the Week awards is very rare. She is a great teammate, and we love to watch her throw. She knows what to do and gets it done. We will miss her.”

Katie Mahoney

The first time Mahoney took a lap around the track in the steeplechase, she wasn’t a fan.

“The first time I did it, I got up to the top (of the barrier) and jumped in the water,” she said. “I ran about an 11:50. I wasn’t getting enough momentum and I just jumped right in. Luckily I was redshirting.”

Now, she owns the EWU school record in the event with a time of 10 minutes, 10.33 seconds. She won the Big Sky title earlier this month — just the second in school history.

Now, she is headed to regionals, where she placed 14th in 2014.

“This year it is so stacked,” Mahoney said. “The qualifying for steeplechase is 5 seconds faster than the past 5 years. I’m just going to go for it and leave it all out there.”

Mahoney, who is working on her masters in communication, said having good coaches has helped her reach her goals.

“We have a new coach (Chris Shane), and he is awesome,” Mahoney said. “He is so good and makes sure we don’t over do it and that we get our rest so we peak at the right time. I feel like people mesh differently with coaches. I wish I could have seen what I could have done before if he would have been here.”

After five years with the program, Kerr isn’t sure he’s ready to let Mahoney go.

“She is so poised and such a fierce competitor,” Kerr said. “She has a great chance of advancing because she is a great competitor.”

Larry Still

Chalk it up to being a freshman, but Still has left an impression on his teammates they soon won’t forget.

“We were in California and he had to get something out of the van,” Mahoney said. “He put the keys in the wrong backpack, and we were looking for them for two hours. We almost missed our flight back home.”

But put the kid upside down 17 feet in the air, and you can’t help but be a fan.

“All of the vaulters enjoy his company, and the coaches like having him on the team,” Kerr said. “His goal is to get to nationals, and he’s on that path.”

Still is ranked 36th in the west region and 57th in the nation going into Thursday’s competition.

“I’m just really trying to work hard and have fun with it,” Still said. “This is a little more than I expected my first year, but I have worked really hard. I am happy and thankful.”

At regionals, he will be going up against a pair of Texas A&M vaulters, Audie Wyatt and Chase Wolfle, who both have gone 18-6.

“If I had PR’d and not made regionals, I’d still be happy,” Still said. “I am a freshman and I am an underdog. I’m not intimidated. I look at it as a chance to watch their technique and maybe ask for pointers. I will compete my hardest and see what I can do at this level.”

Joey Payne

This is Payne’s third trip to regionals, but he’s coming off a junior year that didn’t go so well for the Eagles’ javelin thrower.

“I had a huge PR my freshman year and a 1-foot PR my sophomore year,” Payne said. “I was consistent. My junior year was my worst. I was eighth at the conference meet. I was throwing mediocre, and my mental game was poor. I have learned to relax more and loosen up.”

Seems to have worked.

Payne was second at the Big Sky championships with a throw of 217-3, and has a season-best throw of 219-3.

“He is a very intense competitor, and that has been a detriment at times,” Kerr said. “Now that he has that out of his system, he understands pressure and thrives on it.”

He also thrives on the family vibe the team has.

“Katie and I have been teammates a long time,” Payne said. “I have known Larry since he was in middle school. I remember the first time I saw Kaytlyn in high school. She was a foot taller than me and she was a powerhouse. In high school, Katie was popular and I was nervous to talk to her in high school. It’s cool how we’ve become friends.”

And, if you need someone to cheer you on, Payne is your man.

“I was watching Kaytlyn throw at Big Sky and I was yelling and screaming,” he said. “I was excited. When she turns it on, she is fun to watch. I was so happy for her and Katie. It was crazy to see them win. Regionals will be a fun trip. This is the best track season I have ever had.”

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 9:04 PM with the headline "NCAA track and field: Mid-Columbia athletes lead EWU contingent to regionals."