Quick wins dramatic jump-off as Huskies sweep top spots in men's & women's pole vaults...

SEATTLE—In dramatic fashion, Washington’s Liz Quick (above/photo by Paul Merca) successfully defended her Mountain Pacific Sports Federation pole vault championship by winning a three-way jump-off to highlight Friday’s first day of competition.

Quick, along with Cal State Northridge’s Gardenia Centanaro and Cal’s Lauren Martinez were in a three way tie through 13-6.25 (4.12m), with all three jumpers having no misses at lower heights.

The bar was raised to 14-0 (4.27m) and those three all missed their three shots at that height along with UCLA’s Greta Wagner, who had one miss at a lower height.

To break the tie, Quick, Centanaro and Martinez got a fourth attempt at 14-0, with Quick taking the victory as the only one to clear that height.

The official results show that Quick won the competition with a best of 13-6.25.

It was a sweep of the top spot on the pole vault podium for the Huskies, as a few hours after Quick’s win, Chase Smith won the men’s vault with a personal best clearance of 17-11.25 (5.47m).

Washington State’s Liz Harper won the pentathlon competition with a 5-event score of 4014 points, with UCLA’s Kendall Gustafson second at 3958, and Oregon State’s Kara Hallock third with 3914 points.

In Friday’s qualifying rounds, Federal Way native Hannah Cunliffe of the University of Oregon tied the meet record in the 60 meter dash set by Jenna Prandini of Oregon in 2015, by running 7.19.

The men’s distance medley relay saw Washington State’s Chandler Tiegen bring the Cougars back with a strong 1600 meter leg to take third in 9:49.78, with Washington fifth at 9:50.99, as Cal took the win in 9:34.11.

Colorado won the women’s distance medley relay, running 10:58.68, while the Huskies, with Amy-Eloise Neale running the leadoff 1200m leg, finished third in a season best 11:14.37.

In the team competition, USC leads the women's competition after seven events with 51 points, with the Huskies in sixth at 18 points, and Washington State seventh with 16.5 points.  After six events, UCLA leads the men's competition with 32 points, while the Huskies are fourth with 25.5 points, and Washington State ninth with 11 points.

The meet resumes Saturday beginning at 10:30 am.  The link to the results page is available here.