Four Records Fall As Well-Rounded Dawgs Impress In Dempsey

Saturday, January 14

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UW Indoor Preview

Aidan Ryan, Joe Waskom, Kieran Lumb 2023

Four Records Fall As Well-Rounded Dawgs Impress In Dempsey

January 14, 2023 | Track & Field

Complete Results PDF Complete Results on TFRRS

By: UW Athletic Communications

SEATTLE – 2023 is off to a record-breaking start for the Husky track and field team as the Dawgs had one of their most impressive Dempsey openers in years on Saturday at the UW Indoor Preview. There were eighteen new marks written into the UW top-10 lists, including four school records, many from new Dawgs competing for the first time at home in the Husky singlet.

The first three records came in events that are not contested at the NCAA Indoor meet, but that didn't make them any less impressive. Reigning Pac-12 Track Champions Carley Thomas (800m) and Cass Elliott (400m Hurdles) both converged on the 600-meters, and both earned school records. Elliott's time of 1:16.51 was an all-time Dempsey Record, for good measure. And defending NCAA 1,500m Champ Joe Waskom shattered the school record in the 1,000-meters today in 2:18.77.

Late in the meet, the fourth record came in the 3,000-meters, a championship event that all great UW men's distance runners have taken a shot at in the Dempsey over the years. Kieran Lumb ran it faster than any Dawg prior, taking over the NCAA lead with a blazing 7:43.27, breaking Colby Gilbert's 2017 record by more than two seconds. It's the first indoor school record for Lumb, who owns the outdoor 10,000-meters school record.

?? Your new NCAA LEADER and ???????????? ????????????-???????????? in the 3,000-meters ??

Kieran Lumb a dominant 7??:4??3??.2??7?? to break Colby Gilbert's six-year-old record.

The FOURTH record of the day and the first in a Championship event ????#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/4EDrCtKRmv
— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) January 15, 2023

Eight of the eighteen marks were turned in by transfers, redshirt freshmen, or freshmen in their first official home meets.

Among those marks were three in the women's and men's pole vault. First in the women's vault, two transfers from the SEC matched each other up over the 14-foot mark. Nastassja Campbell, formerly an All-American at Arkansas, and Sara Borton from Tennessee, each made 14-0 ½ which puts them in a tie for fifth in the NCAA thus far. It was a lifetime-best for Borton, just a sophomore, and the two also became the sixth and seventh Husky women over 14 feet.

Winning the men's vault was one of the team's newest additions, Jacob Englar, who just officially joined the team at the start of winter quarter. Englar made the move from WSU where he was the Pac-12 Champ last spring, but in his first meet as a Husky, he vaulted over a career-high of 17-9 ¾. That launches him to eighth in the NCAA and ties for seventh in school history.

In his first meet in purple, Pac-12 pole vault Champ Jacob Englar flies to a new PR!!

He makes 17-9.75 on this attempt to go to #??7?? in school history in meet 1??#GoHuskies x #DempseySeason pic.twitter.com/EclWAkTwAF
— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) January 15, 2023

In the men's long jump, Prestin Artis achieved a major milestone in his official home debut. Last month, Artis had opened his season in Spokane with an impressive mark of 24-3 ½, but today he bettered that multiple times, starting on his second jump, when he reached 25-feet even for the first time. That moves him into 12th in the NCAA and into a tie for fourth in school history. It was the first 25-foot mark for a Husky since Norris Frederick finished his senior season in 2008 with the school record of 26-7 ¾. Artis also went 24-11 ¼ and 24-10 in the series to show impressive consistency at the distance.

Another splashy entrance came in the throws from redshirt freshman Kaia Tupu-South. The native New Zealander only had one unattached competition last year before dealing with a foot injury. Now back in action and in uniform for the first time, Tupu-South broke the Freshman Record in the shot put with a toss of 53-0 ¼ on her opener. That moves her up to No. 2 already in school history indoors, right behind teammate MaKayla Kelby, who went 53-11 ¼ in her season debut today.

Also getting their names into the top-10 in their first home meets were Aidan Ryan in the 3k, Aaron Ahl in the 1k, and Chloe Foerster in the 600m. Ryan, the transfer from D-III Williams College where he was an NCAA record-setter, lowered his PR in the 3k in a time of 7:53.00, going to eighth in school history and fifth in the NCAA.

