OREM, Utah – Seattle University had a great second day at the Great West Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, as six school records and multiple personal records were broken, and points were scored at the Hal Wing Track & Field.
"With six school records today, all on the women's side, it's difficult to be unhappy with the results," said head coach Trisha Steidl. "The women are making great strides in their performances. However, we had hoped for more points from day two. There are still a lot of great opportunities tomorrow, all of which I hope we are able to take full advantage."
In the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase finals, Kelton Sears (Maple Valley, Wash.) finished second with a personal best time of 9:49.08, followed immediately by teammate Michael Van Nuland (Newcastle, Wash.) in 9:49.10 for third place.
Emily Walters (Olympia, Wash.) placed third in the long jump, breaking her own school record with a distance of 5.72 meters (18-9.25). She also set a school record in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15.07.
Kaytie Bateman (Chehalis, Wash.) wrapped up the heptathlon with a school record score of 3895. She set personal bests in the final three events, finishing third in the 800 meter run (2:35.46), fourth in the javelin (30.76m), and fifth in the long jump (5.05m) to move up to seventh place overall.
Nick Bever (Seattle, Wash.) placed fifth in the long jump with a personal record distance of 6.45 meters (21-2), and Bo Anderson (Tacoma, Wash.) competed in the shot put, finishing seventh with a throw of 14.78 meters (48-6).
With a school record time of 57.89, Rachel Purcell (Mission Viejo, Calif.) qualified for the finals in the 400 meter dash. Dan Auld (Eugene, Ore.) qualified for the finals in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:56.34. Both Sarah Bolce (Sacramento, Calif.) and Jennifer Stolle (Seattle, Wash.) qualified for the 1500 meter run finals with times of 4:47.55 and 4:53.52, respectively.
With a new school record time of 12.52, Katie Tougas (Edmonds, Wash.) competed in the 100 meter dash. She also set a personal record in the long jump with a distance of 5.34 meters (17-6.25). In the 200 meter dash, Alyssa Lout (Tempe, Ariz.) set a school record with a time of 26.17, and she also competed in the 100 meter dash in 12.74.
Taylor Fitch (Seattle, Wash.) and Duncan MacKay (Renton, Wash.) set personal records in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes. In the 100, Fitch finished in 10.79, missing the finals by .03 seconds, and MacKay ended with a time of 10.86. In the 200, MacKay finished in 21.99, and Fitch crossed the line with a time of 22.15.
Josh Walters (Sacramento, Calif.) had a personal record in the shot put with a distance of 11.84 meters (38-10.25). Anderson also competed in the discus with a throw of 23.81 meters (78-1.5). In the women’s discus, Sara Blakely (Spokane, Wash.) threw a distance of 33.52 meters (109-11.75) and Bethany Richards (Shoreline, Wash.) threw 32.45 meters (106-5.5). In the shot put, Richards threw a distance of 10.81 meters (35-5.5) and Blakely threw 9.31 meters (30-6.5).
Also competing was Meeghan Bergmann (Portland, Ore.) in the women's 400 meter run with a time of 1:00.97 and Zachary Schlachter (Tigard, Ore.) in the men's 400 meter run in 50.30. Cooper Hartman (Silverdale, Wash.) ran the 400 meter hurdles in a time of 1:00.17.
"There were quite a few PRs on the men's side as well as four scorers today," said Steidl. "Bo, Nick, Mike, and Kelton did a great job of getting our men's team in the mix. There's still work to do tomorrow to secure fifth and go after fourth. The points are too close to call anything as they stand now."
The Redhawk men have moved up to tie with Texas-Pan American for fifth place in the team standings with 26 points. The women have moved to seventh with 12 points.
"Each athlete will have to put his or her game face on and go into every event with complete confidence and pure focus and drive to earn every point we can," said Steidl.
The Championships resume for the final day of competition at 10 a.m. local time Saturday morning.