Junior Shaddye Melu (Auburn, Wash.) picked up his second Western Athletic Conference title in the high jump this year, leading the way for the Seattle University track and field team on the third day of the 2015 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday, hosted by Utah Valley University at the Hal Wing Track and Field Complex.
On his final attempt, Melu was able to clear 2.12 meters (6’ 11.5”) to win the conference title, adding that to the WAC championship he won during the indoor conference meet in late February. Cam Peters (Santa Clara, Calif.) picked up some more points for the Redhawks, finishing in a tie for seventh place after clearing 1.86 meters (6’ 1.25”).
Melu also qualified for the finals of the men’s 400 meter dash, winning his heat and finishing second overall with a time of 47.84 seconds. Austin Thummel-Gravitt (Puyallup, Wash.) also advanced to the finals of the 400 meter dash, finishing second in his heat and fourth overall with a time of 48.07 seconds.
Seattle U picked up back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the steeplechase events, starting with Nathan McLaughlin (Puyallup, Wash.) in the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase, as he earned Second Team All-WAC honors thanks to a time of 10:08.56. Rebecca Lassere (Boise, Idaho) also picked up Second Team All-WAC honors with her fourth-place finish in the women’s 3000 meter steeplechase in 11:41.13.
Alyssa Gonzales (Pasadena, Calif.) posted a time of 12.20 seconds in the 100 meter dash, second in her heat and seventh overall to qualify for the finals. Gonzales set a school record in the 200 meter dash with a time of 25.25 seconds, but she was unable to advance to the finals. Madison Lichter (Snohomish, Wash.) posted times of 12.51 seconds in the 100 meter dash and 26.25 seconds in the 200 meter dash.
In the men’s 800 meter run, Joe Charbonneau (Bellingham, Wash.) and Louis Rodrigues (Alameda, Calif.) both qualified for the finals, with Charbonneau finishing second in his heat with a time of 1:56.00 and Rodrigues right behind him at 1:56.08. Madison Davis (Camano Island, Wash.) won her heat of the women’s 800 meter run in 2:16.56, and Alisa Poplawski (Newcastle, Wash.) also qualified for the finals with a time of 2:15.79.
Devon Walker (Ventura, Calif.) earned two Second Team All-WAC awards during the day, finishing fifth in the discus throw at 43.42 meters (142’ 5”) and sixth in the hammer throw at 47.06 meters (154’ 5”). Malaki Seanoa (Everett, Wash.) was seventh in the hammer throw with a mark of 46.22 meters (151’ 8”), and Chris Scaffa (Lake Oswego, Ore.) finished eighth in the hammer throw at 45.84 meters (150’ 5”).
For the women, Mandie Maddux (Gresham, Ore.) finished ninth in the shot put with a top throw of 11.27 meters (36’ 11.75”) and 14th in the javelin throw at 29.46 meters (96’ 8”). Valerie Wu (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) finished 11th in the long jump with a top leap of 5.31 meters (17’ 5.25”).
Elsewhere on the track, Zac Schlachter (Tigard, Ore.) finished 13th in the 100 meter dash preliminaries in 11.01 seconds and in the 200 meter dash preliminaries in 22.26 seconds. In the women’s 400 meter dash, Mandy Rusch (Redmond, Wash.) finished 12th in the preliminaries in 58.12 seconds, and Candice de Sauvage (Foster City, Calif.) posted a time of 1:03.10 to finish in 16th place.
Mariah Gibbs (Banks, Ore.) finished 12th overall in the preliminaries for the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15.10 seconds. In the women’s 400 meter hurdles, Katie Fleming (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) finished in 10th place with a time of 1:04.92, and Abby Wachter (Beaverton, Ore.) finished in 13th place with a mark of 1:05.70.
Both the Seattle U men’s and women’s track and field teams are in fifth place after three days of the conference championships, with the men collecting 31.5 points and the women earning 20 points. Utah Valley holds a one-point lead over UMKC in the women’s team standings and a 10.5-point advantage over Grand Canyon in the men’s team standings.
The fourth and final day of the 2015 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships is scheduled to begin Saturday, May 16, at 9 a.m. Mountain time. Seattle U competitors will start in the field at 11 a.m. local time with the women’s triple jump and on the track at 2:35 p.m. with the women’s 4x100 meter relay.