Track is back with fans at Dempsey Indoor as five go under 4 minutes in the mile...

SEATTLE--With actual fans back lining the 307 meter purple Mondo track at Dempsey Indoor for the season opening UW Indoor Preview, the athletes rewarded those in attendance with some world class early season marks Saturday afternoon.

The men's mile saw five men break four minutes in the mile, as the Huskies' Kieran Lumb (Paul Merca photo) , the NCAA West Regional cross country champion, open the season, winning the race in 3:55.53.

Washington volunteer coach Sam Prakel along with Oregon alum Johnny Gregorek set the table for Lumb, doing the grunt work for the first 1300 meters.

Lumb was hotly pursued by Washington State's Colton Johnsen and Princeton' Sam Ellis on the final lap, but Lumb, a graduate student and former Canadian national collegiate champion from the University of British Columbia had enough to hold off Johnsen by a 3:55.53 to 3:55.74 margin, both of which were personal bests and pending the results of other meets around the nation and the world, the two fastest times in the world this season.

In fact, Sam Ellis of Princeton (3:57.02), his teammate Duncan Miller (3:57.04), and the Huskies' Luke Houser (3:57.17) all ducked under the 2022 world season best of 3:58.71 set by Ryan Schoppe yesterday in Fayetteville.

Lumb and Houser became the 12th and 13th Huskies to break 4 minutes in the mile.

Dario De Caro of Boise State nearly became the sixth man to break 4 minutes in winning the second section in 4:00.32.

Snohomish native and British Olympian Amy-Eloise Markovc (Paul Merca photo) made a triumphant return to the Dempsey, as the UW alum won the women's mile in 4:30.78, a personal best and the fastest time in the world so far this season, leading six other women under the previous world season best of 4:38.60 set by Lauren Ryan at Clemson on Friday.

A week after competing at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego, Ben Blankenship of Nike OTC Elite led five men under the previous meet record of 7:49.89 set by Matthew Centrowitz in 2017, winning in 7:45.92, the fastest time in the world so far this season.

UW volunteer coach Sam Prakel was second in 7:46.06, and Tom Anderson of Club Northwest was fifth in 7:49.85.

Former Western Oregon All-American Derek Holdsworth won the mens 800 in a meet record 1:48.85, while a pair of Olympians won the two hurdle races.

Costa Rica's Andrea Vargas, a Tokyo Olympian. won the women's 60 hurdles in 8.22, just off her national record of 8.19, while Greggmar Swift of Barbados, a London Olympian, won his event in 7.78

Complete results of the UW Indoor Preview are available here.

COUGAR CLASSIC RECAP

In Spokane, defending NCAA sprint champs Micah Williams and Kemba Nelson of Oregon had strong showings at the Cougar Classic at The Podium Saturday.

Williams, a Tokyo Olympian, won the men's 60 in 6.48, while Nelson won the women's sprint race in 7.19.

Former Husky and Garfield HS alum Iman Brown of the Ducks won the women's 200 in 23.65.

Host Washington State got wins from high jumper Mitch Jacobson (6-11.75/2.13m), Sam Brixey in the 60 hurdles (7.83), Jacob Englar in the pole vault (16-8.75/5.10m) on the men's side, while Anna Rodgers won the long jump (18-9.75/5.73m) and Emily Coombs in the pole vault (12-9.5/3.90m).

Gonzaga earned victories in the women's distance medley (11:54.69), and Alicia Anderson in the  women's mile (4:54.63), while Dominic Arce got the lone men's win for the Zags in the 3000 (8:18.12).

Complete results of the Cougar Classic are available here.

In Reno late Friday night, former Pullman resident and defending Olympic champion Katie Nageotte won the elite women's pole vault at the National Pole Vault Summit.

Nageotte cleared a best of 15-1.5 (4.60m) to defeat a field that included Washington alum Olivia Gruver.

Gruver finished second with a best of 14-9 (4.50m).

Complete results of the National Pole Vault Summit are available here.

NOTE: The National Pole Vault Summit and the sports information offices of Washington State University,  the University of Washington, and the Spokane Sports Commission contributed to this report.

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