By: Caden Frank
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth indoor track opens its season on Saturday, and coach Toby Schwarz has his sights set high.
"We're hoping to get five men and five women to nationals," said Schwarz. "That's the goal I'm setting, I think that number would be awesome."
During Schwarz' tenure at Whitworth, the Pirates have sent several athletes to nationals. In 2009 Schwarz was named National Indoor coach of the year after three athletes placed in the top three at nationals. However, in the last few years (partially due to Covid) the Pirates' annual list of national qualifiers has gotten smaller, but Schwarz says they intend to change that this season.
"Our goal is to make a run towards the top 20 [as a team], and get as many athletes as we possibly can to qualify nationally. We've certainly got the athletes to do it," said Schwarz. "As a team I feel like we're loaded. We've got athletes everywhere that I believe can compete and qualify nationally."
In order to qualify, athletes will have to finish the season ranked in the top 20. For the outdoor season, they need to finish in the top 22.
Along with the team's versatility, Schwarz believes another one of Whitworth's strengths is their proximity to the Podium.
"Having the Podium to practice and compete in, that's a huge resource for us. There's not many facilities around here like it."
The Podium is a 135,000 square foot world-class facility in downtown Spokane, and Whitworth track certainly benefits from it. Not only does it provide a great training resource for the Pirates, but it attracts several Division I programs, which gives Whitworth the chance to compete against high-level competition. Schools like Washington State, Idaho, Oregon, Oregon State and UCLA have all competed there in the past.
"The podium brings programs together from a lot of different places. Getting to compete against division one athletes every week is a great opportunity for our team to push themselves."
For the indoor season, Whitworth will compete at the podium in four its five meets, even hosting two of those. The other meet will be in Moscow at the University of Idaho.
Going into 2024, Whitworth has three athletes ranked in the top 20 nationally. Allison Ball is 13th in the 200M, Amelia Hewson is 13th in the 60 hurdles, and Renee Tiumalu is ranked 10th in the shot put.
"It's just the beginning. This weekend everyone in the nation will compete so that list will change dramatically," said Schwarz.
The Pirates indoor season will begin Saturday at the Podium.
Athletes to Watch:
Solomon Hines: Returns for his third indoor season. Hines has qualified for nationals the last two years, and will be a key contributor coming back. Hines ran a 6.71 60 at the Inland Northwest Invitational to take home first at that meet, two weeks later he won the 60 at the Whitworth Invitational before competing at Nationals in Birmingham.
J.J. Martin: Returns for another indoor season, and will be seeking to qualify for nationals in the heptathlon. At the Whitworth Invitational in February of 2023, Martin placed second with 4677 total points, placing second in the shotput and high jump.
Amelia Hewson: Qualified for Indoor Nationals in 2022 in the 60-meter hurdles, and she heads into 2024 ranked 13th nationally in the 60M hurdle. Hewson has also been a key contributor in outdoor track as well, winning the NWC crown in the 100 hurdles in 2022. She also competes in the 60, placing 3rd in the Whitworth Invitational last year with a 7.83.
Renee Tiumalu: Was a huge contributor for the Pirates during the outdoor season in 2023. Tiumalu won the Northwest Conference title in the shotput (12.92), and also took first in the Whitworth Last Chance meet. She will be looking to build on that and be a national qualifier this indoor season. Renee goes into the indoor season ranked 10th in the nation in shot put.
Alison Ball: Set personal bests in the 60 and 400 during the 2022 indoor season. Ball ran a 8.14 and a 1:02.49 in those events respectively. Ball won the 200 at the 2023 Whitworth last chance meet and placed 2nd in the conference in the 100. She will be seeking her first national qualification. Ball currently ranks 13th in the nation in the 200, the top 20 qualify.
Links to follow the action:
National Rankings:
https://www.tfrrs.org/lists/4366/2023_2024_NCAA_Division_III_Indoor_Qualifying_List?gender=m#event50
