The track and field team posted several solid performances at the 38th annual Pelluer Invitational Friday at Woodward Field on the campus of .
Daniel Sullivan () repeated his winning performance in the 400 meter hurdles from last year’s event, shaving over half of a second off his 2008 time to win this year’s title in 53.99 seconds. He then joined Jim Mezzera (, ), Zach Stanfield (, ), and Tom Mezzera (, ) in giving the title in the 4x100 meter relay for the second straight year, this time with a time of 42.14 seconds. The same foursome finished third in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:24.39.
Stanfield finished fourth in the 100 meter dash in 10.95 seconds, just ahead of Jim Mezzera in fifth with a time of 11.11 seconds. The order was reversed in the 200 meter dash, as Jim Mezzera finished fifth in 22.30 seconds, just ahead of sixth-place Stanfield who posted a time of 22.34 seconds. Tom Mezzera finished third in the 400 meter dash with a time of 48.55 seconds, and Devlin Sweeney () finished sixth in the 110 meter hurdles in 15.94 seconds.
In the distance events, Michael Van Nuland (, ) finished third in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10:08.17, while Hans Heitzinger () posted a time of 33:31.99 in the 10,000 meter run. Matthew McClement (, ) finished fourth in the 5000 meter run in 15:46.97, just ahead of teammate Adam Kollgaard () in fifth place in 15:52.49.
In the 800 meter run, Rustin Winger (, ) finished sixth in 1:56.85 and Graham Miller () crossed the finish line in ninth place in 2:00.26. Erik Barkhaus (, ) finished eighth in the 1500 meter run in 4:03.28, while Chris Auld () placed 15th with a time of 4:08.96.
Sarah Bolce () led the way for the women, winning the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:52.41. Allison Prather () also performed well in the race, finishing ninth in 5:11.46. In the 800 meter run, Jen Hamann (, ) finished fourth with a time of 2:22.67, while Rachel Vranizan () earned a fourth-place finish in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:09.88. Rhiannon Cadelinia () led the way in the 5000 meter run with a fifth place finish in 19:19.4, and Rachel Yorkston (Bellingham, Wash.) crossed the finish line in eighth place with a time of 20:14.56.
Alyssa Lout (, ) finished fifth in the 100 meter dash in 12.75 seconds and eighth in the 200 meter dash in 26.90 seconds, while Elizabeth Wolf () earned a sixth-place finish in the 200 meter dash in 26.37 seconds. Clare Obradovich (, ) finished fifth in the 400 meter dash in 59.37 seconds and Rachel Purcell () was seventh in the same event in 59.93 seconds. Obradovich, Purcell, Wolf, and Lout combined to finish fourth in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 49.41 seconds. In the 4x400 meter relay, Obradovich, Purcell, Wolf, and Vranizan joined together for a second place finish in 4:03.53.
In the field events, Becca Urbany (, ) finished sixth in both the long jump (15’ 10.5”) and the triple jump (35’ 5”), and Lindsay Currier () finished fifth in the discus throw (124’ 2”) and tenth in the shot put (31’ 11.5”). In the pole vault, Courtney Cabebe (, ) and Ariel Johnson () tied for seventh place, each clearing a height of 9’8”. Ty Jaros () finished eighth in the triple jump with a top effort of 43’ 1.75” and tied for seventh with Sweeney in the high jump after clearing a height of 6’ 0.75”.
Seattle University will finish the 2008-09 competition season not only for the track and field program, but also for the athletic department as a whole by participating in the Ken Shannon Invitational next Friday, May 8, at Husky Stadium beginning at 3:30 p.m.