The Seattle University track and field team capped a solid opening to the outdoor season with school records for both the men and the women in the 3000 meter run Saturday afternoon in the Oregon Preview, hosted by the University of Oregon at Hayward Field.
Collin Overbay (Spokane, Wash.) cut 9/100ths of a second off his own school record set at last year’s meet, finishing 13th overall in the 3000 meter run with a time of 8:30.10. Elsewhere in the men’s 3000 meter run, Baxter Arguinchona (Spokane, Wash.) finished in 24th place in 8:39.36, and Nathan McLaughlin (Puyallup, Wash.) finished in 34th place in 8:48.79.
Running in the “A” section of the women’s 3000 meter run, Sophie Curatilo (Honolulu, Hawaii) became the first Redhawk to complete the race in less than 10 minutes, posting a time of 9:58.80, over four seconds faster than the previous record set almost six full years ago. In the “B” section, Taylor de Laveaga (Gilbert, Ariz.) finished in fifth place in 10:12.50, with Lauren Hammerle (Seattle, Wash.) crossing the finish line in ninth place in 10:21.03.
Alessandra Gonzales (Pasadena, Calif.) nearly set two more school records of her own, coming in just 2/100ths off the school record in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.44 seconds and 2/10ths of a second off the 200 meter dash school record with a mark of 26.02 seconds. Candice de Sauvage (Foster City, Calif.) finished in fifth place overall in the 400 meter dash in 57.75 seconds, just a half-second off the school record, while Mandy Rusch (Redmond, Wash.) finished 10th overall in 59.15 seconds.
Shaddye Melu (Auburn, Wash.) enjoyed a solid day, finishing in a tie for third place in the high jump after clearing 2.02 meters (6’ 7.5”) and in fourth place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 48.29 seconds. Also in the men’s 400 meter dash, Austin Thummel-Gravitt (Puyallup, Wash.) finished in eighth place overall in 49.23 seconds.
Dylan Burnett (Lynnwood, Wash.) finished in third place in the men’s javelin throw with a top effort of 65.63 meters (215’ 4”), with Malaki Seanoa (Everett, Wash.) in ninth place overall with a top throw of 51.32 meters (168’ 4”). In the men’s triple jump, Nick Bever (Seattle, Wash.) came in sixth place with a top leap of 13.30 meters (43’ 7.75”).
For the women, Katie Tougas (Edmonds, Wash.) finished ninth in the long jump with a top effort of 5.25 meters (17’ 2.75”), while Cali Cull (Marysville, Wash.) finished ninth in the triple jump with a mark of 10.91 meters (35’ 9.5”). Mariah Gibbs (Banks, Ore.) pulled double duty, finishing 10th in the triple jump with a top leap of 10.69 meters (35’ 1”) after finishing 12th in the 100 meter hurdles in 15.86 seconds.
“The team approached this meet with more vigor and focus than previous years. Being at the end of finals week is tough, but the reality is that being a student-athlete requires balancing both, and they did a good job with it this year,” Seattle U head track and field coach Trisha Steidl said. “It was great to cap off the meet with two school records. Collin and Sophie both raced with that goal in mind, and it was great to see them both achieve their goals.”
Back on the track, Gus Arroyo (Portland, Ore.) was the team’s top finisher in the men’s 1500 meter run with a time of 3:59.61, followed closely by Miles Hille (Woodinville, Wash.) in 4:00.47 and Joe Charbonneau (Bellingham, Wash.) in 4:00.78. In the women’s 1500 meter run, Hannah Mittelstaedt (Maple Valley, Wash.) was the first Seattle U runner to cross the finish line with a time of 4:44.77, just ahead of Jennifer Stolle (Seattle, Wash.) in 4:45.25 and Lila Rice (Redmond, Wash.) in 4:48.12.
Madison Davis (Camano Island, Wash.) posted a time of 2:19.41 in the women’s 800 meter run, with Rosalyn DiLillo (Santa Rosa, Calif.) finishing in 2:24.35. Samuel Engle (Portland, Ore.) finished in 11th place in the men’s 400 meter hurdles in 57.92 seconds, and Katie Fleming (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) finished in 14th place in the women’s 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:08.98.
Bethany Richards (Shoreline, Wash.) finished in 10th place in the women’s hammer throw with a top toss of 46.20 meters (151’ 7”). In the men’s discus throw, Chris Scaffa (Lake Oswego, Ore.) finished in 10th place with a top effort of 40.28 meters (132’ 2”).
The Seattle University track and field team is scheduled to compete next at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival April 4-5 at Cox Stadium in San Francisco, Calif.