Elena Smith (Seattle, Wash.) won the conference title in the women’s 10,000 meter run, highlighting Seattle University’s participation in the first two days of the 2015 Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Utah Valley University at the Hal Wing Track and Field Complex.
Smith crossed the finish line first in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 38:03.67, 18 seconds in front of her nearest competitor. Smith, already the school record holder in the 10,000 meter run after her performance at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival April 3, becomes the third Seattle U track and field competitor to win a WAC outdoor individual title over the past three years. Taylor de Laveaga (Gilbert, Ariz.) earned another point for the Redhawks, finishing in eighth place with a time of 39:25.46.
Tyler Flannery (Auburn, Wash.) picked up Seattle U’s first points of the competition, finishing in fourth place in the men’s 10,000 meter run with a time of 32:52.11. Despite running at altitude, Flannery was able to produce a personal-best time as he earned Second Team All-WAC honors.
Mandie Maddux (Gresham, Ore.) completed the two-day, seven-event heptathlon in fifth place with 4,472 points. She started the competition Wednesday with a personal-best time of 15.46 seconds, sixth-fastest among the field. She moved up to fifth in the overall standings after clearing 1.55 meters (5’ 1”) in the high jump.
Thanks to a throw of 11.08 meters (36’ 4.25”) in the shot put, best among the heptathlon competitors, Maddux moved up into second place after three events. She posted a personal-best time of 27.35 seconds in the 200 meter dash, but slipped back into fifth place to end the first day with 2,743 points.
Maddux started Thursday with a personal-best mark in the long jump of 4.94 meters (16’ 2.5”), remaining in fifth place with two events remaining. She posted a mark of 31.41 meters (103’ 1”) in the javelin throw to stay in fifth place, where she finished after a personal-best time of 2:30.76 in the 800 meter run.
The Seattle University women are in second place with 15 points, while the men will be in the middle of the pack with five points, depending on the results of the decathlon later Thursday.
The 2015 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships kicks into full gear Friday, May 15, starting at 9 a.m. local time (8 a.m. Pacific Time) with the men’s hammer throw. The track events are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Mountain time with the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase. Live results are available at: http://wac.org/livestats/otf/2015/index.htm?DB_OEM_ID=10100.