University of Washington
UW Invitational
Mires Knocks Off 800-Meters Record At UW Invite
February 01, 2015 | Track & Field
Complete Results By Heat | Complete Results Compiled
All Races Available On Flotrack.org
Coach Metcalf Post-Meet | Baylee Mires Post-Race | Mires 800m Race Replay
SEATTLE – The Husky track team continued the early season learning process this weekend at the UW Invitational, with a number of Dawgs proving they are ready to reach new levels, as ten new top-10 marks were posted by UW over the two-day meet in the Dempsey. But the biggest lesson learned over the past two days is that Baylee Mires is back. The All-American junior helped the distance medley relay run the second-fastest time in school history last night, and then came back this evening to break the Husky school record at 800-meters and move to No. 2 in the NCAA this season.
Mires already held the outdoor school record, set during the 2013 season when she ran 2:05.34 en route to reaching the NCAA semifinals. After sitting out the entire 2014 track season, Mires showed she's not just back, but her time of 2:05.14 today would prove she's better than ever. It is rare in track to have an indoor school record be faster than the outdoor one, but that's the bar Mires set today. Her time was over a second and a half faster than the old mark of 2:06.69 set by five-time All-American Amanda Miller in 2008.
I'm feeling good. I ran the 800 last night in the DMR, and ran like a 2:06, so just coming back and being able to run another solid effort the next day was the goal,” Mires said in an interview with Flotrack.org after the race. “Two springs ago I wasn't able to really run the rounds as well (at NCAAs), so I want to make sure I can do that this year … I'm fitter than I've ever been, and put in a lot of effort in the last year since coming back. So I'm just really excited for what's next.”
Along with Mires jumping into the top spot, the Huskies had top-10 marks from Kimberly Stueckle in the 60-meter hurdles for the second straight day, Elizabeth Quick in the pole vault, the women's 4x400m relay, Cole Jensen in the heptathlon, Izaic Yorks in the men's 800-meters, Frank Catelli in the shot put, and Colby Gilbert in the mile, who was just a few tenths away from breaking the four-minute mile barrier.
In addition to the new top-10 marks, the Huskies had several event winners today. Chris Williams won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.02 seconds after a 7.98 time in the prelims, Andrew Brown posted a PR in the 400-meters of 47.93 seconds to get the win there, after taking second last night in the 200m in 21.79. The men's 4x400-meter relay also closed out the night with a win in a battle against Washington State, going 3:12.43 for the victory, anchored by freshman Jacopo Spano.
Dempsey fans were also treated to the finish of one of the best heptathlon performances in U.S. history, as former Husky All-American Jeremy Taiwo put his name to the top of the 2015 world list with a tremendous final score of 6,344 points. That shattered the Dempsey record of 6,174 points held by World Record-holder and Olympic Champion Ashton Eaton, set in 2009 when he was at Oregon. It ranks Taiwo as the No. 5 performer in U.S. history and it was the ninth-best score ever by an American.
Yesterday, Stueckle completed her first career pentathlon, and during that sequence she lowered her 60m hurdles PR down to 8.53 seconds. Today, returning to run in the hurdles outside of the pentathlon, she went faster still, going 8.46, the best time by a Husky since 2009 and fifth-best all-time. Elsewhere in the women's sprints, senior Gianna Woodruff had the top time in 60-meter dash qualifying, running a PR of 7.65 seconds. Freshman Carolyn Birkenfeld had a sixth-place finish in the 400-meters, going 56.70 in her quarter-mile debut in college. Birkenfeld also ran the third leg on the 4x4 relay, which included Krista Armstead, Woodruff, and freshman Sierra Peterson, and ran 3:45.47 to go to ninth on the top-10 list.
