The Seattle University track team had another good showing for the second consecutive weekend with wins in multiple events at the Willamette Invitational in Salem, Oregon.
On the men’s side, Christopher Fussell (Las Vegas, Nev.) led the way with wins in the 100 meter dash (10.72) and the 200 meter dash (22.09). In the 200, Fussell finished just ahead of Tom Mezzera (San Francisco, Calif.) who finished second (22.41), Zach Stanfield (Adna, Wash.) in fourth (22.51), and Daniel Sullivan (Tukwila, Wash.) in ninth (22.63). Stanfield recorded another top performance in the 400 meters with a sixth place finish of (50.11), while teammate Jim Mezzera (San Francisco, Calif.) finished in 16th (51.59).
In the 800 meter, it was Dan Auld (Eugene, Ore.) leading the way with his 28th place finish in a time of 1:59.51. Auld was followed by Graham Miller (Spokane, Wash.) in 30th (1:59.92) and Rustin Winger (Tracyton, Wash.) in 33rd (2:00.16). Chris Auld (Eugene, Ore.) was the top finisher for SU in the 1,500 with a 39th place finish (4:13.85), while Hector Estrada (The Colony, Texas) finished right behind him in 41st (4.14.15). Erik Barkhaus (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) had a strong finish (14th) in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:08.97, ahead of teammates Matthew McClement (Bellingham, Wash.) in 31st (15.33.79), and Adam Kollgaard (Kent, Wash.) in 33rd (15.38.41). Hans Heitzinger (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was the lone runner for the Redhawks in the 10,000, finishing in 13th with a time of 32:16.30.
The 110 hurdles saw Delvin Sweeney (Olympia, Wash.) finish 23rd overall in a time of 16.68, while Robert Poshusta (Bremerton, Wash.) finished 28th (17.21), and Jude Martinez (Hagatna, Guam) finished 29th (17.37). Poshusta also finished 22nd in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:02.15. In the 3,000 meter steeplechase, Michael Van Nuland (New Castle, Wash.) finished eighth with a 9:53.25. The relays saw the 4x100 team of Stanfield, Fussell, Sullivan, and J. Mezzera finish third in a time of 42.24, while the 4x400 team of Jabari Fraser (Bethesda, Md.), Martinez, and the Mezzera brothers finished ninth with a time of 3:28.04.
In the field events, Ty Jaros (Eugene, Ore.) finished fifth in the high jump with a jump of 1.88 meters, while Sweeney finished 13th (1.78 meters). Martinez took 23rd in the long jump with a jump of 5.97 meters, and Jaros was seventh in the triple with a 13.07.
On the women’s side, Rachel Purcell (Mission Viejo, Calif.) finished sixth in the 400 meters (59.82), ahead of Clare Obradovich (Tigard, Ore.) in eighth (1:00.17), and Elizabeth Wolf (Albuquerque, N.M.) in tenth (1:01.52). Jen Hamann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was the only participant in the 800, finishing 22nd with a time of 2:23.40. Sarah Bolce (Sacramento, Calif.) finished 21st (4:55.10) in the 1,500, with Allison Prather (Carpinteria, Calif.) finishing 26th (5:00.76). In the 5,000, Rhiannon Cadelinia (San Francisco, Calif.) placed 28th with a personal best time of 18:22.27, Natalie Martinez (San Francisco, Calif.) was 46th (19:23.19), and Jennifer Innes (San Bruno, Calif.) was 52nd (20:12.13). Rachel Yorkston (Bellingham, Wash.) finished ninth in the 10,000 meters with a time of 40:53.07.
In the hurdles, Rachel Vranizan (Portland, Ore.) placed 19th in the 100 with a time of 17.43, while Becca Urbany (Damascus, Ore.) was 22nd with a 17.64. Vranizan also placed tenth in the 400 hurdles with a 1:08.95. The 4x100 team of Wolf, Purcell, Vranizan, and Obradovich, took seventh with a time of 50.36, while the 4x400 of Purcell, Wolf, Obradovich, and Elena Collins (Eugene, Ore.), placed second in a time of 4:04.19.
The field events saw Ariel Johnson (Moscow, Idaho) and Courtney Cabebe (Kihei, Hawaii) finish second and third in the pole vault, clearing heights of 2.90 meters and 2.75 meters respectively. Urbany placed 16th in the long jump with a best of 4.58 meters, and seventh in the triple jump with a best of 10.25 meters. In the discus, Lindsay Currier (Beaverton, Ore.) placed sixth with a toss of 40.18 meters and teammate RaeLani Valaile placed 27th with 28.55 meters.
The track team will return to action Friday April 10, as they travel to Bellingham, Washington for the Western Washington University Vernacchia Invitational.