UW grad Amy-Eloise Markovc wins her 3000m heat at European Indoor Champs...

TORUN, Poland--University of Washington alum Amy-Eloise Markovc (photo courtesy British Athletics) won her semifinal heat of the 3000 meters on the first day of competition at the European Athletics Indoor Championships Thursday evening.

Markovc (formerly Neale), who attended Glacier Peak HS in Snohomish before going to the UW, took complete control of her heat by staying out of trouble throughout the crowded field, broke to lead at the bell and showed a very strong finish to cross the line first in 8:56.26.

In the mixed zone, Markovc, who was born in Great Britain, but has spent most of her life living in the United States said, “I tried to stay relaxed especially in my first senior championships and in the prelims it can be tactical so I just tried to take care of business. I wanted to stay calm and confident and I trusted my gut that I could get out of trouble. I am really pleased to get to my first senior final and now I really want to do well.”

She will run in the finals Friday at 9:00 pm local time (noon in Seattle).

Marta Pen Freitas of Portugal, who competes for the Seattle based Brooks Beasts, runs in a semifinal heat of the women's 1500 at 12:42 local time (3:42 am in Seattle), while former WSU volunteer coach Liga Velvere of Latvia will run in a first round heat of the women's 800 at 1:00 pm local time (4:00 am in Seattle).

The home page for the European Athletics Indoor Championships, which includes start lists and results, as well as live streaming information, is available here.

ALLIE SCHADLER & ANGEL NKWONTA NAMED USTFCCCA REGIONAL WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE YEAR...

University of Washington senior Allie Schadler was named by the USTFCCCA as the organization's women's West Region Indoor Track athlete of the 2021 indoor season, while Angel Nkwonta of the University of Maryland was named the Mid-Atlantic region's field event athlete of the 2021 indoor campaign.

Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches. Only those individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.

Many of these honored athletes and coaches are headed to the 2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships next week in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Schadler, a senior from Tubac, Arizona, is ranked second nationally in the mile at 4:31.21 and fifth nationally in the 3000 at 8:58.13. She also anchored the Washington DMR to an NCAA-qualifying mark of 11:06.66, which ranks 11th nationally.

Nkwonta, a senior from Pullman, Washington, is ranked seventh nationally in the shot put at 17.27m (56-8) and 17th in the weight throw at 21.36m (70-1). She scored 13 points in those events at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, bolstered by a runner-up finish in the shot put.

Nkwonta graduated from the University of Washington last spring before moving on to Maryland as a grad transfer.

The USTFCCCA release is available here.

NOTE: British Athletics, European Athletics, and the USTFCCCA contributed to this report.

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