Five freshmen set personal records, including one that tied a 50-year-old Seattle Pacific University record.
The Seattle Pacific track and field team traveled to Ellensburg, Washington, on Saturday, April 19, to compete in the Wildcat Open.
With 2.0 meters per second winds, both the wind and the athletes moved swiftly on the track.
Track events:
Freshman Andrew Bell ran the 110-meter hurdles in 14.50 seconds, tying the all-time Falcon record set by Mark Stream in 1975. While Bell had beaten all Falcon non-handheld times in this event previously, this puts his name at the top of the record books regardless of the era.
Freshman Robert Joshua set a personal record in the 100-meter dash, clocking in at 10.59 seconds, beating his previous record of 10.85 seconds on April 12.
Junior Hannah Chang won the women’s 100-meter hurdles, finishing in 14.03 seconds. This is her fastest time this year, and second fastest in her career. Her career best time in the 100-meter hurdles is 13.88 seconds, recorded on May 11, 2024. Chang is 0.10 seconds behind clinching the NCAA qualifying list with the current No. 22 time at 13.95.
The Falcons had the top three finishes in the women’s 5000 meters. Junior Matise Mulch won the event, finishing in 18:43.93. Junior Katelyn Flolo finished second with a time of 18:42.55. Senior Nicki Yorges finished third with a time of 19:11.14.
Senior Johanna Brown won the 200-meter dash with a personal best of 25:43. Her previous best was 25.63 on April 12. Freshman Evey Rowland came in third in the same event and set a personal record at 25.82. Her previous best was 25.86 on May 8.
Freshman Justin Brooks won his heat in the 800-meter, setting a personal record at 1:57.70. His previous best was 1:58.05 on April 4.
Freshman Jada Sarrys ran a personal best 100-meter dash in 12.21 seconds, coming in fifth overall. Her previous best was 12.75 on April 4.
Field events:
Freshman Kaitlyn Askay finished third in the women’s pole vault, clearing 3.20 meters.
Sophomore Mason Hreck tied for third in the men’s pole vault at 4.10 meters, and sophomore Mikel Saxon placed seventh at 4.00 meters.
Upcoming events:
Seattle Pacific’s final regular-season meets will be the Pee Wee Halsell Invitational and Ralph Vernacchia Invitational, both held at Civic Stadium in Bellingham, Washington.
The Halsell will be on Friday, April 25, with field events starting at 10:00 a.m. and track events starting at 11:00. The Vernacchia will be on Saturday, April 26, with both track and field events starting at 9:00 a.m.
