Sophomore Collin Overbay (Spokane, Wash.) set a new school record in the men's 3000 meter run, highlighting the Seattle University track and field team's participation in the Oregon Preview Saturday afternoon at historic Hayward Field.
"The running events were overall quite solid. Field events are showing signs of early season training. Collin ran a smart, strong race in the 3000 to capture the school record. That was the goal going in and he executed the plan well. We will continue to build over the next few weeks to prepare for the bulk of our season," Seattle U head track and field coach Trisha Steidl said.
Overbay finished seventh overall in the 3000 meter run with a time of 8:30.19, almost three full seconds faster than the previous mark. Also in the event, Matthew McClement (Bellingham, Wash.) finished in 11th place in 8:37.87, Ryan Dennison (Pacifica, Calif.) crossed the finish line in 13th place with a time of 8:41.04, and Graham Kinzel-Grubbs (Portland, Ore.) finished in 21st place in 8:58.17.
Zach Stanfield (Adna, Wash.) enjoyed a solid day on the track. He finished fourth overall in the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.72 seconds, plus he was first in his heat and second overall in the 400 meter dash with a mark of 48.13 seconds. He then ran the second leg of the 4x100 meter relay, joining with Zachary Schlachter (Tigard, Ore.), Shaddye Melu (Auburn, Wash.), and Austin Thummel-Gravitt (Puyallup, Wash.) to post a time of 41.86 seconds, good enough for third place in the event.
Schlachter finished first in his heat and ninth overall in the 200 meter dash in 21.89 seconds and second in his heat and ninth overall in the 400 meter dash with a time of 49.47 seconds. Also in those two events, Thummel-Gravitt was fourth in his heat and 15th overall in the 200 meter dash (22.34) and third in his heat and fourth overall in the 400 meter dash (48.52).
Elsewhere on the track, Eric Patterson-Floyd (Seattle, Wash.) finished third in his heat and 10th overall in the 100 meter dash in 11.06 seconds. Samuel Engle (Portland, Ore.) finished third in his heat and seventh overall in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 57.04 seconds. In the men's 1500 meter run, Baxter Arguinchona (Spokane, Wash.) finished fourth in his heat and 16th overall with a time of 4:04.79, just ahead of Nathan McLaughlin (Puyallup, Wash.) with a mark of 4:06.29.
In the field events for the men, Dylan Burnett (Lynnwood, Wash.) finished third in the javelin throw with a top effort of 58.96 meters (193' 5"), while Melu finished eighth in the high jump by clearing 1.92 meters (6' 3.5"). Nick Bever (Seattle, Wash.) also finished eighth in his event, the men's triple jump, with a top effort of 13.06 meters (42' 10.25"), and Devon Walker (Ventura, Calif.) finished 11th in the discus throw with a best toss of 40.51 meters (132' 11").
On the women's side, Bethany Richards (Shoreline, Wash.) finished eighth in the hammer throw with a top toss of 43.70 meters (143' 4"), while Amanda Luna (Beavercreek, Ore.) was 11th in the event with a mark of 38.01 meters (124' 8"). Cali Cull (Marysville, Wash.) finished ninth in the triple jump with a top mark of 10.95 meters (35' 11.25"), Kaytie Bateman (Chehalis, Wash.) was 10th in the javelin throw with a best toss of 31.16 meters (102' 3"), and Katie Tougas (Edmonds, Wash.) finished in 12th place in the long jump with a top leap of 5.06 meters (16' 7.25").
Bateman also competed in the 100 meter hurdles, finishing fourth in her heat and 11th overall with a time of 15.91 seconds. Meeghan Bergmann (Portland, Ore.) also competed in two events during the day, finishing fourth in her heat and 19th overall in the 200 meter dash with a time of 26.50 seconds. She also finished sixth in her heat and 14th overall in the 400 meter dash in 60.01 seconds, while Candice de Sauvage (Foster City, Calif.) posted a time of 59.25 seconds to finish fourth in her heat and ninth overall.
Madison Davis (Camano Island, Wash.) won her heat of the 800 meter run, finishing seventh overall in the event with a time of 2:15.49. Becca Lassere (Boise, Idaho) finished ninth in her heat and 17th overall with a mark of 2:22.35.
Hannah Mittelstaedt (Maple Valley, Wash.) was seventh both in her heat and overall in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:38.91, while Sophie Curatilo (Honolulu, Hawaii) was second in her heat, but 11th overall with a time of 4:41.50. In the women's 3000 meter run, Elena Smith (Seattle, Wash.) crossed the finish line in 22nd place with a time of 10:38.77, Lauren Hammerle (Seattle, Wash.) finished in 26th place in 10:47.39, and Meghan Arigo (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) finished in 28th place with a time of 11:10.09.
The Seattle University track and field team will have two weeks to prepare for the Stanford Invitational, taking place March 29-30.