The Seattle University track and field team will head to the Midwest for the 2012 Great West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, to be held at the Westwood Fitness and Sports Center in Sterling, Ill., Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25-26.
Going into the meet, Erik Barkhaus (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) and Matthew McClement (Bellingham, Wash.) have the top two times in the 5000 meter run in the conference. In the 3000 meter run, McClement is fourth and Barkhaus is sixth on the conference performance list. Baxter Arguinchona (Spokane, Wash.) will also attempt the 3000-5000 double. Graham Kinzel-Grubbs (Portland, Ore.) will compete in the 5000 meter run. and Collin Overbay (Spokane, Wash.) will participate in the 3000 meter run as well as in the mile run alongside Kelton Sears (Maple Valley, Wash.).
On the women's side in those events, Hannah Mittelstaedt (Maple Valley, Wash.) is fifth in the 3000 meter run and fourth in the 5000 meter run. Senior Sarah Bolce (Sacramento, Calif.) is third on the Great West performance list in the mile run and in the 3000 meter run. Sophie Curatilo (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Jennifer Stolle (Seattle, Wash.) will also compete in the women's one mile run.
Austin Thummel-Gravitt (Puyallup, Wash.) is fourth in the 400 meter dash and eighth in the 200 meter dash. Zachary Schlachter (Tigard, Ore.) will join Thummel-Gravitt in the men's 400 meter dash, while Duncan MacKay (Renton, Wash.) will participate in both the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash. Meanwhile, Stephen Squatrito (Phoenix, Ariz.) is tied for fifth in the conference in the men's pole vault, with Ariel Johnson (Moscow, Idaho) looking to make an impact in the women's pole vault.
Other females to watch for Seattle U include Miriam Mboya (Shoreline, Wash.), who is seventh in the 60 meter dash, and Elena Collins (Eugene, Ore.), currently eighth in the conference in the 400 meter dash. Kaytie Bateman (Chehalis, Wash.) has the top point total in the pentathlon and is eighth in the high jump, while Katie Tougas (Edmonds, Wash.) is seventh in the long jump and Cali Cull (Marysville, Wash.) is fourth in the triple jump.
Nick Bever (Seattle, Wash.) and Mahmoud Hassanyn (Redondo Beach, Calif.) will compete in both the long jump and the triple jump, and Dan Auld (Eugene, Ore.) and Colton Misono (Newcastle, Calif.) will take part in the 800 meter run. Amanda Luna (Beavercreek, Ore.) will compete in three events: the triple jump, the shot put, and the weight throw, while Bethany Richards (Shoreline, Wash.) will look to finish in the top eight in both the shot put and the weight throw, and Candice de Sauvage (Foster City, Calif.) will run in the 400 meter dash.
Each day will culminate with a relay. In Saturday's distance medley relay, Bolce, Curatilo, Meeghan Bergmann (Portland, Ore.), and Stolle will team up on the women's side, while Auld, Overbay, Schlachter, and Sears will run for the men's team. In the 4x400 meter relay Sunday, Bergmann, Collins, de Sauvage, and Tougas will run for the women, and MacKay, Misono, Schlachter, and Thummel-Gravitt are scheduled to compete for the men.
Results from each day of the Great West Conference Championships involving Seattle U competitors will be posted on GoSeattleU.com as soon as they become available.