Olympian Kim Conley cruises to victory in the 3000 to highlight UW Indoor Preview...

SEATTLE—Saturday’s University of Washington Preview at the Dempsey Indoor continued to live up to its billing as one of the premier early season meets in the country, as many of the best track & field athletes got the rust out after not competing for several months.

2012 US Olympian Kim Conley, who originally planned to run 2000 meters in an effort to help her teammates, instead ran to a winning time of 9:01.31 in the women’s 3000, to get her qualifying time for the USA indoor championships in Portland.

Conley’s winning time is the second fastest time in the world so far in this young season (there are three marks that are superior but all were set in a mixed race), only topped by Shannon Rowbury’s 8:53.52 set Friday night in Portland.

University Place resident Andrea Geubelle who has battled injuries for most of the last two seasons after graduating from Kansas set a meet record in the long jump, winning with a mark of 21-1.25 (6.43m), the sixth longest in the world this season, to get her qualifying mark for the USA indoors in March in Portland.

In the women’s 60 hurdles, defending world indoor champion Nia Ali ran 8.12, which is the fourth fastest time in the world this season.

Washington State alum Blessing Ufodiama made a return to the Pacific Northwest and won the triple jump with a best of 43-5 (13.23m) to earn a qualifying mark for the national championships in Portland.

Washington’s Kristina Owsinski, the two-time MPSF and reigning Pac-12 champ, got off to a good start, winning the pole vault with an indoor personal best of 14-2 (4.32m).

In the women’s 60 meter dash, Oregon’s Jasmine Todd, who holds the Dempsey record of 7.15 set in this meet last year, won again in 7.24, the second fastest time in the world so far. In the other section of the 60 dash, Federal Way native Hannah Cunliffe, now representing Oregon, won in 7.31, with the Huskies’ Kennadi Bouyer second in 7.35, just ahead of reigning Olympic long jump champ Britney Reese at 7.40.  Both times are among the fastest in the world so far this season.

In the rarely contested 600 meters, reigning NCAA outdoor 800 meter champ Raevyn Rogers of Oregon win in a facility record 1:26.34 over Tumwater’s Brooke Feldmeier who ran 1:28.21. Rogers’ mark is superior to the existing collegiate record of 1:26.56 set by Delisa Walton-Floyd of Tennessee in Pocatello, Idaho in 1981.

Best men’s performance of the day was Oregon alum Trevor Dunbar’s mile/3000 double win, running 4:01.41 and 8:00.68.

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