Husky men's DMR finish second at Drake; Owsinski skies to PR in San Diego...

DES MOINES, Iowa—The Husky men’s distance medley relay team of Meron Simon, Andrew Prentice, Nick Harris and Izaic Yorks (above/photo by James Kirby, The Next Level Iowa) earned a second place finish on the final day of the Drake Relays at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University.

Simon, who has gained notoriety in recent weeks for his improbable steeplechase win at the Pepsi Team Challenge in Eugene thanks to a colossal blunder by an Oregon runner, got Washington started with a 3:00.68 1200 leg.  Prentice then split 48.37, and gave the baton to Harris, who ran 1:53.67 on the 800 leg.

Sub-4 minute miler Izaic Yorks ran the fastest 1600 split of the day, clocking 4:00.39 to get Washington to second, finishing 2/10ths of a second behind Oklahoma State, which took the win in 9:42.91 to the Huskies’ 9:43.11.

Washington’s women’s distance medley relay squad of Katie Knight, Rose Christen, Anna Maxwell and Maddie Meyers finished third in 11:17.54.

Oklahoma State took the win in 11:15.03,  with Arizona State second in 11:15.13.

Auburn/Riverside alum Jordan McNamara was sixth in the invitational mile in 4:04.16, as 2012 Olympic silver medalist Leo Manzano won in 4:00.05.

In the World Championships Preview pole vault, University of Washington alum Brad Walker was fourth at 18-1.5 (5.52m), as Sam Kendricks won at 19-1 (5.82m), and reigning world and Olympic champ Renaud Lavillenie of France was third at 18-5.25 (5.62m).

In San Diego, Washington’s Kristina Owsinski (left/photo by Paul Merca), the reigning MPSF indoor champion, set a personal best of 14-2.25 (4.33m) to win the pole vault at the Triton Invitational hosted by the University of California at San Diego.  Defending Pac-12 champ Diamara Planell Cruz of the Huskies tied for fourth at 13-2.5 (4.03m).  

Owsinski’s mark is the second highest in school history, behind Logan Miller’s school record of 14-4.5 (4.38m).

Results from the Drake Relays are available here, while results from the UCSD Triton Invitational are available here.

In Pullman, Washington State’s Abby Regan and Eastern Washington’s Jordan Arakawa highlighted competition at the Cougar Invitational track & field meet at Mooberry Track on the WSU campus.

Regan, the Cougars’ Australian import, ran a season best 2:08.22 to win and set a new meet record, breaking Courtney Zalud’s meet record of 2:08.85 set in 2011.

Arakawa, a NCAA qualifier for the Eagles last year, won the hammer with a season best 215-2 (65.59m).

The Cougar javelin crew had a strong showing, as Kyle Stevens (219-11/67.04m) and brother Brad (216-4/65.95m) went 1-2, while Celena Ward (150-0/45.73m) and Kelsie Taylor (142-8/43.49m) turned the same trick in the women’s competition.

Gonzaga’s Shelby Mills (16:38.77 5000m) and Troy Fraley (9:13.39 steeple) both broke meet records in their events at the Cougar Invite, which was contested under windy conditions, with several downpours slowing things down at Mooberry Track.

Results from the Cougar Invitational are available here.

In Bellingham, Saint Martin’s Kahili Novikoff set a meet record in the hammer at the Ralph Vernacchia Open Track & Field meet hosted by Western Washington, winning with a toss of 193-4 (58.93m), and just missing the NCAA automatic qualifying standard of 193-8 (59.05m), making her mark the sixth best in Division II so far this season.

Katelyn Steen of Western Washington set the other meet record, winning the 5000m in 16:35.53.

Results from the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational are available here.

NOTE:  The Drake Relays, and the sports information offices of the University of Washington, Washington State, Western Washington, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, and UC San Diego contributed to this report.