Huskies come home with the "W" at Penn Relays...
PHILADELPHIA--The Huskies got the W at the Penn Relays Friday.
In just about every other sport, that means that Washington won, but in the case of the Penn Relays, the W also means the Wheel for winning one of the relay races at the fabled relay meet, which has been run since 1895.
Using the same foursome who set the all-conditions world best of 9:14.10 in Seattle in February--Ronan McMahon-Staggs, Bodi Ligons, Kyle Reinheimer, and Nathan Green (photo courtesy UW Athletics), the Huskies worked their way up from eighth at the end of the opening 1200 leg to third going into Green's 1600 anchor leg before he took it home for the victory in 9:25.22.
Texas A&M controlled the race through the first three legs, while the Huskies moved into third entering the anchor leg.
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| Washington's team of (from left) Kyle Reinheimer, Nathan Green, Bodi Ligons & Ronan McMahon-Staggs (photo courtesy Penn Relays) |
Ronan McMahon-Staggs ran the opening 1200-meter leg in 2:57.70, then handed to Bodi Ligons for the 400-meters, who posted the second-fastest split in the field of 46.08. Kyle Reinheimer then had the fastest 800m split in the field in 1:46.29, passing to Nathan Green for the 1,600m anchor. Green took the baton in third place but had moved up to second going into the final lap and he pulled away down the homestretch to win by more than a second, splitting a time of 3:55.15.
"The last lap to go I was just thinking this is like every other championship race I've been in," said Green, a former NCAA 1500 meter champion, and the NCAA mile runner-up this indoor season.
"It comes down to the last 300 (meters) and then the last 80, so I was just focusing on one thing at a time. I was moving up on the Texas A&M guy, sitting on him with a lap to go, pressing up with 300 to go like I usually do, and then emphasizing the last 80 and just pulling away."
In the same DMR race that the Huskies won, incoming transfer Tyler Bilyard ran a 1600m split of 4:04.17 for the University of Birmingham, who finished 11th in 9:42.39.
Incoming grad transfer Chloe Thomas, competing unattached, won the open women's 5000 meter run in 15:53.49. UW alum Sophie Cantine finished fourth in 16:33.61.
Washington is slated for four events on Saturday to wrap things up. The women's 4x1500m Championship is at 9:40 a.m., the men's 4xMile Championship will be at 10:05 a.m., then the women's 4x800m Championship is at 11:11 a.m. and the men's 4x800m Championship is set for 11:20 a.m.
Saturday, Husky alums Sam Ellis, who finished second in the USATF Road Mile championship on Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa, and Luke Houser are entered in the Benjamin Franklin Elite men's mile.
Ellis would have been on his first US national team, as the USATF Road Mile race was the qualifying event for the World Athletics Road Mile, to be held in conjunction with the World Athletics Road Running Championships.
Also, Paris Olympian and former Brooks Beast Nia Akins, who moved back to Philadelphia, is in the Olympic Development women's 800, while Bellevue native Katie Burnett competes in the Olympic Development women's 5k walk.
At the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Gonzaga's Willow Collins placed eighth overall and finished in 4:20.51 in the seeded section of the women's 1500 just two seconds shy of her season best 4:18.28 from the Stanford Invitational earlier this month.
The Zag women will wrap at Drake on Saturday in the Distance Medley Relay at 10:37 a.m. Machu, Collins, Ireland Robertson, and Ellie Armbruster are set to compete in the race.
Washington alum Eleanor Fulton is entered in the women's invitational mile, along with former Seattle Pacific All-American Kaylee Mitchell.
In Bellingham, the field events took center stage at the Pee Wee Halsell Invitational at Civic Stadium, hosted by Western Washington University Friday.
Western Washington's Katie Potts extended her GNAC conference lead in the discus, winning with a best of 157-11 (48.15m). Liam Wall of the Vikings won the men's discus with a conference best of 172-10 (52.70m).
Central Washington's Payton Elenbaas won the women's hammer with a GNAC best of 176-0 (53.65m).
On the track, Seattle Pacific's Hannah Chang won the 100 hurdles in a season best 13.90, while Western Washington's Mia Crocker lowered her conference best in the 800 meters to 2:10.17.
Action resumes Saturday with the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational at Civic Stadium.
Washington State alum CJ Allen is in Xiamen, China as the Wanda Diamond League season kicks off Saturday morning.
Allen, the Paris Olympian in the 400 hurdles, is entered in the 300 hurdles, which was approved as a world record event starting this year. He'll face reigning world champion and former Olympic 400 hurdles champ Karsten Warholm of Norway in the final race of the day, which gets underway at 5:52 am, Pacific time.
Flotrack ($) will stream every meet of the Wanda Diamond League series beginning this season, with the exception of the Nike Prefontaine Classic, which NBC retains the rights to.
At the Payton Jordan Invitational hosted by Stanford University late Friday night, Gonzaga's Wil Smith finished third in the men's 5000, running 13:34.96. The mark is the second fastest time in school history behind only James Mwaura's 13:30.02.
Cashmere native Rob McManus of Montana State finished ninth in 13:40.04.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Gonzaga University, the University of Washington, Western Washington, World Athletics and the Penn Relays contributed to this report.
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