There is no better place to beat a personal record than on a track graced by Olympians.
Seattle Pacific University’s track and field team competed at the Oregon Preview on Friday, March 21, and Saturday, March 22, on the iconic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
The University of Oregon facility has been a hub for major track and field events since its renovation from 2018 to 202. Hayward hosted the 2021 and 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, the 2022 World Championships, and the 2021, 2022 and 2024 NCAA Division I Championships.
Running across those same surfaces, SPU had one runner bring home a personal record.
Track events:
In the main heat of the women’s 5,000-meter event, junior Maya Ewing placed second at 17:2.09, a personal best by 37 seconds outdoors and 22 seconds overall. Ewing’s previous outdoor best was 17:39.65 from the 2024 Ralph Vernacchia Invitational, and her overall best was 17:24.40 from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Championship on Feb. 17.
She just missed the NCAA provisional qualifying time of 16:59.79.
In the ‘B’ race of the 5,000, junior Matise Mulch ran a season-best 18:00.86 in the women’s five-kilometer event, taking second place in the ‘B’ race. Mulch’s time was 43-plus seconds faster than her season-opening 18:44.18 from March 1 and was three seconds shy of her 17:57.50 personal record from April 14, 2023.
Junior Hannah Chang ran a season-best in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, taking fifth place. Her best is 13.88 from the 2024 GNAC finals.
Chang also competed in the women’s 4-by-400 relay event with senior Johanna Brown, freshman Jada Sarrys and freshman Evey Roland. The team took home a second-place finish at 3:57.43.
Brown competed in the women’s 400-meter dash and finished sixth at 58.01, 30 seconds shy of her personal-best 57.31 from May 10, 2024.
Freshman Robert Joshua won his heat in the men’s 100-meter event at 11.05, placing 11th overall. He also ran 22.29 in the men’s 200-meter event, finishing 12th.
Freshman Andrew Bell ran a third-place finish in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, clocking 14.81. Bell previously won the event on March 8 at the PLU Open, clocking 14.61.
Field events:
Sophomore Mason Hreck competed in the men’s pole vault event but failed to clear the first height after three attempts, scratching out of the rankings.
In the women’s long jump event, sophomore Sophie Mock placed 15th at 4.77 meters
Two former Falcons competed unattached. Lizzy Daugherty was third in the women’s pole vault event at 3.88 meters, and Emily Thomason was seventh at 3.58 meters.
Upcoming:
The Falcons head north of the border next Saturday, March 29, for the UBC Open in Vancouver. The meet at Rashpal Dhillon Track & Field Oval starts at 10:00 a.m. The final event is set for 4:15 p.m.
