Sam Prakel wins 1500 at West Coast Relays; Roosma sets SR at OSU; Cai gets GNAC PV record...
UW volunteer coach Sam Prakel (photo by Paul Merca) won the invitational mens 1500 in 3:36.86, as ten athletes ducked under 3:40, including Washington State's Paul Ryan (3:37.73, 4th), the Huskies' Sam Tanner (3:38.58, 8th), Zach Stallings of WSU (3:39.44, 9th), and Mick Stanovsek of UW (3:39.49, 10th).
Washington's Katie Rainsberger hit the US Olympic Trials qualifying standard in the steeplechase with her third place finish, running 9:49.79. That mark also puts her at number 7 on the NCAA D1 descending order list, pending the outcome of other meets this weekend.
The Cougars' Colton Johnsen won the invitational steeple, running a personal best 8:42.80, putting him at number 4 on the NCAA descending order list.
WSU triple jumper Charisma Taylor set the WSU outdoor record in the triple jump with a mark of 44-feet 2 3/4 inches (13.48m). Taylor's jump also set the meet and stadium record at the West Coast Relays as well.
Husky volunteer coach Olivia Gruver won the women's pole vault with a clearance of 14-6.75 (4.44m). Fellow volunteer coach Alli Cash won the 800 in 2:04.31 in a race that saw the Huskies' Carley Thomas finish sixth in 2:07.46. That was Thomas' first race since breaking her leg last summer in a boating accident.
Washington's release is here, while Washington State's release is here.
Complete results of the West Coast Relays are available here.
OREGON STATE HI-PERFORMANCE
In Corvallis, Eastern Washington freshman Justin Roosma set a new school record in the 3000 steeplechase at the Oregon State Hi-Performance meet Friday, running 8:54.69 to finish sixth and break a 16-year old record.
"Justin and distance coach Sam Read pieced together a record-setting race plan tonight that worked perfectly," said Eastern head men's coach Stan Kerr.
In the men's 5,000 meters, Yacine Guermali of Gonzaga ran the second-fastest time in program history. The sophomore placed second in the race at 13:50.74, close behind Portland's Caleb Webb's first-place time of 13:46.51.
Fellow Bulldog Peter Hogan won the 10000 meters with a record-breaking time of 28:53.70. He finished nearly five seconds ahead of the 23-runner field.
SeattleU's Isaiah Payne won the men's 200 in 21.77, just ahead of Eastern Washington's Joe Gauthier in 22.03.
The meet resumes Saturday.
Day 1 results are available here.
BUC SCORING INVITATIONAL
In Spokane, Seattle Pacific's Scout Cai broke the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's pole vault record on Friday night at the Buc Scoring Invitational, hosted by Whitworth University.
Joining Cai and Grace Bley (100, 200) in the winner's circle for the Falcons were freshman Ellie Rising in the 800, senior Dania Holmberg in the 1500, and sophomore Jared Putney in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase.
Cai actually broke the GNAC record twice. The old mark was 13-1.75, set in 2017 by Anna Paradee of Western Washington. Cai bettered that when she got over at 13-2.5 (4.03m).
Then, they nudged the bar up to 13-3 (4.04m) – and she also made that one on the second try.
"It felt so good – that has been my goal my whole college career," Cai said. "I've been wanting to clear 13 feet, so I'm glad I could do that today. It was just a great day to PR. At the beginning, it was super hot, so I didn't have to warm up as much, which was nice.
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference also announced that the 2022 indoor championship meet will be held the next three years at The Podium, Spokane's new indoor track and field facility.
The 2022 edition is set for Monday/Tuesday February 21-22nd.
Seattle Pacific's release is available here, while the complete results are available here.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Eastern Washington, Seattle University, Gonzaga, Seattle Pacific, University of Washington, and Washington State contributed to this report.
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