Scott Roth sets Washington outdoor school record in winning pole vault at Mt SAC...

Scott Roth clears the bar at 18-9 1/4 (5.72m)

WALNUT, California--University of Washington senior Scott Roth (left/photo by Randy Miyazaki, trackandfieldphoto.com) literally vaulted to the top of the American outdoor list this season with his winning mark in the pole vault of 18-9 1/4 (5.72m) in the invitational elite section of the Mt. SAC Relays Saturday.

Roth defeated a strong international field that included Mexican Olympian and Mt. SAC graduate Giovanni Lanaro and Japanese Olympian Daichi Sawano, who finished second and third respectively with marks of 18-5 1/4 (5.62m) each (Lararo was second on fewer misses) .

Roth opened with a first attempt clearance at 17-9 1/4 (5.42m) before passing 18-1 1/4 (5.52m), and going straight to 18-5 1/4 (5.62m), a height he successfully navigated on his first attempt, putting the pressure squarely on Lanaro and Sawano.

With Lanaro clearing 18-5 1/4 on his second attempt and Sawano on his third, Roth put the hammer down on his older competitors with a first attempt clearance at the winning height of 18-9 1/4, a mark that eclipsed the UW school outdoor record of 18-6.5 (5.65m) held by Brad Walker that was set in 2003, and tied Roth's all-time personal best, set indoors last year.

With the victory in hand, Roth took three unsuccessful shots at 19-0 3/4 (5.81m), a mark which would have given him the world lead in the event this season, and would have overtaken Walker's all-time UW best of 19-0 1/4 (5.80m), set indoors in 2003.

Rainier Beach HS graduate Ginnie Crawford took home the victory in the invitational elite 100 meter hurdles, running 12.86 into a -1.1 headwind, a mark that's currently the second fastest in the world outdoors this season.  She also ran a leg on the Kersee All-Stars 4 x 100m relay team that won in 43.10.

Courtesy of media partner RunnerSpace.com, here is video of Crawford's victory in the 100m hurdles:



In the Olympic Development 100m hurdles, former University of Washington standout Falesha Ankton was third in 13.28, as Canadian multi-event specialist Jessica Zelinka won in 13.04.

Husky sophomore James Alaka set a season best of 10.34 in the 100 meters in finishing fifth in the invitational elite 100m, won by Norway's Jaysuma Ndure in what briefly was a world leading time of 10.03.

Alaka also led the Huskies to victory in the Olympic Development 4 x 100m relay , running 40.30, to beat Iowa State (40.73), and Pac-10 rivals Washington State (41.00), and Arizona (41.18).

The sophomore from London, England was also entered in the invitational elite 200, but he posted on his Twitter page after the meet that, "Hammy was hurting had to shut it down. Disappointed I can't run the 200".

In the women's invitational elite high jump, Washington State's Holly Parent finished in a tie for seventh at 5-8 3/4 (1.75m).

Washington State's Joe Abbott ran a season best of 1:48.95 in finishing third in the Olympic Developmental elite 800.  The Cougars' Anna Layman also ran a season best of 2:06.12 in finishing fifth in the women's Olympic Developmental elite 800.

Washington's Angus Taylor finished eleventh in the invitational elite hammer throw with a mark of 201-2 (61.32m).


Results from the Mt. SAC Relays are available here.

Several athletes from Washington State University, Eastern Washington and the UW also competed at the Beach Invitational, hosted by Long Beach State at Cerritos College.

Links to the results from the Beach Invitational are now available here, along with links to releases from the University of Washington and Washington State University.