In their second time outdoors, the youngest Falcons were flying fast.
Seattle Pacific University’s track and field team competed in the PLU Open on Saturday, March 8, coming away with two event wins and 11 heat wins.
Track events:
Junior Maya Ewing posted her first-ever NCAA-qualifying time in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase event. She won the event at 10:48.00, obliterating her previous best of 11:19.21, set during her freshman season in 2023.
In his outdoor debut, freshman Andrew Bell won the men’s 110-meter hurdles event with a time of 14.61 seconds.
The other nine heat wins for the Falcons were all freshmen.
On the women’s side was Evangeline Rowland in the 100- and 200-meter dashes; Linnea Naone in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles; Ella Milanovich in the 1500-meter event; and Jada Sarrys in the 200-meter dash.
Rowland posted times of 12.78 and 25.86 seconds in the 100 and 200, respectively. Naone crossed the finish line in the 100-meter hurdles at 16.97 and 1:11.87 in the 400-meter hurdles. Milanovich’s time in the 1500 was 5:08.12. Sarrys posted 25.95 in the 200.
On the men’s side were Robert Joshua and Tarelle Hunter in the 100-meter dash and Ethan Erickson in the 800-meter.
Hunter ran a time of 11.23, and Joshua posted 10.96 (beating the Falcons men’s team-best 11.41 from last season). Erickson finished at 2:01.97 in the 800.
Also in the women’s 100 was senior Johana Brown, who finished sixth overall in the 100 with a new personal best of 25.72 seconds. Brown’s previous best was 25.92, from last season’s PLU Open.
Other top placings for SPU women were junior Hannah Chang in the 400-meter hurdles and sophomore Anna Prussian in the 1500. In her first time running the event, Chang came in third with a time of 1:08.41. Prussian posted a time of 4:51.78 and finished second.
Field events:
Former-Falcon Lizzy Daugherty finished her outdoor eligibility last year and wrapped her final indoor season in February. She competed in the event unattached and won the women’s pole vault at 3.65 meters.
Mikel Saxon finished third in the men’s pole vault, clearing 4.10 meters.
Upcoming:
Fifth-year Annika Esvelt is the sole Falcon competing at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, from Thursday, March 13, through Saturday, March 15.
Esvelt is the No. 4 seed in the women’s 5000-meter event and No. 9 in the 3000. The 5000 is set for Thursday at 3:15 p.m. Pacific time, and the 3000 is set for 1:40 p.m. on Saturday.
The rest of the Falcons will return to action on Friday, March 21, and Saturday, March 22, at the Oregon Preview in Eugene, Oregon.
