On the second and final day of the Great West Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, Seattle University’s Zach Stanfield (Adna, Wash.) won the Redhawks' second individual event and both teams scored enough points to move up in the final rankings at the New York Armory.
"I'm very happy with the performances the team put up these past two days. The student-athletes came into this meet with confidence and a willingness to take risks to make things happen when it counted most," said head coach Trisha Steidl.
Stanfield, who raced in the finals of four events, won the 400 meter dash with a time of 48.76, placed fourth in the 200 meter dash in 22.21, and was fifth in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.02. He also competed in the fifth-place 4x400 meter relay, along with Duncan MacKay (Renton, Wash.), Zachary Schlachter (Tigard, Ore.), and Dan Auld (Eugene, Ore.), which finished in 3:24.88.
Ty Jaros (Eugene, Ore.) claimed a new school record with a fourth-place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 13.51 meters, and also jumped 1.85 meters in the high jump to finish fifth. Nick Bever (Seattle, Wash.) also competed in the triple jump and finished sixth with a distance of 12.80 meters.
Matthew McClement (Bellingham, Wash.) ran for a third-place finish in the 3000 meter run with a time of 8:37.45. Auld also scored for the Redhawks with a seventh-place finish in the 800 meter run in 1:56.68,
In the women’s one mile, the Redhawks placed 3-4, with Sarah Bolce (Sacramento, Calif.) finishing in 5:04.32 and Celeste Cassidy (Bellingham, Wash.) in 5:05.24. Kelton Sears (Maple Valley, Wash.) finished fifth in the men’s one mile with a time of 4.16.75.
The women’s 4x400 meter relay also came in fifth, with Rachel Purcell (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Meeghan Bergmann (Portland, Ore.), Emily Walters (Olympia, Wash.), and Clare Obradovich (Tigard, Ore.) finishing in 4:03.40.
In the field events, Walters came in sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 10.92 meters, and Ariel Johnson (Moscow, Idaho) also finished sixth in the pole vault by clearing 3.25 meters.
Cara Talty (Raritan, N.J.) and Lauren Hammerle (Seattle, Wash.) came in sixth and seventh in the 3000 meter run with times of 10:16.41 and 10:21.80, respectively, and Kaytie Bateman (Chehalis, Wash.) was eighth in the women’s pentathlon with a Seattle U record score of 2702.
Both Seattle U's men's and women's teams moved up to fifth in the final standings, with the men collecting 55 points and the women ending with 46. South Dakota won both the men's and women's championships with 170.5 and 222 points, respectively.
"This is a 180 from where we were this time last year," said Steidl. "The team worked hard for these results and for us to get 5th for both the men's and women's teams with only bringing the minimum number of people to the meet is a testament to how much passion they put into what they do."
In other Seattle U results, Jennifer Stolle (Seattle, Wash.) ran the one mile in 5:17.19 and Chris Auld (Eugene, Ore.) finished in 4:27.28. In the 3000 meter run, Erik Barkhaus (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) ran in 8:43.56, Hans Heitzinger (Scottsdale, Ariz.) in 8:52.27, Adam Kollgaard (Kent, Wash.) in 8:55.09, and Michael Van Nuland (Newcastle, Wash.) in 8:59.82. In the 400 meter dash, Schlachter finished with a time of 51.20, followed by MacKay in 52.35. Josh Walters (Sacramento, Calif.) competed in the shot put with a throw of 10.60 meters.
"This is a great foundation to have as we transition into the outdoor season. Everyone - student-athletes and coaches alike - is motivated and excited about the performances we have to look forward to in the coming months," said Steidl.
The outdoor track and field season will begin with the PLU Invitational in Tacoma, Wash., Saturday, March 12, and will culminate with the GWC Outdoor Championships in Orem, Utah on May 12-14.