Hannah Rusnak destroys 27-year old UW school record in heptathlon at Bryan Clay Invitational...
Rusnak, who began the day in second place with 3398 points, 103 points behind training partner Ida Eikeng of Norway, finished third with a personal best 5642 points to finish third, while Eikeng, who recently transferred to the University of Washington spring quarter from the University of Kentucky, finished second with 5670 points.
Rusnak’s mark takes down the Washington school record of 5266 points, set by Sonya Forster in 1992. It currently puts Rusnak in the NCAA top ten, including marks from the various heptathlon sections at the Bryan Clay meet, which is the largest collegiate multi-event meet in the country.
Rusnak started day two with a mark of 19-2.75 (5.86m) in the long jump, while Eikeng managed to jump 18-8.75 (5.71m). The sophomore then threw the javelin 136-10 (41.71m), an event that Eikeng won with a throw of 150-6 (45.87m).
In the final event, she ran a personal best 2:26.50, while Eikeng trailed at 2:35.36.
"After javelin, Coach (Toby Stevenson) pulled me aside," says Rusnak, "and he said 'do you want the good news or the bad news?' He said the bad news is you are going to have to run a good (800-meters), and the time we were shooting for was 2:30. The good news he said was if I got that time we're in really good shape. That got me really excited and made the 800 a little more exciting. So my goal was to get 2:30 and I was able to get that by a few seconds."
On having Eikeng competing in the same section, Rusnak said, "It's so amazing having such an amazing athlete that you're able to compete against and help to motivate each other," she says. "Having Ida there, she's such an amazing teammate, so we push each other along the way."
In the decathlon competition, defending GNAC champion Braydon Maier of Central Washington scored 7005 points to finish eighth in group 3.
He started the day by running 15.40 in the 110 hurdles, then threw the discus 122-5 (37.33m).
Maier tied for the win in the pole vault, clearing 15-5 (4.70m), then threw the javelin 161-4 (49.18m), before finishing the day with a time of 4:35.64 in the 1500 meters.
Here's how others with Washington ties fared in the Bryan Clay multi-events competition:
DECATHLON
Seren Dances Western Washington group 1 3rd 3632 (5th, 6500)
Ray Littles Washington State group 1 7th 3437 (8th, 6063)
Michael Forster Central Washington group 1 8th 3410 (4th, 6527)
Braydon Maier Central Washington group 3 13th 3489 (8th, 7005)
Parker Kennedy Washington group 3 14th 3461 (11th, 6606)
Tim Duckworth group 4 DNF (no mark in LJ/HJ; contested 110H, DT & JT)
HEPTATHLON
Sidney Trinidad Central Washington group 1 6th 2742 (2nd, 4668)
Elinor Jones-Toutant Washington group 1 7th 2680 (4th, 4593)
Katie Collins Central Washington group 1 13th 2419 (13th, 4135)
Kellie May Seattle Pacific group 2 12th 2421 (11th, 3993)
Lindsey Schäuble Washington State group 3 6th 3027 (5th, 5003)
Renick Mayer Seattle Pacific group 3 11th 2912 (7th, 4925)
HarLee Ortega Central Washington group 3 12th 2910 (DNF; didn't start 800)
Scout Cai Seattle Pacific group 3 15th 2822 (DNF; didn't start 800)
Ida Eikeng UW redshirt group 4 1st 3501 (2nd, 5670)
Hannah Rusnak Washington group 4 2nd 3398 (3rd, 5642—school record)
Angela Whyte group 5 3rd 3522 (DNF; did not start day 2)
Alissa Brooks-Johnson group 5 9th 3384 (5th, 5743)
After the multi-events, both the men’s and women’s steeple and 5000s were contested, with the final heats of the 5000 running late into the evening.
In the women’s steeplechase, Washington State alum Caroline Austin finished second in 10:13.62, while current Cougar Zorana Grujic was fourth in 10:15.79.
The men’s steeple saw Kyler Little of the Cougars finish tenth overall in 9:01.10, while Western Washington’s Dylan Hayes ran 9:05.90 to finish 19th overall, and more importantly, put himself in contention for a spot in the NCAA Division II championship meet.
Complete day 2 results from the Bryan Clay Invitational are available here.
In Long Beach, Washington State athletes got three victories from Emmanuel Wells, Nick Johnson and Kaili Keefe, while Eastern Washington’s Keshun McGee won the men’s long jump at the PACIFIC COAST INVITATIONAL at Jack Rose Track on the campus of Long Beach State University.
McGee won the long jump with a best of 24-11.25 (7.60m), while Johnson took the 110 hurdles in 13.77, and Wells emerged victorious in the 100 meters, running 10.54.
The Cougars’ Kaili Keefe, an NCAA qualifier at 1500 meters last year, dropped down in distance to win the 800 in 2:09.76.
Results from the Pacific Coast Invitational are available here.
NOTE: The sports information office at Azusa Pacific University, the University of Washington, and Long Beach State University contributed to this report.
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