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Husky men place second at Pac-12s for third time in school history...

EUGENE--A trio of Washington high school products gave the Huskies big points in the men's competition as for the third time in school history, the Dawgs finished second Sunday afternoon in the Pac-12 Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field behind host Oregon, scoring 105 to the Ducks' 161 points.

Washington's only previous second-place finishes on the men's side came in 2016, when the Dawgs hosted the meet at Husky Track, and in 1976 in Berkeley.

In the 1500 meters, Joe Waskom (Paul Merca photo) from Mt. Si HS in Snoqualmie, and Luke Houser from Woodinville HS, went 1-2 in the race, with Waskom becoming the third Husky in school history to win the metric mile title after Izaic Yorks (2015 and 2016) and Bruce Stirling (1987).

Waskom made a decisive move to advance from mid-pack at the 1200 mark, going wide on the backstretch, shooting to the lead, a step ahead of Houser, with less than 200 to go.

As they exited the turn and headed for home, Waskom took a quick look at the video board and saw one of the Oregon runners trying to shoot the gap and sneak past both on the inside.

Waskom, who finished fourth in the steeplechase Saturday night, let out a scream, as if to say "let's go!", and pumped his arms to maintain his momentum, leaning at the line to win in a personal best 3:40.33 to Houser's 3:40.44.

"I don't think I've wanted something more the last 300 meters (after finishing fourth in the steeple Saturday and finishing second in that event in 2021). Luckily I had enough."

In the 400 hurdles, US Olympic Trials qualifier Cass Elliott of the Huskies, who quite frankly has had an up-and-down season, came through when it mattered, winning the conference crown in the event that Husky hurdles coach Jeshua Anderson won four times during his career at Washington State.

Elliott, a product of West Seattle HS, gained a little edge on the field around the 150-meter mark and he came off the final turn with a lead of a few meters. He clipped the last hurdle which slowed his moment slightly, but with the finish line in sight he wasn't about to be caught. Elliott leaned for the victory in 50.80, becoming the first Husky to win the event since Shane Charles in 2006.

Teammate Matthew Wilkinson finished fourth in a personal best of 51.30.

Washington State finished the conference championships with a final team score of 34 points, placing ninth.

Walla Walla HS product Mitch Jacobson led the way for the Cougs Sunday, placing second in the high jump with a clearance of 7-1.5 (2.17m), the same height cleared by winner Earnie Sears III of USC.

Sears won on fewer misses, as Jacobson had first attempt misses at 6-8.75 (2.05m) and 6-9.75 (2.08m), before clearing the next three heights on the first try.

Other points on the final day for Washington State came from the 4 x 100 relay that finished seventh in 40.65; Zach Stallings in seventh in the 1500 (3:41.33); and, Jared McAlvay in seventh in the 400 hurdles (51.87).

WASHINGTON WOMEN FINISH IN TOP FIVE...


Washington's Carley Thomas (Paul Merca photo) ran her fastest time as a Husky and secured a school record in winning the 800 meters 

The Australian, who made her UW debut in the fall of 2019 by running 2:04.65 in the first round of the World Athletics championships in Doha, Qatar, let Stanford's Ellie Deligianni lead the race through the first 400, splitting 60.33 to Thomas' 60.56.

In the process, Thomas broke the outdoor school record held by Baylee Mires of 2:02.97 set in 2016, as she clocked 2:02.93, and made the effort look like she had more in the tank.

"I was happy to take the win, and contribute to the team score. I felt great, and it's been a long journey. It took awhile to build the base...I feel like I'm building momentum in the right direction.

In reference to the broken leg which she suffered before the start of fall quarter in 2020 that nearly ended her running career at the University of Washington, she said, "I feel like I'm back to myself, or at least version 2.0."

Teammate Anna Gibson, who earlier in the day finished on the podium in third in the 1500 at 4:15.83, finished fourth in a personal best 2:04.75.

The fifteen points that Thomas and Gibson earned in the 800, plus the six from Gibson in the 1500 helped the Dawgs to a fifth place finish, scoring 68 points, the fifth time in the last six conference championship meets that they've finished in the top five.


Washington State finished eleventh in the conference championship meet with a final score of 29 points, led by Micaela De Mello (Paul Merca photo) in the 100 hurdles.

De Mello, a freshman from Palhoca, Brazil, broke her own school record for the third time this season in the finals, running 13.03 to finish second behind USC's Jasmine Jones, who ran 12.92.

De Mello's personal best is 12.94, set last year in SĂŁo Paulo.

Oregon's overall depth easily won the meet for the host Ducks, as they came away with 167 points over the course of three days.

The Ducks got points from Tacoma native Lexi Ellis, who won the triple jump with a fifth round jump of 42-11.5 (13.09m).

Complete results of the Pac-12 track and field championships are available here. 

NOTE: The sports information office of the University of Washington, Washington State, and the Pac-12 Conference contributed to this report.

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