Sam Tanner runs the easiest 3:55.23 to win Husky Classic mile & get his NCAA qualifier...
However, University of Washington sophomore Sam Tanner (photo by Howard Lao) did not have a qualifying mark for the NCAA indoor track & field championships, as his races were outdoors in New Zealand, and his one indoor meet this season was over 1500 meters, which is not run at the indoor nationals.
At the Husky Classic Saturday at the Dempsey Indoor, Tanner took care of the qualifying mark, running one of the easiest 3:55.45 miles to get the win and punch his ticket to the NCAAs.
After UW redshirt senior Julius Diehr and fellow Husky Andrew Jordan kept the pace honest up front to pull Tanner to the NCAA qualifier, the New Zealander took command after the rabbits moved off the track, with an unexpected runner on his side, as Brigham Young's Lucas Bons showed no fear in attaching himself to Tanner.
Tanner's time was the fifth-fastest mile in Dempsey history and third-fastest by a collegiate athlete, just behind UW's own Izaic Yorks (3:53.89) and Stanford's Sean McGorty (3:53.95) from the same race in 2016.
"With 200-meters to go I yelled to Sam that he would need a 29-second final 200-meters and he just smiled at me," said UW head coach Andy Powell. "That's about as easy as you'll see a 3:55 mile look."
"A 3:55 any day is good, can't complain, happy to go to nationals," said Tanner." I knew I could get the qualifier so I just went out and wanted to race nice and relaxed and then pick it up the final 800."
Bons held on to run a lifetime best of 3:55.45, as the duo were the only ones to break 4 minutes in the race.
Washington State's distance medley relay squad of Zach Stallings, Ethan Willems, Justin Janke and Colton Johnsen ran a solo time of 9:36.49, the third fastest time in school history.
Going into Saturday's competition, the number 12 time in the NCAA descending order list was Indiana's 9:36.25, so the Cougars could potentially be on the outside looking in. Only twelve relay teams will earn a spot into the national championship meet, as opposed to individual events, where sixteen athletes earn spots.
The Huskies' Marlena Preigh ran a great race in the women's 800-meters today, dropping her PR to 2:06.06 and climbing up to the number 3 spot in school history. That mark would have tied for 15th on the descending order list coming into the day but may be bumped just outside the top-16 based on results in the Dempsey and elsewhere.
Complete results of the Husky Classic are available here. The UW release is available here.
BIG SKY AND WAC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDUP...
In Riverdale, Utah, both Eastern Washington cross country teams finished tenth at Saturday's Big Sky championship meet at the Riverside Golf Course, hosted by Weber State University.
In the men's 8k, Carter Ledwith led the way for the Eagles, finishing 38th in a time of 25:56, while Kaylin Sheley was the top Eastern finisher over the 5k course, finishing 47th in 19:23.
Northern Arizona's Abdihamid Nur took the win in 23:56, but the Lumberjacks, ranked number two in the nation behind Brigham Young, were upset for the team title by Southern Utah, losing by a 35-38 count.
Taryn O'Neill of Northern Arizona won the individual crown in a time of 17:00, leading her Lumberjack squad to an easy repeat of their Big Sky championship, scoring a low of 27 points.
The Eagle men turned in a score of 297 points, while the women scored 269 points.
Complete results of the Big Sky championships are available here, while Eastern Washington's release is available here.
In Seattle, Emily Harris was Seattle University's top finisher at the Western Athletic Conference cross country championship meet at Jefferson Park Golf Course.
Harris finished 13th, crossing the line in 22:12 over the 6k course.
"I couldn't be prouder of Emily's performance today," said Seattle University coach Kelly Sullivan. "A year ago, Emily wasn't even in our travel team and today we got the chance to watch her be named to the all-conference team. We started to see a lot of potential with her last year and it was great to see some of that potential come out today."
Anna Mate of Cal Baptist won the race, running 20:54 to lead her team to yet another conference title, scoring 26 points. Seattle University did not field a complete women's team.
In the men's 8k, Kyle Kennedy was the top runner for SeattleU, finishing 35th in 26:36.
Giedrius Valincius of Cal Baptist won the race in 24:29, and led his team to the conference title, scoring a low of 23 points. Seattle University finished eighth with a team score of 196 points.
Seattle University's release is available here, while complete results are available here.
NOTE: The sports information office of the University of Washington, Washington State University, Eastern Washington, Seattle University, the Big Sky Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference contributed to this report.
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