Sophomore Sophie Curatilo (Honolulu, Hawaii) broke an eight-year-old school record in winning the women’s 5000 meter run, one of four event victories for the Seattle University track and field team as the Redhawks helped the collection of Washington schools defeat the squad of schools from Oregon, Idaho, and Montana at WAR VI over the weekend at Spokane Falls Community College.
Curatilo finished ahead of her closest competitor by almost 17 full seconds with a time of 17:33.25, 7.42 seconds faster than the previous record set by Seattle U Athletic Hall of Fame member Kelly Fullerton on April 3, 2005. She cut 52.54 seconds off the time she posted in this event at last year’s WAR meet and tentatively moved into fifth place on the WAC performance list in the 5000 meter run.
“The weather was good for the women's 5000, so I told Sophie to go for the record,” Seattle U head coach Trisha Steidl said. “She looked extremely strong and ran with confidence to finally break that record. I'm glad it happened today so the team knows that is possible and more. Her race broke down a mental barrier for sure.”
The other event victories came from the Seattle University men. Zach Stanfield (Adna, Wash.) won the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.95 seconds. He also was part of two victorious relays, joining with Zachary Schlachter (Tigard, Ore.), Shaddye Melu (Auburn, Wash.), and Austin Thummel-Gravitt (Puyallup, Wash.) to win the 4x100 meter relay in 41.62 seconds and the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:20.49.
“The men's relays looked really strong today. Despite the conditions, they ran with focus and purpose. I foresee some great times dropping when they get in better conditions,” said Steidl.
Individually, Schlachter finished first in his heat and second overall in the 100 meter dash in 11.16 seconds and sixth overall in the 200 meter dash in 22.44 seconds. Thummel-Gravitt was third overall in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.36 seconds, and Melu finished in a tie for fifth place in the high jump after clearing 1.90 meters (6’ 2.75”).
Seattle U got off to a strong start in the Friday evening session, as Graham Kinzel-Grubbs (Portland, Ore.) finished third in the men’s 10,000 meter run in 32:09.35. In the women’s 10,000 meter run, Lauren Hammerle (Seattle, Wash.) crossed the finish line in sixth place in 39:11.64, followed by Meghan Arigo (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) in seventh place in 39:46.72.
In the women’s hammer throw Friday, Bethany Richards (Shoreline, Wash.) finished in sixth place with a top effort of 47.01 meters (154’ 2.75”), Amanda Luna (Beavercreek, Ore.) posted a mark of 44.14 meters (144’ 9.75”) to finish in 11th place, and Renate Wescott (Puyallup, Wash.) finished in 28th place with a mark of 35.26 meters (115’ 8.25”).
Saturday in the field events, Dylan Burnett (Lynnwood, Wash.) finished third in the men’s javelin throw with a top effort of 62.55 meters (205’ 2.75”), and Katie Tougas (Edmonds, Wash.) finished third in the women’s long jump after posting a top mark of 5.20 meters (17’ 0.75”). In the women’s high jump, Amanda Maddux (Gresham, Ore.) cleared 1.45 meters (4’ 9”) to finish in a tie for eighth place.
“Dylan continues to make strides towards and beyond where he was in his sophomore year. If he keeps this up, he's going to be perfectly prepared to go for that nationals qualifying mark by the end of the season,” Steidl said.
Elsewhere on the track, Collin Overbay (Spokane, Wash.) finished second in his section and eighth overall in the men’s 800 meter run in 1:55.75, and Nathan McLaughlin (Puyallup, Wash.) finished 11th in the men’s 5000 meter run with a time of 15:54.32. Samuel Engle (Portland, Ore.) won his heat and finished 12th overall in the men’s 400 meter dash in 51.62 seconds, while Candice de Sauvage (Foster City, Calif.) finished second in her heat and eighth overall in the women’s 400 meter dash in 59.06 seconds.
As a team, the Seattle U men finished in sixth place with 63 points, while the Redhawk women collected 25.2 points for a 12th place finish in the team standings. For both the men and the women, Seattle U’s contributions helped the state of Washington defeat the Idaho/Oregon/Montana squad, 487.16 to 300.8 on the men’s side and 406.1 to 352.9 on the women’s side.
“There were a wide variety of weather conditions to deal with today, as it was very cold and windy for the majority of the meet. With that in mind, we modified our approach to some of the events. Overall, the outcomes were good and a lot of growth took place as we continue to prepare for the end of the season,” said Steidl.
Members of the Seattle University track and field team will compete at one of three meets next Thursday and Friday, April 18 and 19. Some will head to the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., others will make the trip south to the Oregon Relays in Eugene, Ore., and the rest will take part in the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azuza, Calif.