SPOKANE, Wash.—Juniors Keegan Zaso and Evan Markelz each earned their first career Northwest Conference Titles, to help lead Lewis & Clark men's track & field to their best finish at an NWC Championship Meet since 1992.  
 
THE BASICS 
 
Men's Track & Field – 4^th out of 9 Teams – 90 Points 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
 
The River Otters earned their first two wins of the weekend and posted five All-Conference performances on Day Two of the NWC Championship Meet. 
 
Men's track & field put together a banner showing as a team. They placed fourth overall for the first time since 1992 - when there were only six teams in the NWC competing in track & field. Their 90 points are their most since the team finished with 91 points in 1988 (fourth place).  
 
Zaso claimed his first career title in the triple jump, after coming into the event seeded first in each of the past two seasons. The two-time All-Conference honoree in the event (third place both times) posted the top three jumps in the field to lead from start to finish. He opened the day with a leap of 13.76M which would have been good enough to defeat the 15-man field. Zaso finished with a flurry as he posted leaps of 13.89 and 13.96M (45-09.75 Feet) on his final two jumps of the day. Senior Jon Fritz joined Zaso on the podium in the triple jump. Fritz registered a leap of 13.68M (44-10.75) to place third overall. 
 
Markelz took home his first career NWC Title in the 5,000M. The junior moved up to first place near the midway point (2,200M) and led for over 1,000M (3,400M). He dipped to third overall with three laps to go and sat third heading into the final 400M. Markelz ran a 1:00.14 in his final lap to edge Whitworth's London Haley by 0.29 seconds. He crossed the line in 14:52.85. Junior Emil Miller took sixth place in the 10K. He started 14^thafter the first lap, but slowly moved his way up and came across in 15:10.70. 
 
Senior Jordan Lahusky added a second-place showing in the 400M. The senior posted a PR time of 48.65 to finish over a second ahead of third-place. His time puts him in 86^th in NCAA DIII this season. First year Forrest Holt came across in eighth place with a time of 51.65. 
 
First year Cody Strozyk earned his first collegiate All-Conference honors in the javelin. The first year sat sixth overall after prelims but posted the best throw of his season on his sixth and final effort to move into third place. He unleashed a PR throw of 59.69M (195-10 Feet) to finish third and move up to 25^th in NCAA DIII this year. 
 
Junior Harrison Fung placed fourth overall in the 400M Hurdles. The junior crossed the line in 55.74. 
 
Lewis & Clark's 4x400M Relay team also finished in fourth place. The quartet of Holt, first year Dustin Widrig, Fung and Lahusky combined for a time of 3:20.85 to improve to 74^th in NCAA DIII. 
 
Senior Jon Fritz added a fifth-place showing in the 110M Hurdles. Fritz notched a final time of 15.98. 
 
Senior Andrew Baum finished sixth overall in the discus. Baum launched the discus 43.82M (143-09) on his first throw of the day. 
 
The 4x100M Relay Team tacked on a sixth-place showing. The quartet of Fritz, sophomore Jaden Mwendapole, Lahusky and first year Zane Bryant combined for a time of 42.60 in the opening track event of the day. 
 
Junior Quinn Higgins and sophomore AJ Gibbs represented Lewis & Clark in the 1,500M. Higgins placed eighth overall with a time of 3:59.11. Gibbs came across in 11^th place with a mark of 4:06.74. 
 
Lahusky earned an eight-place finish in the 200M. The senior ran a season-best time of 22.61. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Zaso is the first Lewis & Clark jumper to win the triple jump on the men's side since 1971. The River Otters have won the event five times, but the first four all came between 1965-1971. 
• Markelz is the fifth Lewis & Clark men's runner to win the 5,000M in program history. He's the first River Otter to win the event since 2023 when Max Aldrich claimed the title. 
• Lahusky broke 49 seconds in the 400M for the first time since the 2023 NWC Championship Meet. He broke his previous PR by .01 seconds and sits sixth all-time in program history in the event. It's the fastest time by a Lewis & Clark runner since 1992. 
• Strozyk's PR in the javelin moved him up to 14^th in program history in the event. His final throw of the day traveled over 3.5 meters further this his second-best mark. 
• The 4x400M Relay Team's time of 3:20.85 puts them in 22^nd in program history. 
• Men's track & field's two titles are the program's most at an NWC Championship since 2023, when Lahusky (400M), Nicholas Stade (400M Hurdles) and Aldrich (5K) all earned wins. 

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will be off next weekend, before competing in the Oregon Twilight Meet (May 8) and Portland Twilight Meet (May 9) in two weeks.