The Seattle University track and field team kicked off the 2008-09 indoor season in solid fashion, setting nine new school records at the UW Winter Preview hosted by the University of Washington Saturday at the Dempsey Indoor facility.
On the men’s side, Jim Mezzera (San Francisco, Calif.) qualified for the finals of the 60 meter dash with a preliminary time of 7.14 seconds, and then finished third in the finals with a school-record time of 7.07 seconds. Mezzera also finished seventh in the 200 meter dash in 22.90 seconds, right behind Christopher Fussell (Las Vegas, Nev.) who tied the school record with a time of 22.79 seconds for a sixth-place finish.
In the men’s 500 meter dash, Tom Mezzera (San Francisco, Calif.) won the fourth heat and finished second overall, setting a school record with a time of 1:08.41, while Daniel Sullivan (Tukwila, Wash.) finished third overall, winning the third heat with a time of 1:08.81. Sullivan led off the 4x400 meter relay for Seattle University, joining Zach Stanfield (Adna, Wash.), Jim Mezzera, and Jude Martinez (Hagatna, Guam) in posting a time of 3:32.90 for a third-place finish.
Ty Jaros (Eugene, Ore.) started his collegiate career with good results, finishing fifth in the long jump with a top leap of 6.55 meters (21' 6") and eighth in the triple jump with a top jump of 12.76 meters (41' 10.5"). After just missing the finals of the 60 meter hurdles with a preliminary time of 9.07 seconds, Devlin Sweeney (Olympia, Wash.) finished eighth in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.87 meters (6' 1.5").
Clare Obradovich (Tigard, Ore.) earned the best result among the women, finishing second in the 500 meter dash with a school-record time of 1:21.82. The 4x400 relay quartet of Rachel Purcell (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Obradovich, Elena Collins (Eugene, Ore.), and Erin Moon (Honolulu, Hawaii) won its heat and finished fourth overall, setting a school record with a time of 4:08.75. Alyssa Lout (Tempe, Ariz.) also set a school record in the 200 meter dash, posting a time of 27.07 seconds.
In the field events, Mara Becker (Fairbanks, Alaska) set a school record by clearing a height of 1.58 meters (5' 2.25") to finish in a tie for seventh in the high jump, while Emee Mathew (Redmond, Wash.) advanced to the finals in the shot put, finishing eighth with a top throw of 10.54 meters (34' 7"). In her first meet at Seattle University, Becca Urbany (Demascus, Ore.) set two new school records, finishing ninth in the long jump with a top leap of 4.78 meters (15' 8.25") and tenth in the triple jump with a top effort of 10.04 meters (32' 11.25").
"Nine school records this early in the season says a lot as to where this team is headed," assistant coach Eric Schueffner said. "We were really close on many other records and a good number of people had their personal bests. There were so many good performances. It was a great icebreaker for the season and a sign of great things to come."
Barring any schedule changes, all of Seattle University's indoor track and field meets will take place at the Dempsey Indoor facility. The next meet is Saturday, Jan. 17, as the University of Washington hosts the UW Indoor Preview.