Three more school records were rewritten as some of Seattle University’s best track and field athletes competed at the Husky Classic Friday and Saturday, hosted by the University of Washington at the Dempsey Indoor Facility.
Both 400 meter dash school records were broken by the people who originally set them at last year’s conference championships. First, Candice de Sauvage (Foster City, Calif.) finished second in her heat with a time of 57.67 seconds, a half-second faster than the mark she posted at the 2014 WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. Later in the day, Shaddye Melu (Auburn, Wash.) won his heat and finished fourth overall with a mark of 48.12 seconds, 13/100ths of a second quicker than the previous record he established at last year’s conference meet.
Sophie Curatilo (Honolulu, Hawaii) completed the record-setting trifecta in the women’s one mile run, posting a time of 4:51.13, four-and-a-half seconds quicker than the record set by Katie Hansen in 2009. It is the second time this season that Curatilo has broken one of Hansen’s six-year-old records, plus she won her section of the event by 3/100ths of a second.
Mariah Gibbs (Banks, Ore.) performed well in two events during the day, starting with a time of 9.31 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles, just 5/100ths of a second off the school record. She then finished fifth in her flight of the triple jump with an indoor personal best effort of 10.93 meters (35’ 10.5”). Mandie Maddux (Gresham, Ore.) finished tied for third in her flight and tied for ninth overall in the high jump after clearing 1.63 meters (5’ 4.25”).
“I’m really proud of the group that competed today. The school records in the men’s and women’s 400 meter dashes as well as in the women’s mile show that the team is ready to show up in a big way at the conference meet in two weeks,” Chad Pharis, assistant track and field coach, said.
Elsewhere in the meet, Austin Thummel-Gravitt (Puyallup, Wash.) finished fourth in his heat of the 400 meter dash in 49.86 seconds, while Alyssa Gonzales (Pasadena, Calif.) finished fifth in her heat of the 60 meter dash in 8.08 seconds. In field events, Nick Redlew (Honolulu, Hawaii) finished 12th in the triple jump with a top mark of 12.77 meters (41’ 10.75”), and Devon Walker (Ventura, Calif.) posted a season-best mark of 13.16 meters (43’ 2.25”) in the weight throw.
The Seattle University track and field team will now prepare for the Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, this year hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy at the Cadet Field House in Colorado Springs, Colo., Feb. 26-28.