Distance Reinforcements Start Strong At Stanford

Friday, March 31

Austin, TX

All Day

University of Washington

Texas Relays

March 31, 2023 | Track & Field

By: UW Athletic Communications

Stanford Invitational
Friday-Saturday, March 30-April 1
Stanford, Calif.

Schedule | Heat Assignments | Live Results | Live Video on Flotrack

STANFORD, Calif. – After patiently waiting the past three months, as they did not have remaining indoor eligibility, a trio of superstar transfers and first-year Huskies ran outstanding outdoor openers today at the Stanford Invitational.

First up was Kayley DeLay, last year's NCAA runner-up in the steeplechase at Yale. In her first race in purple, DeLay pulled away from the field and won the steeplechase in 9:48.44. That put DeLay right up to No. 4 in school history in one race, and is the top time in the NCAA so far this season.

Trippas, the 2020 Australian Olympian and former Princeton athletes, made his steeplechase debut as well and also moved into the Husky recordbooks. He clocked a time of 8:40.43 to go to No. 8 in school history and easily secure a West Prelims qualifier.

Sam Ellis was one of the eight Huskies to run sub-four-minute miles not once, but twice indoors, though his marks did not count towards the Husky top-10 list as he only had outdoor eligibility. That outdoor season started today, and Ellis, also a Princeton transfer, got the victory in the 1,500-meters, running 3:40.81.

No more generic purple singlet for Sam!

He's now "attached" to the Dawgs and wins his outdoor opener in 3:40.81 ??#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/sBlhvS8qFR
— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) April 1, 2023

In the women's 1,500-meters, Carley Thomas moved up from her usual 800-meters and clocked a strong time of 4:17.50 to finish seventh in the top section. In an earlier heat, freshman Chloe Thomas ran away from the field with two-hundred meters to go and won in a time of 4:20.72.

Marlena Preigh also stepped up in distance and ran 4:27.82, and freshmen Sophia Nordenholz and Ella Borsheim went 4:29.40 and 4:29.87, respectively.

Also on the men's side, Aaron Ahl posted a 3:45.44 in the heat won by Ellis.

As night set in, the races got longer as the temperature kept dropping. In the women's 10,000-meters, Andrea Markezich shattered her old PR by 52-seconds, running 32:50.16, and going from outside the Husky top-10 list all the way up to No. 3 behind only First Team All-Americans Izzi Batt-Doyle and Haley Herberg.

The final Dawg of the day was Leo Daschbach, running his first ever 10k on the track in a race that started at about 11 p.m. Daschbach took to the distance like a natural, as he clocked the 10th-fastest time in school history in 28:54.51. Naomi Smith also turned in her first 10k of the year in a time of 33:50.48.

In the men's 5k, Aidan Ryan and Isaac Green finished in 14:10.84 and 14:11.04, respectively. Several Huskies got work tonight with pacing duties, including All-Americans Luke Houser and Brian Fay, while Kaley DeLay and Ella Borsheim paced later races after finishing their earlier events.

Lots of these today for Kayley DeLay in her official Husky debut!

?? She wins the Stanford Invite steeplechase in 9:48.44!

That puts her right up to #?4? in school history!#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/mLKxZp2T0P
— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) April 1, 2023

Field events were highlighted by another win for Nastassja Campbell, though not quite at the heights of a week ago. She cleared 13-8 ¼ today to win, while Sara Borton made the same height but on more attempts to finish third. Sarah Ferguson and Ashleigh Helms each jumped 12-10 ¼.

In the long jump, Prestin Artis took third at 24-0 ¾, while Tim Luebbert posted a PR of 23-10. Jami Schlueter had a best of 21-9 ½.

The first events on the track for the Dawgs were the high hurdles, with the multis group getting in work. Ida Eikeng, Jami Schlueter, and Bruno Comin Pescador all advanced to the finals in the hurdles. Eikeng had a best time of 13.59 in the women's prelims. Schlueter had a time of 14.36 in the men's prelims, and Comin Pescador had a PR in the finals, going 14.31.

Ollie Thorner was just off his PR in the discus, going 140-11, while Schlueter improved his discus PR to 132-3.

Texas Relays

Cass Elliott was the lone Dawg to take to the track in Austin, Texas today at the Texas Relays. After setting a PR of 50.05 in the 400m hurdles prelims yesterday, he was looking to break fifty today. But running out of lane nine, Elliott was a shade slower than Thursday, clocking a 50.28, finishing third overall in the final.