University of Washington
Alex Wilson Invitational
Dawgs Run 8th-Fastest DMR In NCAA History
February 20, 2016 | Track & Field
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Huskies love running at home in the Dempsey, but they certainly seem to have taken a liking to Notre Dame's facility over the past few years as well. A select group of six Dawgs traveled to South Bend, Ind. looking to run times that would get them to Birmingham for the NCAA Indoor Championships, and the men's distance medley relay emphatically achieved that, running the eighth-fastest time in NCAA history and shattering the school record by over four seconds.
Washington's last trip to the Alex Wilson Invitational also produced the most recent DMR school record, as the Huskies ran 9:31.68 back in 2012 to make the national meet. Today, the group of Blake Nelson (1,200-meters), Jacopo Spano (400m), Izaic Yorks (800m), and Colby Gilbert (1,600m) combined to run 9:27.19, the second-fastest time in the NCAA this year, behind only Oklahoma State which won today's race in 9:26.60, the third-fastest time in collegiate history.
Also getting a big career-best today was senior Eleanor Fulton in the women's mile. Fulton moved to No. 3 in UW history with a run of 4:37.26, after running a pair of 4:39 times earlier this season. She also moves into a tie for 12th on the NCAA list this season, with the top-16 qualifying for NCAAs.
The Notre Dame track is considered “oversized” as is UW's Dempsey, so Washington's time ranks as the fifth-fastest time ever run on an oversized track, and the eighth-fastest “all-conditions” time, meaning regardless of the track size. It's the No. 3 time ever run by a Pac-12 DMR, the only two faster times posted by Oregon in 2011 and 2015.
“The DMR just gets tougher and tougher to make every year, and we knew we would need a school record to get to nationals, and the men were confident that they could get it done, and they ran fantastic,” said Head Coach Greg Metcalf. “We had three different teams place fifth in the DMR just ten years ago and they never broke 9:35, so to run 9:27, one of the ten fastest times in NCAA history, is pretty incredible. Then Eleanor runs a big PR for the second week in a row so it was everything we could hope for today.”
The UW men are now the 8th fastest DMR team in NCAA indoor Track History! #GoDawgs! pic.twitter.com/CRKZP0L809
— Greg Metcalf (@CoachMetcalf) February 20, 2016
Unofficial splits had Nelson opening up in 2:55.1 which had the Dawgs in fourth-place in a loaded field that also included teams from Michigan, Oklahoma, UCLA and Notre Dame gunning for nationals. Spano then had a great quarter-mile carry in 46.0 to move the Huskies up one spot into third. Yorks, who set the indoor 800-meter record earlier this season, got the Dawgs into the lead with his carry in 1:47.6, passing to Gilbert for the final mile. Gilbert, who recently became UW's sixth sub-four-minute miler, split 3:58.2 to close out the record run.
Senior Derrick Daigre also made the trip and raced in the 800-meters, finishing 10th overall in a time of 1:52.80.
All of the men's indoor school records in the distance events are now held by current Huskies. Yorks owns the 800m and mile record, Gilbert has the 3,000m record, Aaron Nelson owns the 5,000m record, and the DMR completes the group.
Washington will close out the Dempsey next weekend, Feb. 26-27, with the MPSF Championships.
