University of Washington
Pac-12 / Big Ten Challenge
Huskies Get A Gauge At Outdoor Opener In Desert
March 27, 2016 | Track & Field
Live Results
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Husky track squad finished up its opening outdoor weekend with a late night in Tempe tonight at the Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Invitational. The day featured a number of PRs across the board and a whole lot of table-setting for the weeks to come as some athletes worked outside their comfort zone, while others shook off the rust in their specific event.
The event featured eight talented power conference teams, four out of the Pac-12 and four from the Big Ten. The Huskies were scoring just against Pac-12 rivals Arizona State, Arizona, and California, but while also competing side by side with Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and Penn State.
The first victory on the track came from sophomore Johnathan Stevens. A West Prelims qualifier last year in the 1,500-meters, Stevens stated his intention of returning with a PR and a win in 3:43.70, over a second faster than his best from 2015. That time is just three tenths away from the Husky top-10 list, and is also the fastest time in the NCAA based on marks coming into this weekend.
A couple first-year Dawgs that could be teaming up in the steeple later in the season, posted a pair of great 1,500-meter runs today. Freshman Charlotte Prouse rolled to a 4:22.15 time to finish fifth overall in a fast field, and sophomore transfer Izzi Batt-Doyle was right behind her in 4:22.40. In the second heat, three more Huskies finished in a row, with Emily Hamlin running 4:32.45, then Grace Hodge running 4:33.14 in her first career 1,500m and Josephine Bosserman going 4:33.50, a four-second PR.
Senior hurdlers Chris Williams and Naivasha Sophusson Smith had solid openers to their outdoor seasons. Williams was third in the men's 110m hurdles in a time of 14.20, and Sophusson Smith ran 14.18 in the women's hurdles to finish sixth overall.
In her first outdoor race as a Dawg, after focusing on the 800-meters indoors, redshirt freshman Hannah Derby had an impressive 400-meter debut, running 55.69 seconds to take eighth overall. Sophomore Carolyn Birkenfeld also had an outdoor PR of 56.15, and Baylee Mires dropped down to 400-meters and clocked a 56.45. In the men's 400-meters, junior Andrew Brown ran 48.31, and freshman Ryan Croson finished in 48.41, winning his heat. Senior Derrick Daigre came down in distance from his usual 800-meters and ran 49.65 seconds.
The Huskies put together a nice opening 4x100-meter relay on the men's side, as Chris Williams, Jacopo Spanò, Lucas Strong, and Travis Marshall got the baton around in 40.37 seconds, third overall but tops out of the Pac-12 teams. Spanò would come back to finish fourth in the 200-meters in 21.42 seconds, less than a tenth off his 2015 best. Strong was 11th in 22.01 while Marshall had the best open 100-meters by a Dawg, going 10.87 into a headwind. Junior Cydnicia Wade also took fourth in the women's 200-meters, clocking a new wind-legal PR of 24.59.
Junior Elizabeth Quick, coming off a ninth-place finish at NCAA Indoors, earned a win in the pole vault with a clearance of 13-6 ½. After making that, she moved the bar to 14-1 ¼ but was unable to clear. Sophomores Kaitlin Zinsli and Tori Franzen each made new personal-bests, going 12-8 ¾.
The Huskies went 1-2-3 in the men's pole vault, as NCAA Indoor Champion Jax Thoirs tied for the win with freshman teammate Chase Smith, as both went 16-11 ½. Redshirt freshman Blaise Black finished third at 16-7 ½. Smith had a 16-5 PR from high school in Montana, and built on that with a 16-10 PR indoors and now he and Black are both closing in on the 17-foot mark.
Back on the track in the 800-meters, sophomore Amy-Eloise Neale got some speed work in with a 2:10.16 time. On the men's side, Mason Fletcher had a PR of 1:52.59 to finish ninth and Andrew Prentice was right behind in 10th in 1:52.91.
Freshmen Morganne Hill and Carly Lester showed their potential for the long hurdles this evening, as Hill took fifth overall in the 400m hurdles in 1:01.21, and Lester was seventh in 1:01.98. Senior Kaid Tipton also scored with a seventh-place finish on the men's side in 55.74.
In the men's high jump, Carson Murray tied for second with a first attempt clearance of 6-6 ¾. Junior Kennadi Bouyer concentrated on the long jump today, going 18-8 ½ on her first attempt but then fouling her next two. C.J. Smith had a best of 18-1 ¾, and Kate Adler went 17-10 ¾ as well. In the triple jump, senior Jaleecia Roland competed for the first time this year and had a nice debut with a mark of 39-4 ½ to take eighth. Savannah Burr also went 38-9 ½ for 11th and Alanna Coker jumped 37-3 for 12th.
Washington was relatively light in the throws today. In the men's discus, Frank Catelli went 160-0 and Dan Boyden threw 154-11 to finish ninth, and 13th, respectively.
Next week, the Huskies will start April off with a regular stop, down to Palo Alto for the Stanford Invitational on Apr. 1-2.
Players Mentioned
