Complete results

SEATTLE – About a month ago, Melissa Peaslee literally couldn't move anywhere without some assistance from her boyfriend.

Her back pain was that bad.

On Saturday afternoon, there was very little pain and plenty of gain – specifically, enough gain in her pole vault height to put Seattle Pacific senior Peaslee squarely into the picture for a return trip to the NCAA Division II indoor track and field championships.

Peaslee (Fox Island, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) cleared 12 feet, 2¾ inches (3.73 meters) in the SPU Last Chance Meet at Dempsey Indoor on the University of Washington campus. That not only was a season best, it was enough to launch her into the No. 8 spot in the national rankings.

So while the official list of entrants is a few days away from being finalized, Peaslee is, in all likelihood, ready to pack for Albuquerque, N.M. for the March 11-12 NCAAs.

“I'm ready for nationals,” a very bubbly Peaslee said after finishing her day's work. “I can get two good weeks of training in and get on bigger poles. It's my senior year, and I have nothing to lose anymore.”

The Falcons picked up another NCAA provisional qualifying performance on Saturday when redshirt senior Chad Meis (SeaTac, Wash./Seattle Christian HS) clocked a 4:11.97 in the mile, beating the 4:12.60 provisional standard.

Officially, Peaslee is still just a provisional qualifier for NCAAs. She would have had to clear 13 feet (3.96 meters) to make it automatic.

But with the indoor meet typically allowing 12 to 14 competitors per  event (13 pole vaulters made the field in 2010), she is far enough up the list to be off the bubble and bound for her third indoor nationals.

Peaslee placed ninth in the pole vault in 2008 as a freshman, and also ran on the third-place distance medley relay that year. She was 13th in pole vault as a sophomore, then did not make the field last year as a junior.

Peaslee broke her back as a Falcon freshman, just prior to the NCAA outdoor nationals. Ever since then, she has been dealing with varying degrees of pain – sometimes a lot, sometimes not much at all.

In January, it was a lot.

“I wasn't even able to walk. My boyfriend had to pick me up and carry me,” she said, adding that that went on for three days before things started improving. “Conference was my first meet back, and it was more of a mental struggle. “(Peaslee placed fourth at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships last weekend in Nampa, Idaho, clearing 11-6½.)

“Today was my last chance as a senior, and I was a lot more relaxed because it wasn't so much about points and places,” Peaslee added. “This only affected me.”

With two more weeks to practice – and with those bigger poles – Peaslee figures she can add between six and 12 more inches.

“I have that spring back in my step – from having been able to train, to feeling good,” she said. “I can feel like me again.”

Seattle Pacific has several other provisional qualifiers who must wait until the list of accepted entries is released to know whether they made it.

Meis' time in the mile ranks 17th pending the outcome of other Saturday meets. He is SPU's only male provisional qualifier.

Elsewhere on the women's side, senior Crystal Sims (Portland, Ore.) ranks 14th in the pentathlon, junior Terra Schumacher (Sublimity, Ore.) ranks 19th in the pole vault (she posted a season-best 11-7 / 3.53 meters on Saturday),  junior Ali Worthen (Coos Bay, Ore.) is tied for 19th in the high jump at 5-6 (1.68 meters), and freshman Kishia Mitchell (Puyallup, Wash./Rogers HS) is 30th in the 400 meters at 57.38 seconds.

The 4,000-meter distance medley relay team of Heidi Laabs-Johnson (Salt Lake City, Utah), Sims, McKayla Fricker (Canby, Ore.) and Alli Cutting (Sequim, Wash./Sequim HS) ran 12:09.87 on Saturday, which ranks 21st.


NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
SPU Last Chance Meet
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Dempsey Indoor/Seattle, Wash.

Team scores -- Not kept.

800 -- 1, Annan Applebee (W. Oregon) 2:12.45. No SPU competitors.
Mile -- 1, Jaclyn Puga (NW Nazarene) 5:06.29. No SPU competitors.
60 hurdles -- 1, Tanya Bjornsson (W. Washington) 9.07. No SPU competitors.
Distance medley relay -- 1, Seattle Pacific (Heidi Laabs Johnson, Crystal Sims, McKayla Fricker, Alli Cutting) 12:09.87.
High jump -- All competitors no height.
Pole vault -- 1, Melissa Peaslee (SPU) 12-2 3/4 / 3.73m. Other SPU placer -- 2, Terra Schumacher 11-7 / 3.53m.
Long jump -- 1, Tanya Bjornsson (W. Washington) 18-2 1/2 / 5.55m. No SPU competitors.
Triple jump -- 1, Katharine Lotze (C. Washington) 37-1 1/4 / 11.31m. No SPU competitors.
Shot put -- 1, Torrie Self (C. Washington) 44-2 3/4 / 13.48m. No SPU competitors.
Weight throw -- 1, Torrie Self (C. Washington) 53-2 1/4 / 16.21m. No SPU competitors.


NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
SPU Last Chance Meet
Satudray, February 26, 2011
Dempsey Indoor/Seattle, Wash.

Team scores -- Not kept.

60-meter dash -- 1, Alex Tilley (W. Washington) 7.02. SPU placers -- 3, Dusty Duncan 7.25; 4, Dustin Bratten 7.55.
800 -- 1, Zach Massari (W. Oregon) 1:54.38. SPU placers -- 4, Nathanael Sleight 2:02.18; 5, Nate Seely 2:07.30.
Mile -- 1, Chris Reed (W. Oregon) 4:10.12. SPU placers -- 3, Chad Meis 4:11.97; 6, Evan Bradford 4:25.35; 7, AJ Baker 4:27.05; 8, Stephen York 4:50.31.
60 hurdles -- 1, Anthony Hogan (C. Washington) 8.63. SPU placers -- 2, Ryan Endresen 8.65; 4, Nate Johnson 9.14.
High jump -- 1, Brandon Roddewigh (C. Washington) 6-4 / 1.93m. No SPU competitors.
Pole vault -- 1, Ryan Brown (W. Washington) 16-4 3/4 / 5.00m. SPU placer -- 2, Ray Zoellick 14-11 / 4.55m.
Long jump -- 1, Kyle Lane (W. Oregon) 22-4 1/4 / 6.81m. No SPU competitors.
Triple jump -- 1, Jake Hyde (W. Oregon) 39-7 3/4 / 12.08m. No SPU competitors.
Shot put -- 1, Ben Elder (W. Washington) 51-10 / 15.80m. No SPU competitors.
Weight throw -- 1, Matt Schryvers (W. Oregon) 51-0 3/4 / 15.56m. No SPU competitors.