UW Olympian Sam Tanner gets world champs standard in 1500m at Nike Pre Classic...
Under wet and dreary conditions, Tanner cranked out a personal best 3:34.37 in the non Diamond League race once pacesetter Robby Andrews pulled off the track.
Tanner was challenged on the final lap by Great Britain's Neil Gourley, who led at the 1200 mark, before pulling away to take the win in 3:34.37 to 3:34.85 for Gourley.
Most importantly, Tanner ducked under the 3:35.00 qualifying standard for July's world track and field championships in this very stadium.
Seattle resident Sam Prakel, who helped coach Tanner at the UW, finished fourth in a personal best 3:36.43.
Washington State alum CJ Allen, competing in his first Wanda Diamond League meet, finished sixth in the 400 hurdles, running a season best 48.76, as Alison dos Santos won in a world leading time of 47.23.
Washington alum Katie Rainsberger, also competing in her first Wanda Diamond League meet, ran a season best 9:32.13 in finishing tenth, as Norah Jeruto of Kazakstan won in a world leading time of 8:57.97.
COUGARS AND HUSKIES QUALIFY MORE INDIVIDUALS FOR NCAAs IN FAYETTEVILLE...
In Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Washington Huskies qualified three individuals, while Washington State qualified two athletes in the final day of competition at the NCAA West Preliminary Round at John McDonnell Field on the campus of the University of Arkansas Saturday.
Washington's Anna Gibson had the highest finish, as she took second overall in the 1500 meters, running 4:16.82 to finish behind Stanford's Julia Heymach's 4:16.34.
Pac-12 800 meter champ Carley Thomas of the Huskies was tenth overall in her specialty, as she ran 2:03.18 to finish fourth in heat 3, and snag one of the three time qualifiers to the national finals in Eugene in two weeks.
Beatrice Asomaning qualified for her first NCAA finals as she threw 182-4 (55.58m) in the discus to place 11th.
Twelfth was the common denominator for the Cougars' Micaela De Mello and Aislinn Overby, with each capturing the final spot to Eugene in their events.
De Mello broke the WSU school record in the 100 hurdles for the fourth time this season, running 12.98.
In a tightly contested field, the Brazilian freshman narrowly missed a top-three, automatic qualifying spot as Wisconsin's Destiny Huven outstretched De Mello by a .02 second gap at the finish line to finish third. De Mello's 12.98 left her 12th overall at the conclusion of the three quarterfinal heats and into the final qualifying spot by a narrow .04 margin.
Overby was clean through the first three bars in the high jump, but needed all three attempts to navigate what turned out to be the final height of 5-11.25 (1.81m). All twelve jumpers who cleared that height advanced to the national finals in Eugene.
Complete results of the NCAA West Preliminary Round are available here.
SPU'S VANESSA ANITEYE BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD IN 400 AT NCAA D2 CHAMPS...
In Allendale, Michigan at the Grand Valley State Lacrosse/Track & Field Stadium, Seattle Pacific senior Vanessa Aniteye picked up her first All-American trophy in her fourth trip to the NCAA Division II outdoor championships Saturday.
Aniteye placed sixth in the women’s 400 meters in a time of 53.64 seconds that just missed the conference record of 53.56 seconds (Mary Pearce, Alaska Anchorage, 2007) and moved her to No. 2 on the GNAC all time list.
Western Washington senior Calahan Warren closed his career by winning his second All-American trophy in the 1,5000, placing eighth in a time of 3:49.26.
Western's Amanda Short earned an All-America trophy with her eighth place finish in the javelin, throwing 149-0 (45.42m).
Annika Esvelt capped her sophomore season by running to a 10th-place finish in the 5000 meters. She finished in 16:40.70.
David Njeri, who entered the meet with a hamstring injury suffered at the GNAC championships meet, finished 18th in the triple jump with a best of 46-4 (14.12m).
The complete results of the NCAA Division II track and field championships are available here.
NOTE: The Nike Prefontaine Classic, University of Arkansas sports information office, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and the NCAA contributed to this report.
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