OREM, Utah – Dylan Burnett (Lynnwood, Wash.) won the javelin with a school record throw of 70.66 meters (231-10) in the final day of competition of the 2011 Great West Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships Saturday at the Hal Wing Track & Field.
Burnett’s throw earned him the Most Outstanding Performance award for the meet and beat the Seattle University record by seven meters. It also placed him in the top 30 throwers in the nation and broke the GWC record. Also in the javelin, Brandan Haggarty (Missoula, Mont.) placed second, improving his personal best by ten meters with a throw of 62.50 meters (205-0.75).
"It was incredible to say the least," said head coach Trisha Steidl. "That he set the PR and the school record is great, and winning the conference championship is fantastic, but he is in the top 30 in the nation with that throw and I don't have the vocabulary to express how truly amazing that is. And he's only a sophomore!"
Sarah Bolce (Sacramento, Calif.) placed second and set a school record in the women’s 1500 meter run with a time of 4:37.79. In the men’s 1500 meter run, Kelton Sears (Maple Valley, Wash.) finished third in 3:57.74. In the 800 meter run, Dan Auld (Eugene, Ore.) finished fourth with a time of 1:56.51.
The men’s 4x100 meter relay comprised of Cooper Hartman (Silverdale, Wash.), Taylor Fitch (Seattle, Wash.), Duncan MacKay (Renton, Wash.), and Zachary Schlachter (Tigard, Ore.) finished third in 41.74. The women’s 4x400 meter relay of Clare Obradovich (Tigard, Ore.), Meeghan Bergmann (Portland, Ore.), Elena Collins (Eugene, Ore.), and Rachel Purcell (Mission Viejo, Calif.) placed fourth with a school record time of 3:54.71.
Purcell also broke the school record that she set in the 400 meter trials yesterday with a new time of 57.26, placing fifth. Obradovich, Purcell, Bergmann, and Alyssa Lout (Tempe, Ariz.) placed sixth in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 49.29.
Emily Walters (Olympia, Wash.) came within half an inch of her record in the women’s triple jump, finishing fifth with a distance of 10.98 meters (36-0.25). Nick Bever (Seattle, Wash.) finished sixth in the men’s triple jump, covering 12.64 meters (41-5.75) with his leap.
In other events, Stephen Squatrito (Phoenix, Ariz.) was able to grab half of a point for the men, finishing eighth in the pole vault with a height of 4.05 meters (13-3.5). Kaytie Bateman (Chehalis, Wash.) competed in the javelin with a throw of 28.92 meters (94-10.50). In the women’s 1500 meter run, Jennifer Stolle (Seattle, Wash.) competed with a time of 4:57.63, and Chris Auld (Eugene, Ore.) finished the men’s 1500 meter run in 4:09.24.
In the men’s 5000 meter run, Michael Van Nuland (Newcastle, Wash.) finished in 16:10.15, and he was followed by Adam Kollgaard (Kent, Wash.) in 16:16.63. In the women’s 5000 meter run, Cara Talty (Raritan, N.J.) finished in 19:12.36, followed by Lauren Hammerle (Seattle, Wash.) in 19:40.56.
"I'm so proud of how well our team represented our program and our school these past few days," said Steidl. "Not only did they set a plethora of PRs and school records, which is awesome in-and-of itself, but they competed well and with a lot of heart. Everyone gave their all and put it out there for the team. It was a great show of solidarity."
Both the men and women finished sixth in the team standings, with the men accumulating 64.5 points and the women 36 points. Utah Valley won both team competitions, wiping out the competition on the women’s side with 305 points and beating South Dakota by one point with 207 for the men.
The meet concluded the outdoor season for Seattle University’s 2011 campaign, and was the final meet for seniors Kollgaard, Van Nuland, Obradovich, and Purcell.
"The seniors ran wonderfully at this meet. I honestly couldn't have asked for more. They've worked so hard to help build this program over the last four years and it was obvious each of them wanted to go out with a bang, and they did," said Steidl. "I'm extremely proud of what our team accomplished these past few days and I'm thrilled for what our future holds."