March 31, 2018
STANFORD, Calif., HAYWARD, Calif., VANCOUVER, BC & TACOMA, Wash. - The Western Washington University track & field program completed a busy weekend of competition with student-athletes competing in four different events on Saturday.
The Vikings were spread throughout the Northwest at the UPS Shotwell Invitational in Tacoma and completed the multi events at the UBC Open in Vancouver, BC. Another contingent of WWU student-athletes wrapped up competition at the Stanford Invitational in Stanford, Calif., and the San Francisco State Distance Carnival in Hayward, Calif.
Stanford Invitational (Stanford, CA):
Four Vikings were in competition during the final day of the 43rd Stanford Invitational held on Cobb Track and Angell Field.
Sophomore Raquel Pellecer (Sandy, OR/Portland State) had a standout performance placing 2nd in the collegiate portion of the javelin competition with a personal best throw of 47.91m/157-02. Her mark placed her 7th on the all-time WWU outdoor record list and increased her NCAA II provisional mark that was 45.14m/148-1 entering the meet. Her mark will likely move her into the top 4 in the nation for NCAA Division II. Freshman Natalie Vetto (Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington) placed 6th in the javelin competition with a PR of 43.97m/144-03, also increasing her NCAA II provisional mark. Junior J.T. Konrad (Mead, WA/Mount Spokane) finished 7th in the pole vault clearing 4.65m/15-03, a season-best mark. Freshman Bryant Welch (Burien, WA/Mount Rainier) was 24th in the 200m in 22.51. San Francisco State Distance Carnival (Hayward, CA):
Four Vikings completed the competition at the 2018 San Francisco State Distance Carnival at Chabot College in Hayward, Calif.
Junior Savannah Smith (Renton, WA) move up to 7th in the WWU record books by finishing 3rd in the 400m in 57.24. Junior Kyler Sager (Snohomish, WA/Everett CC) finished 7th in the 800m in 1:52.98, etching his name in the WWU outdoor record books with the 8th-best time. Sophomore Liam Cossette (Spokane, WA/Ferris) was 33rd in the 800m finishing in 1:55.58. Senior Brandon Pless (Sedro-Woolley, WA) placed 2nd in both the hammer throw (50.49m/165-7) and the shot put (14.58m/47-10), but was not able to compete in the discus competition due to the length of the event and flight home to Bellingham. UBC Open (Vancouver, BC):
In the final day of competition at the University of British Columbia Open in Vancouver, junior Rudy Mataya (Burlington, WA/Burlington-Edison) put together an outstanding final five events to jump from 4th to 1st place in the decathlon. Mataya, in his first year competing in the multi events, won the pole vault (4.00m) and javelin (39.28m) to move win the competition with 5,157 total points. Sophomore Nick Makrakis (Concord, CA/Northgate) came in 2nd with 5,544 points and freshman Seren Dances (Port Townsend, WA) completed the Vikings 1-2-3 sweep finishing in 3rd place with 5,535 points. Highlights from the first day of the UBC Open on Friday included 1st-place finishes for freshman javelin thrower Hannah Nienaber (Battle Ground, WA/Prairie), as well as freshman Ben Jacot (Tacoma, WA/Curtis) in the 10,000m (32:33.97), sophomore Jewels Oliquiano (Kaneohe, HI/Castle) in the pole vault (3.40m/11-1 ¾) and sophomore Chanelle Eddy (Bellingham, WA/Sehome/Whitworth) in the discus (40.16m/131-9). UPS Shotwell Invitational (Tacoma, WA):
WWU had five competitors in the UPS Shotwell Invitational held at Baker Stadium in Tacoma, Wash.
Freshman Myles Smith (Puyallup, WA) placed 1st in the field of 20 runners in the 800m clocking a time of 1:59.24. Classmate Garrett Davies (Vancouver, WA/Mountain View) finished 2nd in the high jump clearing 1.97m (6-5.50) for an outdoor personal best. Also competing were freshman Taliah Coe (Renton, WA/Hazen) placing 7th in the javelin (33.78m/110-10), freshman Sonny Chhim (Kelson, WA) finishing 5th in the 400m (51.91) and junior Colton Pulver (Wasilla, AK) placing 21st in the 1,500m (4:29.84). The Vikings return to competition this Friday (April 6) hosting Saint Martin's, Seattle Pacific and the University of British Columbia in the WWU Track & Field Invitational at Civic Stadium in Bellingham.
2018 Outdoor Schedule:
Meet | Date | Location |
Ed Boitano Invitational | March 3 | Baker Stadium (Tacoma, WA) |
PLU Open | March 10 | PLU Track & Field Facility (Parkland, WA) |
SPU Doris Heritage Track Festival | March 24 | West Seattle Stadium (Seattle, WA) |
San Francisco State Distance Carnival | March 30-31 | Chabot College (Hayward, CA) |
Stanford Invitational | March 30-31 | Cobb Track and Angell Field (Stanford, CA) |
UBC Open | March 30-31 | Rashpal Dhillon Oval (Vancouver, BC) |
UPS Shotwell Invitational | March 31 | Baker Stadium (Tacoma, WA) |
WWU Team Invitational | April 6 | Civic Stadium (Bellingham, WA) |
SMU Jay Hammer Meet | April 14 | SMU Track & Field Complex (Lacey, WA) |
Brian Clay Invitational | April 19-20 | Cougar Athletic Stadium (Azusa, CA) |
Mt. Sac Relays/California Invitational Combined Events | April 19-20 | Murdock Stadium at El Camino College (Torrance, CA) |
Beach Invitational | April 20-21 | Jack Rose Track (Long Beach, CA) |
WWU Ralph Vernacchia Track & Field Meet | April 28 | Civic Stadium (Bellingham, WA) |
GNAC Multi Championships | April 30-May 1 | Brian and Nichole Bohner Track (Nampa, ID) |
Ken Shannon Invitational | May 4-5 | Husky Stadium (Seattle, WA) |
GNAC Championships | May 11-12 | McArthur Field (Monmouth, OR) |
NCAA Championships | May 24-26 | Irwin Belk Complex (Charlotte, NC) |
