After posting some outstanding marks and gaining valuable experience and confidence, the Logger Track & Field team finally opened their outdoor season on Friday. Seattle Pacific, Western Washington and Pacific Lutheran joined the Loggers for the Quad meet at Peyton Field.
Despite disappointing team finishes, 16 individual Northwest Conference qualifying marks were recorded during the meet.
On the women’s side, junior Andrea Leiken (Portland Ore.) ran two qualifying times; she ran the 200 meter dash in 26.58 seconds and finished the 400 meter 59.88. Leiken placed second and third in the events respectively.
Two women posted NWC qualifying marks in the 10k as senior Marnie Hazelhurst (Portland, Ore.) finished in just over 39 minutes and junior Brooke Peaden (Aurora, Colo.) followed just under 43 minutes. Sophomore Carrie Keith (Erie, Colo.) qualified for the NWC as well as she won the 3000m steeplechase in a time of 11 minutes and 56 seconds.
Field event qualifiers included freshman Maggie Rowe (Helena, Mont.) in the high jump, junior Maya Heck (Corvallis, Ore.) in the pole vault, freshman Sarah Stillman (Lexington, Ore.) and junior Maggie Klee in the javelin.
After an impressive cross country season, freshman Robin Harkins led the men’s charge, finishing third in the 10k with a NWC qualifying time of 32 minutes and 41 seconds. Following Harkins in the 10k was sophomore Matt Klein (Portland, Ore.) who also recorded at NWC qualifying time.
Freshman Joe Cerne (Ravensdale, Wash.) made an impressive outdoor debut for the Loggers, finishing second overall in the javelin. His best throw of 173’-10” was good for fourth place all time in Puget Sound history and earned him a NWC qualification.
In sprinting events, freshman Sean Tyree posted a NWC qualifying time of 51.52 seconds in the 400 meter event while sophomore Emerson Sample (Madison, Wisc.) qualified in the 400m hurdles with a time of 59.81 seconds. Rounding out the men’s qualifications was sophomore Michael Hass (Cupertino, Calif.) who finished first overall in the long jump with a mark of 20’-2.5”.
The Puget Sound Track & Field team was blessed with good weather on Saturday and 16 athletes capitalized to post early qualifying marks. As the team continues to train and learns how to compete on meet days, look for more athletes to qualify for the Northwest Conference Championship Meet.