Friday and Saturday, the Seattle University track and field team traveled to Corvallis, Ore. to compete in the OSU High Performance meet.
The Redhawks put themselves in a winning position.
Three school records were broken, three first-place finishes were claimed, and multiple new personal records and podium-worthy finishes were completed.
In the high jump, Mandie Maddux broke her current outdoor school record with a jump of 1.66 meters (5’-5 1/4"), and also took second place.
“Mandie continued her streak of consistent high jumps with a new school record and outdoor personal record,” assistant coach Chad Pharis said. “She again had some great looks at the next bar, but was not helped by the wind.”
Also noteworthy was Maddux’s performance in the 100 meter hurdles. She finished in fifth place with a new outdoor personal record of 14.97, just milliseconds away from the school record.
Another outdoor school record was broken by Devon Walker, who now holds two outdoor throwing school records and one indoor.
Walker claimed the hammer throw outdoor school record with a throw of 47.54 meters (156’-00”), finishing in fifth place.
“Devon was able to put a great throw together for his last attempt in Finals to break the old school record,” Pharis said. “It was great to see him battle to the end.”
Abby Wachter didn’t let the outdoor school record in the 400 meter hurdles last more than a couple weeks.
She was ready for the record book to be re-written with her name in it next to that event.
With a time of 62.84, Wachter crushed her then-current time in the 400 meter hurdles, claiming the new outdoor school record and finishing in fifth place.
“Abby had a great week of practice leading into this race,” Pharis said. “She came in very focused and very hungry to drop a lot of time off her personal record. It was an exciting race to watch live.”
Other Redhawks also competed at a high level.
Ben Monk set a new personal record and finished in first place in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 32:11.58.
"It was very windy for the 10,000," head coach Trisha Steidl said. "Ben ran a strong, smart race, and ran completely alone after the first two miles. He learned a lot from his first attempt at the 10...a month ago, and took from that a new respect for the distance. That experiene paid off as he ran a consistent, smart race, and looked the strongest I've seen him all year."
Another distance runner, Jacques Hebert, also took first place in his section – and 10th overall – in the 1,500 meter run with a time of 3:56.00.
Shaddye Melu, the current outdoor school record-holder in the 400 meter dash, took first place in the event with a time of 47.93.
In a fast group, Matthew Seidel finished in second place in the 5,000 meter run with a new outdoor personal record time of 14:31.47.
"Matt ran a gutsy race," Steidl said. "He's had a great season, and had nothing to lose by starting out fast, even in the windy conditions. He took that risk and it paid off with a near-school record time and another substantial personal record."
Nick Redlew was another Redhawk with a new outdoor personal record. He claimed fourth place with a distance of 13.32 in the triple jump.
Multiple other student-athletes set personal records for themselves over the weekend, showing they’re ready to finish the outdoor track and field season strong.
Not a bad way to head into a championship weekend.
"The team as a whole looked strong and aggressive this weekend," Steidl said. "This was a great way to end the regular season. If we can take this fighter's attitude to the Conference meet, we're going to have some fantastic results."
The Redhawks next head to Lawrence, Kan. for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships that begin on May 11.
With already a few WAC Indoor Champions on the team, they’ll look to build on this season’s success.