The Seattle University track and field team opened the 2015 outdoor season with two school records and numerous personal bests Saturday at the Rose City Preview, co-hosted by the University of Portland and Portland State University at Mount Hood Community College.
Shaddye Melu (Auburn, Wash.) continued to set the proverbial bar high, breaking his own outdoor school record in the high jump after clearing 2.10 meters (6’ 10.75”), finishing second in the event. Melu also finished third overall in the 200 meter dash in 22.26 seconds, followed by Zac Schlachter (Tigard, Ore.) in sixth overall in 22.72 seconds.
“Shaddye had a great day of jumping. The last couple of years, he has struggled with the transition to outdoors and has not achieved the same heights. It was great to see him in the first meet show his improved consistency as well as some great looks at a bar over seven feet,” Seattle U assistant track and field coach Chad Pharis said.
Sophie Curatilo (Honolulu, Hawaii) also broke her own school record, setting a new standard in the 3000 meter run by over 14 seconds with a time of 9:44.13, finishing in third place overall. Also in the women’s 3000 meter run, Lila Rice (Redmond, Wash.) finished seventh with a personal-best time of 10:02.56, followed by Taylor de Laveaga (Gilbert, Ariz.) in 14th place in 10:21.59, Rebecca Lassere (Boise, Idaho) in 16th place with a personal-best mark of 10:32.23, Lindsay Frederick (Seattle, Wash.) in 20th place with a personal-best time of 10:40.80, Emily Hedberg (Phoenix, Ariz.) right behind her in 21st place in 10:41.90, and Meghan Arigo (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) in 26th place in 11:14.90.
On the men’s side, Joe Charbonneau (Bellingham, Wash.) won the 3000 meter run in 8:32.32, close to the school record, while many of the other Redhawk runners ran together, starting with Chay Weaver (Louisville, Colo.) in sixth place in 8:40.62, followed by Ben Monk (Olympia, Wash.) in eighth place overall in 8:41.60, Nathan McLaughlin (Puyallup, Wash.) in ninth place in 8:43.59, Matthew Seidel (Santa Clara, Calif.) in 11th place overall in 8:45.19, and Tyler Flannery (Auburn, Wash.) in 13th place in 8:45.42.
In the men’s 1500 meter run, Joseph Nakao (Sammamish, Wash.) finished eighth in his section with a time of 4:04.26, followed by Collin Overbay (Spokane, Wash.) in 11th place in 4:14.15 and Miles Hille (Woodinville, Wash.) in 12th place in 4:14.39. For the women, Madison Davis (Camano Island, Wash.) finished third in her section in the 1500 meter run in 4:40.33, with Moira O’Connor Lenth (Seattle, Wash.) finishing in seventh place in 4:42.87. O’Connor Lenth won her heat of the 800 meter run in 2:23.10, while Davis finished fourth in her heat in 2:17.89, behind teammate and overall event winner Alisa Poplawski (Newcastle, Wash.) in 2:14.56.
“This was a great start to the season overall. The distance team has never looked stronger at this time of year, and I expect big things in the upcoming meets,” Seattle U head coach Trisha Steidl said.
Despite a headwind, the sprinters enjoyed solid performances, starting with Alyssa Gonzales (Pasadena, Calif.) finishing sixth overall in the 100 meter dash in 12.61 seconds and 11th overall in the 200 meter dash in 26.37 seconds. Madison Lichter (Snohomish, Wash) finished seventh in the 100 meter dash in 12.63 seconds and ninth in the 200 meter dash in 26.16 seconds.
Lichter and Gonzales joined with Katie Fleming (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) and Mariah Gibbs (Banks, Ore.) to post a time of 49.78 seconds in the 4x100 meter relay. Fleming finished eighth overall in the 400 meter run in 60.44 seconds and sixth in the triple jump with a top mark of 10.45 meters (34’ 3.5”), while Gibbs finished seventh in the 100 meter hurdles in 15.92 seconds. Also in the triple jump, Sandy Dasalla Good (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) finished fifth with a mark of 10.65 meters (34’ 11.25”).
Candice de Sauvage (Foster City, Calif.) finished 13th overall in the 200 meter dash in 26.52 seconds before posting an unofficial split of 56.56 seconds in the second leg of the 4x400 meter relay, joining Mandy Rusch (Redmond, Wash.), Abby Wachter (Beaverton, Ore.), and Poplawski to finish fourth in 3:57.56.
It was a busy day for Mandie Maddux (Gresham, Ore.), as she posted a personal-best mark of 32.43 meters (106’ 4.75”) in the javelin throw and cleared 1.60 meters (5’ 3”) in the high jump, close to the school record. She also posted a time of 27.92 seconds in the 200 meter dash, a mark of 4.77 meters (15’ 7.75”) in the long jump, and a throw 10.96 meters (35’ 11.5”) in the shot put.
Schlachter also finished seventh overall in the men’s 100 meter dash in 11.32 seconds, while Jason Cowan (Renton, Wash.) finished 12th in the 100 meter dash in 11.43 seconds and 19th in the 200 meter dash in 23.28 seconds. Cam Peters (Santa Clara, Calif.) cleared 1.85 meters (6’ 0.75”) in the high jump, and Nick Redlew (Honolulu, Hawaii) posted a mark of 12.85 meters (42’ 2”) in the triple jump.
In the throws, Chris Scaffa (Lake Oswego, Ore.) finished fifth in the hammer throw at 43.89 meters (144’), sixth in the discus throw at 40.73 meters (133’ 7.5”), and 11th in the javelin throw at 48.23 meters (158’ 2.75”). Malaki Seanoa (Everett, Wash.) finished seventh in the hammer throw (42.33 meters – 138’ 10.5”) and eighth in the javelin throw (50.80 meters – 166’ 8”), and Devon Walker (Ventura, Calif.) placed fifth in the discus throw (41.65 meters – 136’ 7.75”) and eighth in the hammer throw (39.22 meters – 128’ 8”). For the women, Alexa DeYoung (Gig Harbor, Wash.) finished fifth in the hammer throw with a personal best mark of 38.07 meters (124’ 10.75”).
Members of the Seattle U track and field team are scheduled to compete at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival Friday, April 3. The entire squad will next participate in WAR 8 at Spokane Falls Community College in Spokane, Wash., April 10-11.