Ahl was sixth in the loaded 1,000-meters that featured 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Matthew Centrowitz. He ran 2:24.01 which is good for sixth all-time. And while Waskom set the school record, he was actually edged out by a teammate, as Sam Ellis, the NCAA bronze medalist in the 1,500-meters last year, won the race in 2:18.48, three-tenths of a second ahead of Waskom. Ellis competed unattached, however, so does not qualify for the record.

The Dawgs have their first 2??5??-foot long jumper in 15 years!

Prestin Artis, with big crowd support, soars to a PR and the #??8?? mark so far in the NCAA!!#GoHuskies x #HuskyPRs pic.twitter.com/0Sl3jcNGLG
— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) January 14, 2023

Foerster followed Carley Thomas and Marlena Preigh in setting the top three 600m times in school history. Preigh previously held the record at 1:30.79 from 2020. Thomas went 1:28.78 but Preigh also was well under her old record in 1:29.02. Foerster crossed in 1:31.07, the new No. 3 mark.

For Foerster, the Portland, Ore. product, it was an impressive finish to a double that saw her win her section of the mile in a stellar time of 4:42.20. Doubles, and in some cases triples were a big part of the story for many of the Husky mid and long distance runners today.

Sophie O'Sullivan, Anna Gibson, and Madison Heisterman all ran sub-4:39 miles today and then came back later to all run sub-2:08 800-meters. Gibson was the top collegiate finisher in the mile, third overall, in 4:35.46, going to third nationally this season. She then was the second collegiate, fourth overall, in the 800m in 2:05.77.

O'Sullivan PR'd in both her mile and 800-meters and then even came back for a leg of the 4x400m relay. She obliterated her old mile PR of 4:49 with a 4:36.67 that puts her at ninth in school history and sixth in the NCAA, then followed with an 800m PR of 2:05.87, going to No. 4 on the Husky top-10. Heisterman had a double of 4:38.15 and 2:07.97. Her mile time now ranks seventh in the NCAA, as UW has five in the national top-10 with Gibson, O'Sullivan, Thomas, Heisterman, and Foerster.

The men welcomed yet another member into the sub-four-minute mile club today, number sixteen, as outdoor 1,500-meter nationals scorer Nathan Green checked that off his to-do list with a run of 3:58.27. That puts Green at No. 5 in the NCAA this season and No. 9 in Husky history.

Washington swept the weight throw titles with ease, as Beatrice Asomaning and Jayden White picked up close to where they left off in 2022. White, fourth at last year's NCAA Indoor meet and the school record-holder, threw 70-10 ¼ on his first attempt to win by over ten feet. Asomaning went 62-3 ¾ to win by nearly eight feet.

Along with Elliott's record 600m win, the sprinters saw Matthew Wilkinson post a 400-meter career-best time of 47.84 to take second overall in that event. Sam Baricevic was fifth in 49.39. In the women's sprints, sophomore Danielle Hunter shaved .01 off her 60m dash PR going 7.69 for fifth in the final. She also was second in the 200-meters in 25.46, with newcomer Rhonda Newton fourth in 25.83. Freshman Anna Terrell led UW in the women's 400-meters in 59.77

There was a lot more solid vaulting after the three new top-10 marks. Freshmen Sarah Ferguson and Avril Wilson each made 13-2 ½ today and Ashleigh Helms opened her year going 12-8 ¾, while Holland Pilukas cleared 11-9. Men's second-place behind Englar was decathlete Ollie Thorner, who posted a new lifetime-best of 15-11.

Ida Eikeng showed midseason form in her first three events since taking second at the NCAA Outdoor heptathlon. Eikeng was second in the 60m hurdles in 8.37, she had an indoor high jump PR of 5-7 to tie for 10th in school history, and she went 42-9 ¾ in the shot put.

For the men's multis, Thorner, in addition to his pole vault PR, ran 8.58, just .01 off his 60m hurdles best, and long jumped 21-6. Jami Schlueter went 14-5 ¼ in the pole vault for an indoor PR, long jumped 21-8 ¼, and went 8.39 in the hurdles. Freshman Bruno Comin Pescador had the best hurdles time of the trio, going 8.24 for fifth in the final, and he long jumped 21-7 ½.

Sophomore Lauren Heggen returned from a redshirt season and got a victory in her first triple jump competition of the year, going 38-6. She also long jumped 18-9 for third. Freshman Rachel Bir was sixth in the TJ at 36-9 1/2.