The Seattle University indoor track and field team posted some solid performances as it competed against athletes from Western Washington, Seattle Pacific, and Saint Martin’s at the Moonlight Qualifying meet Thursday night at the University of Washington’s Dempsey Indoor Facility.
Rachel Yorkston (Bellingham, Wash.) finished first in the 3000 meter run with a time of 10:55.69, while Tiffany Hunter (Longview, Wash.) crossed the finish line in third place in 11:22.17. Lindsay Currier (Beaverton, Ore.) had a solid night in the shot put, finishing second with a top throw of 10.84 meters (35' 6.75").
Other top performances for the women included Rachael Johnson’s (Yakima, Wash.) third place finish in the 400 meter dash in 1:00.50 and Mara Becker’s (Fairbanks, Alaska) third place finish in the high jump as she cleared 1.50 meters (4' 11"). Courtney Cabebe (Kihei, Hawaii) finished in sixth place in the pole vault, clearing a height of 3.21 meters (10' 6.25"), and Rachel Purcell (Mission Viejo, Calif.) finished in seventh place in the 200 meter dash in 27.35 seconds.
The Seattle University men won two events during the evening. Daniel Sullivan (Tukwila, Wash.) finished first in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.14 seconds, nearly 3/10ths of a second faster than his nearest competitors. The Redhawks also finished 1-2 in the 200 meter dash, with Christopher Fussell (Las Vegas, Nev.) winning in 22.97 seconds and Loyal Allen, Jr. (Seattle, Wash.), picking up second place in 23.39 seconds. Fussell also finished third in the long jump with a top leap of 6.14 meters (20' 1.75").
Robert Poshusta (Bremerton, Wash.) finished second in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.25 seconds. The men also performed well in the distance events, as Nicholas Alvarado (San Francisco, Calif.) finished third in the one mile run in 4:24.94, Hans Heitzinger (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Michael Van Nuland (Newcastle, Wash.) crossed the finish line in third and fourth places, respectively, in the 3000 meter run with times of 9:23.11 and 9:25.98, and Graham Miller (Spokane, Wash.) finished fifth in both the 800 meter dash (2:01.48) and the one mile run (4:37.53).
In the team competition, split up into a series of dual meets, the Seattle Pacific women defeated the Redhawk women, 182.5-121.5, and the Western Washington women, 180-140. Western Washington defeated Seattle University on both the men’s side, 212-111, and the women’s side, 158-128.
Seattle University will have over a week to prepare for the GNAC Championships, to be hosted by Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, on Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 18.