University of Washington
NCAA Indoor Championships
Planell Cruz Vaults To Career-Best Fourth At NCAAs
March 15, 2015 | Track & Field
NCAA Indoor Championships
March 13-14 - Fayetteville, Ark. - Randal Tyson Center
Flotrack Workout With The UW Pole Vault Crew
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Following the lead of her teammate Jax Thoirs in the men's pole vault from Friday, Diamara Planell Cruz had the best clearance of her career today to finish fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the same spot achieved by Thoirs. Twice a Second Team All-American, Planell Cruz came in looking for her first top-eight finish at the national meet to upgrade to First Team status. She delivered with a PR of 14-feet, 3.25-inches at the Randal Tyson Center, as the indoor track season wrapped up for Washington.
With three top-five finishes on the weekend – the fourth-places for Thoirs and Planell Cruz in the pole vaults, and the fifth-place finish by the women's DMR – the Husky women's team finished with nine points for a 26th-place finish, one point out of the top-25. The five points for the men placed them 38th overall.
Just as on Friday in the men's vault, Washington had a duo in the women's field, with four combined vaulters tying Arkansas for the most in the country. Kristina Owsinski was making her NCAA Championships debut after getting a huge PR two weeks ago at MPSFs, while Planell Cruz was at her second straight NCAA Indoor meet, looking to score for the first time.
Planell Cruz and Owsinski both came in with clean makes at the first bar of 13-5 ¼. Going up to the next height, 13-9 ¼, Owsinski made it on her second try, and shortly thereafter Planell Cruz also got over on her second try. For Owsinski, that was the third-best clearance of her career, behind the makes of 14-0 and 14-2 from MPSFs.
Moving up again to 14-1 ¼, just three-quarters of an inch off the PRs for both, Owsinski had all of her attempts before Planell Cruz. Owsinski was close on all three, but just hit the bar as she twisted over the top, and her first NCAA meet came to an end. Planell Cruz then missed her first two tries at the bar, but on her final try, she made it over with room to spare, celebrating the clutch make.
Nine women remained going to 14-3 ¼, but the first one to make it was Planell Cruz, who carried the momentum from her third attempt clearance to a first-jump make of a new lifetime-best. That clearance was just a quarter of an inch below the indoor school record set by Kate Soma in 2005. Planell Cruz held the lead going to 14-5 ¼, but three vaulters would make that height, while Planell Cruz ran out of gas. Shockingly, the NCAA record-holder Demi Payne of Stephen F. Austin came in for the first time at that height, and went out with three misses
“I felt really good from the start, I was going over high bungees in warm-ups, so it felt like everything was on,” said Planell Cruz. “I just had to keep my groove going and keep that rhythm along through the meet … I never like third attempts, nobody ever does, but this year I'm trying not to let third attempts get to me. You've just got to commit to the jump and I think that's what saved me, I just committed to the jump.”
With all said and done, Planell Cruz wound up fourth overall, the first women's vaulter to score at indoors since Kelley DiVesta was seventh in 2008, and the best since Soma was second in 2005. Owsinski would tie for ninth in her first NCAA meet, just one spot off the podium.
“The big goal was I didn't want to miss the podium by one attempt again, and this time I'm well on the podium so that was great. So like I said with Kristina, this isn't the end, we have Arizona next week and we're going to go and open up with some big bars and keep this going.”
The two Huskies on the track came near the end of the night in the 3,000-meters. First up was Maddie Meyers, coming off her anchor leg in the DMR last night. Meyers looked great through the first half of the race, and was running at the back of a lead pack of eight. But the sophomore began to struggle with under a mile to go, and slipped off the lead pack. She was unable to find another boost, and ended up 14th overall in 9:33.65, earning Second Team All-America to go with last night's First Team.
Gilbert, the redshirt freshman from Vancouver, completed the meet for the Huskies in the men's 3k. The school record-holder ran at the back of the pack for about half the race, but then gradually started moving up lap by lap into the top-10. With just over two laps remaining, Gilbert had climbed up to sixth-place, but when the all-out sprint started, he was unable to go with them. He wound up 13th overall in 8:06.60, but just three seconds out of seventh-place.
The Dawgs won't have long to reflect on the accomplishments of the indoor campaign, as the outdoor season begins in less than a week, as the Huskies will head to Tempe, Arizona for the Baldy Castillo Invitational.
NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships
Day 2 of 2 – March 14, 2015
Fayetteville, Ark. – Randal Tyson Center
Husky Results
Men
3,000m Final: 13. Colby Gilbert, 8:06.60.
Women
3,000m Final: 14. Maddie Meyers, 9:33.65; Pole Vault Final: 4. Diamara Planell Cruz, 14-3 ¼; 9 (tie). Kristina Owsinski, 13-9 ¼.
Friday Results
Men
Mile Semifinal (Heat 1 of 2): 8 (14th overall; does not advance). Izaic Yorks, 4:01.84; 5,000m Final: 12. Aaron Nelson, 14:13.90; Pole Vault Final: 4. Jax Thoirs, 18-0 ½; -- Lev Marcus, NH.
Women
Mile Semifinal (Heat 1 of 2): 8 (13th overall; does not advance). Eleanor Fulton, 4:43.78; Distance Medley Relay: 5. Mires/Woodruff/Fulton/Meyers, 11:08.50.
First Team All-Americans
Jax Thoirs, Pole Vault (Friday)
Eleanor Fulton, DMR (Friday)
Maddie Meyers, DMR (Friday)
Baylee Mires, DMR (Friday)
Gianna Woodruff, DMR (Friday)
Diamara Planell Cruz, Pole Vault (Saturday)
Second Team All-Americans
Eleanor Fulton, Mile (Friday)
Izaic Yorks, Mile (Friday)
Lev Marcus, Pole Vault (Friday)
Aaron Nelson, 5000m (Friday)
Kristina Owsinski, Pole Vault (Saturday)
Maddie Meyers, 3000m (Saturday)
Colby Gilbert, 3000m (Saturday)
Players Mentioned