In the women's mile, Maddie Meyers and Eleanor Fulton both came back after Meyers anchored the DMR for 1,600-meters last night and Fulton led off with the 1,200-meter leg. Both ran well, Fulton placing fifth and Meyers sixth overall, but both were a few seconds off their PRs, with Fulton finishing in 4:44.14, and Meyers in 4:44.33. But a huge career-best was turned in from junior Jenna Sanders, who won heat two in 4:54.69. Her previous best mile was 5:06.
Sophomore Kaylee Flanagan had a PR in the women's 3k, running 9:36.43, and senior Joelle Amaral had a breakthrough run in 9:44.95, second in her heat. Redshirt freshman Kelly Lawson also turned in a strong time of 9:46.89.
Quick and Kristina Owsinski each cleared 13-5 ¾ in the women's vault tonight, with Quick improving her indoor PR by three inches, and moving to eighth on the top-10 list, one spot behind Owsinski. Both had close calls at 13-11 ¾. In the long jump, Kate Adler had a best of 17-11, a new indoor PR.
Redshirt freshman Gina Flint didn't quite find the same big toss as she did in her first meet two weeks ago, when she posted the No. 2 shot put mark in school history, but on her sixth and final attempt she still got a solid throw of 48-2 ¾ to finish fourth overall. Freshman Lyndsay Leatherman improved her mark by three feet from her debut, going 44-2 ¾ today.
While Taiwo stole the show in the heptathlon, redshirt freshman Cole Jensen still finished up a big PR for himself of 4,959 points, which puts him to sixth on the Husky top-10 list. Jensen had a big PR in the 60m hurdles today of 8.76, and matched his pole vault PR of 13-5 ¼ before finishing the 1,000-meters in a career-best 2:53.23.
In the men's sprints, Lucas Strong had a 60-meter dash PR of 6.88 seconds, with Travis Marshall taking sixth in the final in the same time. Brown and Williams got their wins in the 400m and 60m hurdles, respectively, and then the 4x4 made up of Quadelle Satterwhite, Maurice McNeal, Brown and Spano, closed out the meet with the win in 3:12.43.
Yorks battled one of the best fields of the meet in the men's 800-meters, going against the likes of U.S. Olympians Lopez Lomong and Evan Jager. Yorks, coming off an 800-meter DMR carry last night, was strong on the back-to-back runs much like Mires, as he clocked an indoor PR of 1:49.87 to finish fourth overall, and move to sixth on the Husky top-10 list.
The Dempsey produced five more sub-four-minute miles this evening, raising the facility total to 119 all-time. Colby Gilbert nearly put his name on that list, falling just shy with a 4:00.62 time in the top heat. That puts him in the No. 7 spot in UW history. Johnathan Stevens cut a couple seconds off his mile PR as he went 4:10.54 in the third heat.
In the men's pole vault, junior Jax Thoirs cleared 17-5 on one attempt, but then passed up to 18-1 and was unable to clear today. Redshirt freshman Lev Marcus earned the same 17-5 clearance, with J.J. Juilfs and Chris Williams both going 16-5 ¼.
Senior Chase Walker and redshirt freshman Carson Murray both had good days in the high jump, clearing 6-8 ¾ to match Murray's indoor PR and raise Walker's. Casey Burns competed attached in the triple jump for the first time and took second overall with a best of 47-11 ¼ on his sixth attempt.
The Dempsey had the reigning NCAA indoor and outdoor shot put champion in the ring today with Ryan Crouser of Texas, and Crouser did not disappoint, throwing a meet record 68-feet, 9-inches. But UW's Catelli took fourth overall in a very strong field, improving his indoor PR to 58-5 ¾, achieved on his fifth attempt. The Western Washington transfer jumps into the Husky top-10, all the way up to seventh, with the best throw by a Dawg indoors since Ben Lindsey in 1998. Senior Brian Hutchison also had a consistent series, with a best of 52-7 ¼ to take 10th.
Washington will be back in the Dempsey in two weeks for what is annually one of the best meets in the NCAA, the Husky Classic, on Feb. 13-14.
Players Mentioned
