Katie Hansen (Portland, Ore.) posted a provisional national qualifying time in the 3000 meter run, and several other Seattle University competitors advanced to event finals as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships started up Friday evening at Central Washington University’s Tomlinson Stadium.
Hansen finished third in the 3000 meter run with a time of 10:03.09, potentially good enough to qualify for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in three weeks in Walnut, Calif. Also in the event, Greta Stickney (Poulsbo, Wash.) finished 11th in the race in a time of 10:58.44.
In preliminary events, Travis Glover (SeaTac, Wash.) was able to advance to the finals in both the 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash, while Daniel Sullivan (Tukwila, Wash.) advanced to Saturday’s finals not only in the 100 meter dash, but also the 400 meter hurdles. Christopher Fussell (Las Vegas, Nev.) was the third Seattle University runner to reach the 100 meter dash finals, but just missed reaching the finals in the 200 meter dash.
Rachael Johnson (Yakima, Wash.) won her heat in the 800 meter run in 2:15.42, advancing to tomorrow’s finals. In the 400 meter dash, Rachel Purcell (Mission Viejo, Calif.) posted a time of 59.57 seconds, just good enough to earn a spot in the finals. In the men’s 10,000 meter run, Hans Heitzinger (Scottsdale, Ariz.) crossed the finish line in 12th place with a time of 34:02.86.
In the finals of field events held Friday, Courtney Cabebe (Kihei, Hawaii) placed sixth in the pole vault by clearing a height of 10' 5.25", d'Andre Benjamin (Mililani, Hawaii) finished 11th in the long jump with a top leap of 19' 8.25", and Hali Bellisario (Newberry, Ore.) finished 13th in the javelin with a top throw of 102' 11".
Other Seattle University competitors include Loyal Allen, Jr. (Seattle, Wash.), finishing the 400 meter dash in 51.16 seconds, Benjamin in the 110 meter hurdles in 16.10 seconds, Elizabeth Wolf (Albuquerque, N.M.) in the 100 meter dash in 13.24 seconds, and Jen Hamann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in the 800 meter run in 2:23.05.
Entering Saturday’s action, the Seattle University women sit in seventh place with nine points, while the men are in eighth place with two points, but both teams expect to earn the majority of their points tomorrow. The meet continues at 11 a.m. Saturday.