Complete results (PDF)
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TACOMA – Chances are the track and field world isn't quite familiar with Heidi Laabs-Johnson yet.

Chances are that's going to be changing very quickly -- maybe even in less than five minutes, which is all the time it took her to run 1,500 meters on Saturday.

Laabs-Johnson, heretofore a soccer player for Seattle Pacific, has turned her attention to track – and is getting people's attention with her performances in distance events. On Saturday, she left the other members of the 12-runner field behind her, winning the 1,500 meters by five seconds at the season-opening UPS Outdoor Preview.

The Falcon junior from Salt Lake City posted a time of 4 minutes, 58.06 seconds at Baker Stadium on the University of Puget Sound campus – five seconds faster than runner-up Kelsey Croall (5:03.07) from Lewis & Clark. That was fast enough to earn a provisional qualifying spot for the GNAC Championships in May.

Laabs-Johnson, a junior, was one of four winners for SPU, which scored 50 points to take second in the team standings behind Western Washington (66).

“She has so much potential because she's a great athlete, but she's still learning track,” SPU head coach Karl Lerum said. “She's fit, and she bring a great competitive mindset from soccer. Once she gets comfortable and confident in the distances she's racing, she is going to make some good jumps (in progress).”

Junior Brittany Aanstad, a fourth-place finisher in the javelin at last spring's NCAA Division II championships, opened her new season with an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying toss of 142 feet, 0 inches (43.29 meters) to win by more than two feet. That put Aanstad (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS) onto the GNAC automatic qualifying list – the only Falcon to earn an automatic mark on Saturday.

“She's still recovering from some pretty serious injuries. So for her to come out and stroke a 142 in the first meet of the year is very fine,” Lerum said.

Junior Carly Andrews (Issaquah, Wash./Issaquah HS) also had an NCAA provisional performance in the jav at 133-2 (40.59 meters).

Sophomore Trinna Miranda (Tigard, Ore.) won the triple jump, going 36 feet, 0 inches (10.97 meters). SPU teammate Athena Nye (Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River HS) was second at 35-3 (10.74 meters). Both were conference provisional qualifying distances.

It was the second straight year Miranda has won an event at UPS. She won the long jump last season, and was second in that event on Saturday at 16-8 (5.08 meters).

Four Falcons teamed up to finish the meet with a record-setting performance in the 4x400 relay. Freshman Kishia Mitchell (Puyallup, Wash./Rogers HS), senior Crystal Sims (Portland, Ore.), sophomore Emily Quatier (Portland, Ore.) and freshman BryAnne Wochnick (Portland, Ore.) won in 4:01.62. That beat the record of 4:03.71 set by a Seattle Pacific team in 2003.

Other GNAC provisional marks recorded by the Falcons in running evengts on Saturday were by junior Myisha Valentine (Mountlake Terrace, Wash./North Sound Christian HS) in the 400 meters (fourth place in 1:00.70), junior Natalie Nobbs (Yakima, Wash./Riverside Christian HS) in the 400 hurdles (second in 1:07.07), sophomore Krysta Carrick (Tokyo, Japan) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (second in 12:12.02) junior Kayla Wilkins (Vancouver, Wash./Evergreen HS) in the steeple (third in12:16.49) and junior Josie Becker (Grapeview, Wash./White River HS) in the steeple (fourth in 12:28.04).

Conference provisional in the field events came from junior Carly Andrews (Issaquah, Wash./Issaquah HS) in the javelin (third place at 133-2 / 40.59 meters) and senior Jenifer Pike (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview HS) in the javelin (fourth at 122-10 / 57.43 meters).

The Falcons return to competition next Saturday in Tacoma at the Pacific Lutheran Invitational on the PLU campus.


NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
UPS Outdoor Preview
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Baker Stadium/Tacoma, Wash.

Team scores – 1, Western Washington 66; 2, Seattle Pacific 50; 3, Lewis & Clark 46; 4, Puget Sound 37.

100 – 1, Shandel Yanney (WWU) 13.16. No SPU competitors.
200 – 1, Cheyenne Feliz (L&C) 26.44. SPU placer – 4, Myisha Valentine 27.02.
400 – 1, Valle Ledtke (WWU) 59.62. SPU placers – 4, Valentine 1:00.70*; 7, Kelsey Brown 1:02.98.
800 – 1, Olivia Foster (L&C) 2:19.51. SPU placers – 3, Jenifer Pike 2:22.51; 4, BryAnne Wochnick 2:22.54; 5, Kishia Mitchell 2:24.58; 6, Ali Worthen 2:24.75; 7, Emily Quatier 2:26.62; 8, Crystal Sims 2:32.44.
1,500 – 1, Heidi Laabs-Johnson 4:58.06*. No other SPU placers.
10,000 – 1, Emily Thomas (L&C) 38:04.16. No SPU competitors.
100 hurdles – 1, Tanya Bjornson (WWU) 14.85. No SPU competitors.
400 hurdles – 1, Alexandria McDonald (WWU) 1:06.20. SPU placer – 2, Natalie Nobbs 1:07.07*.
3,000 steeplechase – 1, Carrie Keith (UPS) 11:56.46. SPU placers – 2, Krysta Carrick 12:12.02*; 3, Kayla Wilkins 12:16.49*; 4, Josie Becker 12:28.04*.
4x100 relay – 1, Puget Sound 52.27. No SPU team.
4x400 relay – 1, Seattle Pacific 'A' (Mitchell, Sims, Quatier, Wochnick) 4:01.62 (meet record, breaks old record of 4:03.71 set by Seattle Pacific in 2003). Other SPU placers – 2, Seattle Pacific 'B' (Nobbs, Valentine, Pike, Worthen) 4:08.16; 6, Seattle Pacific 'C' (Wilkins, Laabs-Johnson, Brown, Carrick) 4:28.17.
High jump – 1, Amanda Overdick (WWU) 5-2¼ / 1.58m. SPU placer – 6, Ariana Warren 4-10¼ / 1.48m.
Pole vault – 1, Loreah Winlow (WWU) 10-6 / 3.20m. No SPU competitors.
Long jump – 1, Tanya Bjornsson (WWU) 17-4 / 5.28m. SPU placers – 2, Trinna Miranda 16-8 / 5.08m*; 3, Nobbs 15-11½ / 4.86m; 4, Pike 15-7¾ / 4.77m.
Triple jump – 1, Miranda 36-0 / 10.97m*. Other SPU placer – 2, Athena Nye 35-3 / 10.74m*.
Shot put – 1, Amy Madden (L&C) 36-7 / 11.15m. SPU placers – 2, Sims 34-9 / 10.59m; 3, Katy Gross 32-9 ¾ / 10.00m; 5, Briana Clarke 30-9 / 9.37m.
Discus – 1, Maggie Roe (WWU) 110-9 / 33.75m. No SPU competitors.
Hammer – 1, Lindsay Welb (WWU) 149-9 / 45.64m. SPU placer – 3, Clarke 110-0 / 33.53m.
Javelin – 1, Brittany Aanstad (SPU) 142-0 / 44.40m#^. Other SPU placers – 3, Carly Andrews 133-2 / 40.59m#*; 4, Pike 122-10 / 37.43m*; 5, Brittany Tri 117-5 / 35.79m; 6, Gross 113-5 / 34.58m; 8, Worthen 99-4 / 30.27m; 11, Danae VerMulm 90-8 / 27.65m; 12, Sims 90-1 / 27.46m.

# NCAA provisional qualifier.
^ GNAC automatic qualifier.
* GNAC provisional qualifier.