Late add Sam Tanner sets personal best in 2000m as Jakob Ingebrigtsen sets WR in Brussels...

In Brussels, Belgium, former Washington Husky Sam Tanner (Paul Merca photo), who was a last minute addition to the field, finished tenth in the infrequently run 2000 meters at the Memorial Van Damme meeting, the penultimate stop in the Wanda Diamond League tour this season.

Tanner ran a personal best 4:53.09 in his debut over the distance, as Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen set a world record, completing the five laps of the King Bedouin Stadium in 4:43.13 to eclipse the mark of 4:44.79 set in Berlin in 1999 by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj.

In the race, all eleven finishers either set world, national, area, season, or personal best marks.

The Wanda Diamond League finals are set for Saturday-Sunday September 16-17 at Hayward Field in Eugene at the Nike Prefontaine Classic.

Complete results of the Memorial Van Damme are available here.

SUMMER OF SOPHIE CONTINUES WITH TWO PB'S IN GERMANY...

Just when you thought the "Summer of Sophie" was over after her record run over 3000 meters in Rovereto, Italy on Wednesday, Washington's Sophie O'Sullivan took the final opportunity to race at the Volksbank Trier Flutlichtmeeting in Trier, Germany Friday night.

O'Sullivan, who has set personal bests at 1000, 1500, and 3000 meters this summer, added the 800 and 2000 Friday night.

First, she finished second in the 800, running 2:01.43, which is the second fastest time in school history, behind Carley Thomas, who ran 1:59.95 earlier this summer in Lignano, Italy.

Thomas was also in the race in Trier, finishing fourth in 2:02.95.

Kenya's Vivian Kiprotich won the race in 1:59.95.

Less than an hour later, O'Sullivan set another personal best, running 6:00.44 in the infrequently contested 2000 meters to take the win over Marissa Damink of the Netherlands, who ran 6:00.82.

Results of the Volksbank Trier Flutlichtmeeting are available here.

SAINTS OPEN CROSS COUNTRY SEASON IN OREGON...

The Saint Martin's cross country team opened its 2023 campaign Friday evening at the Ash Creek Cross Country Festival hosted by Western Oregon University in Monmouth.

Running on the course that will host the NCAA West Regional meet in November, the Saints were led by Cassidy Walchak-Sloan, who finished third over the 5k distance in a time of 17:58.

Alisha Saucedo was ninth in 18:29, followed by Sophie Pelletier in 12th in 18:52. Sara Sabra was 18th in 19:24, and Kya Ramirez finished off Saint Martin's scorers in 25th in 20:00.

Saint Martin's, which was one of the most improved teams in the GNAC last season, finished second to 13th ranked Chico State, scoring 59 to Chico State's 39.

Gianna Bomarito of Sonoma State won the women's race in 17:13.

On the men's side, the Saints finished fourth with 93 points, as Chico State, the nation's number 5 squad, racked up a perfect 15, led by winner Mario Giannini's 17:28 over 6k.

Isaac Cortes (8th, 18:17), and Kainalu Pagente (10th, 18:25) led the way for Saint Martin's.

Eli Dale (30, 19:14), Jaydon Blackburn (42, 19:36), and Jordan Kemper (43, 19:43) were the other scorers for the Saints.

Afterwards, SMU coach Matt Lowe said, "We went in focusing on getting back into the groove of what it’s like to race cross country again after so many months. I anticipated us being closely matched up against (Chico State) on the women’s side, although after a tough training block, I knew that we were going in not at 100%."

Looking ahead, Lowe said, "The focus will be on the Bill Roe Invite in 2 weeks against some respectable teams, and then the Lewis Crossover at the appropriate time when the training will pay off in October."

Lowe noted that last year's NCAA cross country qualifier Alauna Carstens,  transferred to nearby Evergreen State to pursue a different degree major, but he's pleased that several of his returning runners have stepped up so far.

Saint Martin's will be off until September 23rd when they face the other three Washington GNAC schools in Bellingham at the Bill Roe Invitational at Lake Padden, hosted by Western Washington.

Complete results of the Ash Creek Cross Country Festival are available here.

NOTE: The Wanda Diamond League, Memorial Van Damme, the Volksbank Trier Flutlichtmeeting and the sports information offices of Saint Martin's and Western Oregon contributed to this report.

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