University of Washington
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Three Dawgs Make First NCAA Outdoor Finals
June 10, 2016 | Track & Field
NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Eugene, Ore. - Hayward Field - June 8-11
Complete Schedule | Live Results | Friday Start Lists | Saturday Start Lists
Day One Recap: Thoirs Takes Fifth, Yorks To Final
FRIDAY - MEN
Broadcast: 5:30 - 8:00 pm live on ESPN
5:42pm - Yorks - 1,500m Final
7:25pm - Gilbert - 5,000m Final
SATURDAY - WOMEN
Broadcast: 3:30 - 6:00 pm live on ESPN
3:41pm - Neale - 1,500m Final
3:54pm - Prouse - 3,000m Steeplechase Final
4:47pm - Mires - 800m Final
EUGENE, Ore. – They took very different paths to get there, but three Huskies moved into their first career NCAA Outdoor Championship finals today, as the women's competition took the stage at Oregon's Hayward Field. Fifth-year senior Baylee Mires, third-year sophomore Amy-Eloise Neale, and true freshman Charlotte Prouse all find themselves in the finals of their specific events, and will race for podium spots come Saturday.
For Mires, making the NCAA final at 800-meters is the perfect final page for a record-setting Husky career. The school record-holder indoors and out, Mires had made it to the semifinal round here in 2013 and 2015, but her 13th-place finish a year ago was her high as an individual.
Despite lowering her school record to 2:03.91 at Pac-12s this year, Mires was still not among the favorites to advance, based on season-bests. But in the first of three eight-woman semifinal heats, she did not hold anything back, and put herself right up front in second behind BYU's Shea Collinsworth. With the top-two automatically advancing, Mires held her place until the final 30 meters, when LSU's Morgan Schuetz caught up and edged her for second, with Mires finishing in 2:04.35. She would have to wait through the next two heats to see if she would get one of two time qualifiers, and her time did indeed hold up, as she got the final time through.
“It has always been my lifelong dream to stand on the podium at the national championship, and it's all the sweeter being able to do it in my last time in the UW uniform,” said Mires, who will get one of eight spots on the podium by completing Saturday's final. “All thanks to my coaches, teammates, and family. It's been the best ride of my life.”
Sophomores Anna Maxwell and Amy-Eloise Neale were both in the first of two 1,500-meter semifinals today, both making their NCAA Outdoor debuts. Both Dawgs were near the back of the pack halfway through the race, but started to work up into the top half going into the bell lap. Over the final 200 meters, it was still anybody's race, and Neale went out wide with Maxwell coming up on the inside. Neale, whose PR was set less than two weeks ago in Kansas with a 4:18.67 that got her the final spot to Eugene, closed hard to smash that time in 4:13.93 and also secure the fifth automatic qualifying spot. Maxwell came across in ninth in 4:16.41, still the second-fastest time of her career, and would wind up 12th-fastest on the day but miss the final.
Anna Maxwell and Amy-Eloise Neale in their 1,500m semi. Neale went 4:13.93 to make her first final.
Neale's time jumped her up to No. 6 on the Husky top-10 list, remarkable considering that Neale missed the entire 2014-15 season and only began getting back into training this past fall, as she sat out a second cross country season. But she got on an upward trend with PRs in the mile indoors, then on to a series of sub-4:20 times at 1,500-meters, making the Pac-12 final and placing fifth, before breaking through today. Neale will be the first Husky finalist at 1,500-meters since Katie Flood won the 2012 NCAA title.
While it was a career dream realized for Mires and an incredible comeback story for Neale, for freshman Charlotte Prouse, she rolled right into the steeplechase final to punctuate her outstanding freshman season. Prouse looked calm and collected throughout, never straying much outside the top-five spots that would automatically move on. She slid between fifth and third for several laps, but late in the race continued to advance and she took over second-place, and crossed the finish line with a smile on her face, in part because she broke the 10-minute mark for the first time, going 9:59.15.
Prouse is the third Husky to make the women's steeplechase final, joining Mel Lawrence (3rd in 2009; 8th in 2010) and Liberty Miller (10th in 2014). She will also be the only Pac-12 athlete in the final, despite finishing third in the steeple at the conference meet.
Charlotte Prouse with some hangtime over the barrier as she made her way to the steeplechase final.
Junior Kennadi Bouyer made her first NCAA Outdoor appearance in the 100-meters today. Running out of lane one in the third semifinal, Bouyer raced through the rain drops in 11.60 seconds, which was seventh in her heat and would be 20th overall. That will earn her All-America honorable mention to go with her First Team honor from indoors.
Constant rain at Hayward starting in the early evening made for tough going in the women's pole vault, which featured first time outdoor finalist Elizabeth Quick. The Pac-12 Champion cleared the opening height of 13-3 ½ on her first attempt, but at the next bar of 13-9 ¼, Quick was close on all three, but could not leave the bar standing. Only ten women would clear that height in the challenging conditions, so Quick wound up in a four-way tie for 11th-place. The junior earns a Second Team All-America honor outdoors to match the one she earned this year indoors.
Another Second Team All-America honor went to another junior Pac-12 Champion, as Katie Knight got her first taste of NCAA finals competition at 10,000-meters. Knight was in a good spot early in the race, sitting around eighth-place and running on the rail. She slipped back a bit to around 12th but was still just a second or two from the lead. About 4,000 meters in, a gap started to form and Knight ran much of the rest of the race alongside UCF's Anne-Marie Blaney, holding a steady pace for several kilometers. Knight would wind up 15th in 33:36.90, two seconds from 13th-place and less than 20 seconds from 10th.
With the men returning to action on Friday, the Huskies will look for points from Izaic Yorks in the 1,500-meter final, and Colby Gilbert in the 5,000-meter final. Saturday, Neale, Mires, and Prouse will all try to get the women on the board. Both days will be televised by ESPN.
Washington Track & Field
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Day 2 of 4 – June 9, 2016
Eugene, Ore. – Hayward Field
Women's Results
100m; Semifinal 3 of 3: 7. Kennadi Bouyer, 11.60 (20th overall)
800m; Semifinal 1 of 3: 3. Baylee Mires, 2:04.35 (Advances to final)
1,500m; Semifinal 1 of 2: 5. Amy-Eloise Neale, 4:13.93 (Advances to final); 9. Anna Maxwell, 4:16.41 (12th overall).
10,000m Final: 15. Katie Knight, 33:36.90.
3,000m Steeplechase; Semifinal 1 of 2: 2. Charlotte Prouse, 9:59.15 (Advances to final)
Pole Vault Final: 11 (tie). Elizabeth Quick, 13-3 ½.
Players Mentioned
