Weekend roundup (May 1st)...

Lost in the excitement of Chris Solinsky's American record in the men's 10000 at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational on the campus of Stanford University was the fact that in the second section of the men's 10000, former University of Washington standout Christian Belz (left, #865/photo by Paul Merca) finished eleventh in a time of 28:56.05.

Belz, who had been battling injuries over the last several years, ducked under the qualifying standard of 29:00.00 to be considered for Switzerland's team that will compete in the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona, Spain this summer.

Belz, who competed in two Olympics and three world track & field championships for Switzerland, last appeared on the big stage at the 2005 world championships in Helsinki, where he ran in the 10000.

Also at the Payton Jordan Invitational, Sehome HS graduate Jake Riley ran a personal best 13:48.65 to finish second in section 2 of the men's 5000.

Western Washington's Sarah Porter qualified for the USA Track & Field Championships as she placed 15th in the 10,000 meters with a personal-best time of 33:36.83

"That's the best race I've ever run," said an elated Porter of her latest accomplishment. "I had a PR in the first 5K and decided to go as hard as I could until I died and it didn't happen. I can't believe that I did it."

"I begged Pee Wee (Western coach Pee Wee Halsell) to let me go to this meet, and then to do this. It's fantastic."

SEATTLE PACIFIC RECAP

Seattle Pacific athletes won nine events Saturday, including sophomore Brittany Aanstad who improved her NCAA provisional qualifying mark by over two feet in the women’s javelin competition during the Saint Martin's Invitational. The meet was the inaugural event at the new Saint Martin’s University track & field complex.

Aanstad unleashed a winning throw of 142-feet 11 ¾-inches. Her previous javelin best this season was 140-7 set on March 26 at Stanford.

You can read Seattle Pacific's full release here, as well as full results from the St. Martin's Invitational.

In Eugene, Jessica Pixler was the top collegiate finisher in the elite section of the women’s 800. She clocked a time of 2-minutes, 5.38-seconds that is the second swiftest in SPU history.

The top-level 800-meter race was won by former Tennessee standout Sarah Bowman, who now represents New Balance. Her time of 2:04.00 is the fifth-fastest outdoor mark by an American this year. Pixler edged Lauren Hagans of Asics (2:05.87) by 0.49 for second place.

In the second section of the 800, Lisa Anderberg finished second in 2:12.46. SPU pole vault coach Carly Dockendorf won the women's pole vault with a mark of 14-1 1/2, while Falcon junior Melissa Peaslee cleared 11-feet, 6 ½-inches to place 10th.

SEATTLE UNIVERSITY RECAP

Seattle University split its squad between the Oregon Relays in Eugene, and the Duane Hartman Invitational in Spokane.

Nick Cannata-Bowman set a school record in the men's 5000 meter run as the Oregon Relays kicked off at Hayward Field Friday, finishing second in the B section with a time of 14:45.88.

At the Duane Hartman Invitational, Rachel Purcell and Elena Collins fought neck-and-neck in the 400 meter dash, with Purcell coming in slightly ahead with a school-record time of 58.81 seconds, good enough for second place overall in the event. Collins posted a time of 58.84 seconds for a third place finish, also faster than the previous school record.

Purcell and Collins would team up with Clare Obradovich and Meeghan Bergmann to finish second in the 4x400 meter relay in exactly four minutes (4:00.00), almost two seconds faster than the previous mark set at this track just three weeks ago. Obradovich, Bergmann, Elizabeth Wolf and Purcell would also combine to post a time of 49.95 seconds in the 4x100 meter relay.

The third record of the day was claimed by Lindsay Currier who finished second in the discus throw with a top toss of 42.21 meters (138' 6"), 14 inches further than the distance she posted twice three years apart at Central Washington. Currier also finished eighth in the shot put with a top throw of 10.11 meters (33' 2").

You can read SeattleU's release here.

WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY RECAP

Western had athletes at both the Oregon Relays and the St. Martin's Invitational. You can read the school's release here.