Moll twins go 1-2 at National Pole Vault Summit in Reno...
In Reno, Nevada, University of Washington twins Amanda (Paul Merca photo) and Hana Moll finished 1-2 in the women's elite pole vault competition Friday night to kick off the UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit at the Reno Livestock Event Center.
This pole vault only competition brings together many of the nation's top vaulters and coaches of all ages and levels in a unique learn by doing format over a weekend.
The Molls were in complete control of the competition, with Riley Felts finishing third with a best of 14-1 (4.30m), which was the height the twins cleared to open the competition.
The Molls needed two attempts each at 14-7.25 (4.45m), before Amanda took charge at the next height of 14-11 (4.55m), needing one attempt at that height, while Hana cleared on her third attempt.
At the winning height of 15-3 (4.65m), Amanda cleared on her first, while Hana, the reigning NCAA indoor champion, needed two tries.
Both took three shots at 15-7 (4.75m), which would have given both the world championships standard as well as the Washington school record of 15-5 (4.70m) set by Olivia Gruver five years ago.
In the second section of the elite men's pole vault, Washington's Scott Toney, a grad transfer from Penn, finished second on fewer misses behind Trevor Stephenson, as both cleared 18-1 (5.50m).
Marks from the National Pole Vault Summit will not count for NCAA qualifying purposes, but will count for world and US lists.
Complete results from the elite sections of the National Pole Vault Summit are available here.
RAY RAY WELLS HIGHLIGHTS UW INDOOR PREVIEW...
Washington State alum Emmanuel "Ray Ray" Wells ran one of the top performances at the season opening UW Indoor Preview Friday afternoon at the Dempsey Indoor.
After running 6.67 to clock the top time in the qualifying round, Wells, perhaps one of the fastest starters in the country, flew to a convincing victory in the men's 60, running 6.55 to tie the meet record set by former Colorado standout Joe Morris set in 2015.
In the men's 800, former University of North Carolina standout Kyle Reinheimer of Washington led Husky teammate Justin O'Toole to a new meet record, running 1:46.45 to O'Toole's 1:46.59.
Reinheimer broke the UW indoor school record of 1:46.50 set by Nathan Green last year, while O'Toole, who ran at Columbia last season, came within 9/100ths of Green's mark.
Newcomer Ambodai Ligons of the Huskies finished second behind Chase Walter of Cal Poly in the infrequently contested 600 meters. Walter took the win in 1:16.14, while Ligons, who was fourth in the California CIF championships in the 800 as a senior last year at Cathedral HS, broke the school record 1:16.51 set by Cass Elliott two years ago.
Other highlights from Seattle:
--Bec Bennett of Western Washington was a convincing winner of the women's 400, running 54.40;
--Thomas Boyden of Stanford won the men's 3000 in 7:41.85.
In a separate section, Husky commits Tayvon Kitchen from Crater HS in Oregon and Mercer Island's Owen Powell went 1-3, with Kitchen running 8:02.02, and Powell going 8:04.83.
--Alex Rhodes of Puget Sound, who will transfer to Washington in the fall, won the men's 400 in 46.51.
--The women's 1000 saw Oklahoma State alum Sinclaire Johnson lead two others under the meet record of 2:40.25 set by Olympian Shannon Rowbury in 2015, as Johnson won in 2:35.11.
Washington's Prestin Artis in the men's long jump (24-11/7.59m) and fellow Husky Simon Part (17-7.25/5.37m) in the pole vault had the two best field event marks.
The UW Indoor Preview rolls into the second annual Mile City meet Saturday beginning at 10:30 am.
In Spokane, pole vaulter Tatum Moku set the program record while senior Micaela De Mello set a Brazilian national record in the 60m hurdles Friday at the Spokane Sports Showcase.
In the 60-meter hurdles, De Mello finished first with a time of 8.02 seconds, marking a personal best for the senior while setting the Brazilian national record. The time is currently fourth-best in the world, best in NCAA Division 1 this season and is .11 seconds better than her previous best.
Moku, a native of Honolulu, set the program record on her first attempt at 14-05.50 (4.41m). Her mark placed her first in the event and was the second-high vault this season in the NCAA before the Molls took over the top spot later Friday night.
NOTE: Spokane Sports, the University of Washington, and the National Pole Vault Summit contributed to this report.
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