Moll twins open outdoor campaign at Maurie Plant meet in Melbourne Saturday...
With most of the Division I and II schools in the state on spring break, the schedule of teams competing this weekend is rather light.
University of Washington pole vaulters Hana (Paul Merca photo) and Amanda Moll are spending their spring break in Australia competing in Saturday night's Maurie Plant Meet Melbourne, the opening meet of the 2026 World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series.
The World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series features eleven meets between this weekend and the middle of July, beginning in Melbourne, and ending in Budapest in July.
In what is sure to be one of the feature events of the meet, the Molls will face off against Australia's Olympic hero Nina Kennedy, who missed the entire 2025 season due to injury, after winning the Olympic title in Paris the year before.
Hana, the reigning NCAA indoor and outdoor champion, currently holds the world lead with her 16-0 (4.88m) clearance at the UW Invitational, while sister Amanda was the 2025 world leader at 16-1.25 (4.91m). The twins tied for sixth at their last outdoor appearance at the world championships in Tokyo in September.
This will be Amanda's first meet after being shut down after the UW Invitational by the coaching staff.
A trio of Washington alums will also compete at the Maurie Plant meet: NCAA 1500m champ Sophie O'Sullivan will open her 2026 campaign by running the 1500, while Brian Fay and Ed Trippas will compete in the 3000 meters.
Jackson HS and University of Oregon alum Grant Grosvenor is slated to run the men's 800.
Flotrack ($) will stream the meet starting at midnight Saturday, Pacific time (6:00 pm Australian Eastern Time) while other countries can catch the meet via the World Athletics website.
HUSKIES, FALCONS & SAINTS SET TO COMPETE AT PEYTON-SHOTWELL INVITATIONAL...
A small group of athletes from the University of Washington, along with athletes from Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's will make the trip to Tacoma Saturday to compete at the Peyton-Shotwell Invitational at Baker Stadium on the campus of the University of Puget Sound.
The meet is Washington's only appearance during the outdoor season in the state of Washington, as all of its other meets will be held outside the state.
As of this writing, start lists for the meet have not been posted; however, many of Washington's sprints and hurdles group are expected to compete.
All events are scheduled to get underway at 11:00 am, with the men's steeplechase on the track and the women's discus, men's shot, men's javelin, women's pole vault and both triple jumps starting at 11:00 as well.
VIKINGS SCATTERED THIS WEEKEND...
Western Washington, which is also on spring break, will have most of its athletes in Vancouver competing in Saturday and Sunday's UBC Open, hosted by the University of British Columbia at the Rashpal Dhillon Oval.
Additionally, sprinter Bec Bennett will be competing in the 400 meters at the Raleigh Relays, hosted by NC State University, while a group of four distance runners from Western Washington will compete at the West Coast Relays in Clovis, hosted by Fresno State University.
NOTE: World Athletics, Athletics Australia, and the sports information offices of the University of Puget Sound, Washington, Western Washington, Seattle Pacific, and Saint Martin's contributed to this report.
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