UW men set all-conditions world best in distance medley relay at Husky Classic...
SEATTLE--Even before the start of the distance medley relays, the talk around those who follow collegiate track and field was that those races to kick off the two-day Husky Classic at the Dempsey Indoor on the campus of the University of Washington were going to be special.
Certainly the collegiate records of 9:16.40 by Oklahoma State in the men's race, and the Washington women's 10:43.39 set last year in Boston would be under siege.
Under siege?
Try demolished.
In the first race of the day, the Washington men's team of Ronan McMahon-Staggs, Bodi Ligons, Kyle Reinheimer, and Nathan Green (Paul Merca photo) ran 9:14.10, under the listed world record of 9:14.58 set last year by Seattle's own Brooks Beasts team of Brannon Kidder, Brandon Miller, Isaiah Harris and Henry Wynne.
Ironically enough, the Beasts were training on the Dempsey track preparing for next week's USATF national championships in New York a few hours before their world record was broken by the Huskies.
Washington had the luxury of starting three teams, and the Husky C team, with Rhys Hammond leading off on the 1200 leg, led through the first leg before dropping out, with Ronan McMahon-Staggs of the UW A team and Cole Lindhorst of the Husky B team behind.
McMahon-Staggs had an unofficial split time of 2:50.8, just behind leadoff man Cole Lindhorst of the UW B team.
McMahon-Staggs then handed the baton to freshman Bodi Ligons, who ran 46.9, pressed by Jonathan Frazier before handing off to Kyle Reinheimer, and Frazier to Justin O'Toole.
O'Toole and Reinheimer ran even on the 800 leg in 1:46.0, before they handed off to Thomas Diamond on the B team and Nathan Green on the A squad.
Diamond and Green ran together for nearly 1200 of the 1600 leg before the Australian pulled off the track and ceded the lead to Green for the final 400.
Green's unofficial split on the 1600 leg was 3:50.5, giving the Huskies a final time of 9:14.10, easily a collegiate record, and under the absolute world record of 9:14.58 set by the Beasts outdoors in Eugene last year.
Unfortunately, it will not count as a world record, as McMahon-Staggs is listed in the World Athletics database as an Irish citizen. It will count as the absolute fastest time run indoors or outdoors in world history.
“One of the great performances in Husky Track & Field history,” said Head Coach Andy Powell. “Obviously it’s not every day that you set a World Record. We had the team and the track to do this here tonight without having to travel around the country to find the right race. Whether it gets ratified or however long it lasts we’re going to remember it."
Courtesy of media partner RunnerSpace.com, here is the full race:
As soon as the men exited the track, the women annihilated the previous collegiate record that the Huskies set in Boston last year.
Defending national champion BYU's team of Carmen Alder, Meghan Hunter, Tessa Buswell, and Riley Chamberlain collectively ran 10:37.58, with Stanford second at 10:38.93.
Northern Arizona was third in 10:39.44, while Washington's squad of Chloe Foerster, Anna Terrell, Claire Yerby, and Amina Maatoug were fourth in 10:40.44, breaking the school and the previous collegiate record for the third consecutive season.
Utah was fifth in 10:42.56, also under the Huskies' previous collegiate record of 10:43.39 set last year.
To cap off the evening, Washington State's Evans Kurui (Paul Merca photo) ran the third fastest 5000 meters in school history and set a WSU indoor record, winning the invitational section in 13:17.16.
The Huskies' Jamar Distel and New Mexico's Ishmael Kipkurui were assigned pacing duties, with Kipkurui assigned to take the field through two miles.
After Kipkurui led them through two miles under 8:40, Kurui still had Shadrack Kiptoo of Oklahoma and Thomas Boyden of Stanford to contend with.
With about 500 meters to go, Kurui, the WCC cross country champion and All American, put the hammer down, and ran to victory in a Dempsey Indoor facility record of 13:17.16.
That mark obliterated the previous indoor school record of 13:34.6 set by John Ngeno in Portland in 1976,
It's the third fastest 5000 indoors or outdoors run in school history, behind Henry Rono's 13:06.2, which was a world record in 1981, and Peter Koech's mark of 13:09.50, set a year later in Stockholm, Sweden.
Kurui overtakes the 13:20.0 run by Gerry Lindgren in 1966 at Husky Stadium.
Other highlights:
--NCAA outdoor 10000 meter champion Habtom Samuel of New Mexico fought off US Olympian Nico Young to win the men's top section of the 3000, clocking a meet record 7:39.39, off the Dempsey record of 7:36.69 set by Stanford's Ky Robinson last year.
--Eastern Washington's Maddy Shekhawat broke his own school record in the 60 hurdles, running 7.68 to win the event going away;
--Former Husky Max Manson won the men's pole vault on fewer misses over UCLA's Hunter O'Brien and Mathis Bresko, as all three cleared 17-8.5 (5.40m);
--Washington alum Nastassja Campbell won the women's pole vault at 13-7.25 (4.15m);
--Egypt Simmons of Eastern Washington took the women's triple jump at 40-7.75 (12.39m).
Action resumes Saturday at 10 am with the men's and women's miles, the women's and men's 800 and the women's 3000 the feature events.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Washington's Scott Toney won the top section of the men's pole vault to kick off competition at the two day Don Kirby Elite meet at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Toney and Montana State's Colby Wilson were in a two man battle, with Toney prevailing on fewer misses, with each clearing 18-4.5 (5.60m).
Washington State's AJ McGloflin finished second behind Louisville's Brion Stephens on fewer misses, with each clearing 7-1.75 (2.18m).
Action continues Saturday in Albuquerque. Washington's Bodi Ligons, Jonathan Frazier, and Anna Terrell, who ran legs on the distance medley relay teams in Seattle, flew to Albuquerque after the race, along with several other athletes from schools who had entries in the DMR to compete Saturday.
NOTE: The sports information offices of the University of Washington, University of New Mexico, Eastern Washington University, and Washington State University contributed to this report.
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