Huskies & Cougars close regular season with Husky Classic Friday & Saturday...
Tanner eschewed competing at the UW Invitational two weeks ago to go across the country to run the 1500 meters at the New Balance Grand Prix meet in Staten Island, NY in an attempt to obtain the Olympic qualifying standard of 3:35.00.
Tanner finished third in the New Balance race on February 13th, running 3:34.72, well under the 3:35 mark. In the process, he became the absolute collegiate record in that event, breaking the old best mark of 3:35.01 set by Josh Kerr of New Mexico in 2018, run outdoors.
He also took down the UW school record set outdoors of 3:37.74 by Izaic Yorks in 2016, as well as the collegiate indoor record, set the night before by Cooper Teare of Oregon of 3:35.46, en route to running 3:50.39 in the mile at Arkansas.
Tanner, who won national titles outdoors earlier this summer in New Zealand before returning to the US this month, will face a new member of the sub-4 club in Zach Stallings of Washington State, and Reid Muller, who just missed breaking 4 minutes two weeks ago at the UW Invitational.
As neither his marks in New Zealand nor his 1500 time at the New Balance meet counts for qualifying to the NCAA championships in two weeks in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Tanner will need to run at least sub 3:58 to get one of the 16 spots in the national championship.
The Cougars' Stallings as of Thursday night, stands 15th on the NCAA descending order list, so there is incentive on his part to run fast Saturday.
The Friday portion of the Husky Classic begins at 10 am, and consists of field events, including the only pentathlon and heptathlon competition of the season.
Ida Eikeng is set to compete in her first official pentathlon for the Dawgs, while Parker Kennedy is one of three entries in the heptathlon. Lyndsey Lopes is also entered in the pentathlon unattached.
Cody Teevens of Washington State is entered in the heptathlon, while sister Peyton is in the pentathlon.
Texas A&M alum and 2019 USA world championships competitor Annie Kunz is the most notable entry in the multis.
West Seattle HS grad and Washington high school pole vault record holder Chloe Cunliffe, who is training in the Atlanta area under Washington grad and former American record holder Brad Walker, is entered in the women's pole vault at noon.
Washington freshman Jayden White, currently in the #16 position in the weight throw, looks to ensure his spot in the national championships. while shot putters Jonah Wilson and Sam Van Peursem look to do the same.
MaKayla Kelby, who threw 51-11 (15.82m) two weeks ago, is inching towards the school record of 52-7.5 (16.04m) set by Jennifer Ponath in 1988.
Three running events will be contested Friday--the women's mile, men's 3000 and the women's distance medley relay, which will be a rematch of the race between UW and Brigham Young last month, where the Cougars beat the Huskies 11:03.62 to 11:06.66. With several conference championship meets happening around the country this weekend and only 12 teams advancing to nationals, both the Cougars and the Huskies are looking to improve their marks, which are as of Thursday, the number 5 and 7 times in the NCAA.
Media partner Runnerspace.com will stream both days of the Husky Classic ($), beginning at 10 am each day.
The University of Washington's meet preview is available here, with a link to the start lists and the live results.
EASTERN WASHINGTON HEADS TO UTAH FOR BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIPS, WHILE SEATTLE UNIVERSITY HOSTS WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS SATURDAY...
The Eagles of Eastern Washington head to Riverdale, Utah for Saturday's Big Sky Conference championship meet, hosted by Utah State, at the Riverside Golf Course, beginning at 12:15 pm with the women's 5k, and the men's 8k at 1:00 pm.
"Although we only got one race in before this and cross country itself is happening at a completely different time, it still feels like conference week," said Eastern head coach Sam Read. "The excitement, nerves, anticipation -- everything that usually comes along with the conference championships -- it is still all here.
"The front of these races is stacked with national caliber talent," said Read. "It's a great chance for our top runners to get pulled along and see how they stack up against the best. But we can't get swept up in other's races. We will do our best if we run our race and work off each other in our packs."
The big dog in the Big Sky is Northern Arizona, whose men's squad is currently ranked number 2 behind Brigham Young, and whose women's team is number 16 in the latest USTFCCCA coaches' poll.
The Eagles had their lone regular-season meet in Lewiston, where they took part in the Idaho Orchards Invitational. Carter Ledwith notched his first collegiate win in the men's 8k, running 25:08.
Eastern's release is available here.
Meanwhile, Seattle University hosts the Western Athletic Conference cross country championships at Jefferson Park GC in the Beacon Hill district, with the women's 6k starting at 10 am, and the men's 8k at 11 am.
If you're thinking of watching the meet, the event is closed to spectators in accordance with local and state health guidelines.
"It feels like forever since we have been able to compete in a championship atmosphere," said Head Coach Kelly Sullivan. "We are thrilled to be able to host this event on one of the finest cross country courses around. We are so thankful for this incredible opportunity to compete at the historical Jefferson Golf Course which has been the site of many championship races. Our program and all the programs around the nation have found ways to work within the constraints of a pandemic year and I am personally just grateful that we get the chance to share in this event with the other programs in our conference."
The Redhawks had one race this season, a dual meet against the nationally ranked Portland Pilots in Portland on January 31st.
Lance Slichko led the way for SeattleU, finishing 9th in 25:06 over 7500 meters. In the women's 5600m, Emily Harris was the Redhawks' top finisher in third at 21:46. Both are entered in Saturday's race.
Seattle University's release is available here, while the conference championship central link is available here, which includes a link to live results.
NOTE: The sports information office of the University of Washington, Eastern Washington, Seattle University, the Big Sky Conference, the Western Athletic Conference contributed to this report.
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