Vikings' Bethany Drake punches ticket to NCAA outdoors in season debut...

TACOMA—Western Washington’s Bethany Drake (above/photo courtesy WWU Athletics) earned an NCAA Division II automatic qualifying mark in the javelin to highlight competition at the Puget Sound Invitational Saturday at Baker Stadium on the campus of the University of Puget Sound.

Drake, the 2014 NCAA D2 champ in this event, sat out last season with a back injury, rifled the spear 164-7 (50.17m), well past the automatic qualifying mark of 159-1 (48.50m).  The mark puts her as the national leader so far in the outdoor season.

Other top marks from the meet:

—Saint Martin’s Shannon Porter, tuning up for next week’s NCAA indoor in the 3000, won the 1500 in 4:32.30;

—Western’s Matthew Lutz won the steeplechase in 9:15.15.

Complete results of the Puget Sound Invitational are available here.

Washington sprinter Kennadi Bouyer was added to the field in the 60 meter dash for next weekend’s NCAA indoor track & field championships in Birmingham, Alabama.

Bouyer twice ran a personal best 7.32 in the 60 dash at last weekend’s MPSF championship meet to finish second in the finals behind Oregon’s Hannah Cunliffe, the Federal Way native.

Bouyer joins pole vaulters Diamara Planell Cruz and Liz Quick, miler Eleanor Fulton, and the distance medley relay team of Fulton, Krista Armstead, Baylee Mires, and Maddie Meyers on the Husky squad traveling to Alabama.

Stat mavens will be happy to know that the IAAF’s World Indoor Championships statistics handbook is now available for download.

The handbook, which is handed out to media members covering the meet, includes a bevy of statistics, including national records in every standard indoor event contested, along with all-time records.

You can download the book here.

paulmerca.blogspot.com will be in Portland for both the IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships and the USA Indoor Championships.