Complete women's results (PDF)
        Complete men's results (PDF)
        VIDEO:  Sammi  Markham, Chynna  Phan, and Mary  Charleson

SEATTLE – Mary Charleson has been on the national-qualifying list before. So has Chynna Phan. Now, they're both on it again.
 
Sammi Markham?
 
She had never been on that list. But now, the Seattle Pacific senior has made it for the very first time,
 
Markham, Charleson, and Phan all beat their respective NCAA Division II provisional qualifying standards on Saturday, grabbing the biggest share of the spotlight for the Falcons at the second Doris Heritage Distance Festival.
 
Under partly cloudy skies with cool early-spring temperatures at West Seattle Stadium, Markham made her mark in the javelin, flinging it 139 feet even. Charleson ran with a pack of Washington Huskies in the 1,500 meters, and put up a solid early-season time of 4 minutes, 33.58 seconds. Phan pushed the pace from the first stride to the last in the 800 meters, and stopped the watch in 2:12.94.

 

Not only had Markham not posted an NCAA provisional distance previously, she hadn't even come close outdoors, whether it was the shot put, discus or javelin. She started the spring riding some strong momentum from the end of the winter indoor season in the shot put. But Markham hadn't thrown a jav competitively since her 2014 freshman year, when she topped out at 124-2.
 
Now, she has thrown it in all three meets on the outdoor calendar, and has set a new personal-best each time: 125-3 on March 4 in Tacoma, 126-7 last Saturday in Sacramento, and now 139-0, putting her into the national top 20 as of Saturday evening.
 
"I was just wanting to get provisional, which is 132. Then I hit 139, so I'm just beyond excited," said Markham (Gig Harbor, Wash. / Gig Harbor HS), who won the event by 3 feet, 4 inches ahead of Northwest University's Anna Miller. "It felt good, and it felt easy. I didn't feel like I really had to try super-hard, which I know is a good throw, because it means you did the technique like you're supposed to."
 
ON PACE FOR EVEN FASTER THINGS
Although most of the UW team had this weekend off, the Huskies sent several of their 1,500-meter runners across town for Saturday's meet. That included two who previously had run close to 4:20 (Katie Knight at 4:21.35 and Isobel Batt-Doyle at 4:22.40), and one who was near 4:30 (Emily Hamlin at 4:30.86). Charleson's best time of 4:30.80.

 

She hung with that group for the entire distance, and actually edged ahead going around the curve to start the final lap. Hamlin went on to win the race in a meet-record time of 4:31.36. Charleson took fifth with her 4:33.58, which has her in the Division II top 10 for the moment, pending more weekend results from around the country.
 
It also puts her well within range of breaking the 4:30 mark, which she presumably will need to do between now and May to earn that ticket to Florida for nationals.
 
"It definitely helped having the UW come out to this meet," said Charleson (Mill Creek, Wash. / Henry M. Jackson HS). "I just focused on competing and being up front. It was a good race competition-wise. I'm really happy with it. It's a good start to the season."
 
FOR PHAN, CONFIDENCE IS KEY
Until exactly one month ago, Phan had been less than pleased with how things were going, feeling she had not run as well as she wanted to during the indoor season. But on Feb. 25 at the Seattle Pacific Final Qualifier, she came up with a 2:13.47 in the 800, fast enough to put her onto the NCAA provisional list (though not fast enough to get her above the national cutoff line). Prior to that, her best time had been 2:15.39.

 

Confidence boosted, Phan came up big on the 800-meter leg of Seattle Pacific's distance medley relay at the NCAA indoor nationals in Alabama, clocking 2:12.31 to help the Falcons earn and All-American eighth-place finish.
 
That same confidence was there again on Saturday, as Phan finished her first lap in approximately 64 seconds. She then stretched out her lead on the final lap, and was strong all the way to the finish line. Her 2:12.94 was just .06 away from her outdoor PR and came close to the meet record of 2:12.67.
 
"I was a little nervous coming out for my first outdoor race. It's kind of different to adjust to, and the laps are a little different," said Phan (Bellingham, Wash. / Mt. Baker HS). "Last year, my outdoor season was a little rocky at the beginning. So just to get a sub-2:13 right at the beginning of outdoor season was a confidence boost."
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
-- Sophomore Geneva Lehnert (Eugene, Ore.) won two events on Saturday. She took the high jump at 5 feet, 2 ½ inches, and the long jump at 17-7 ¾.
-- Peyton Harris (Boise, Idaho) won the men's long jump for the second year in a row, leaping 21 feet, 7 ¼ inches.
-- Lloyd Byram won the men's 10,000 meters. A graduate student, Byram (Renton, Wash.) finished his 25 laps in 33 minutes, 25.91 seconds
--Freshman Kate Lilly, running in the same heat as Phan, came up with a strong outing in the 800. Her time of 2:15.80 easily beat her previous SPU outdoor best of 2:18.61 at the season-opening Ed Boitano / Puget Sound Invitational on March 4. It was just shy of her indoor PR of 2:15.40. Lilly's outdoor time outdoor PR was 2:14.83 to win the district title last spring as a senior at Hazen High School in the Seattle suburb of Renton.
-- Doris Heritage greeted the competitors and fans on Saturday, then served as the honorary starter for the 1,500-meter races.
-- The Falcons will be in two different meets next weekend. Some will head to California for the San Francisco State Distance Carnival on Friday. The others will travel to Tacoma next Saturday for the JD Shotwell Invitational.


NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Doris Heritage Distance Festival
Saturday, March 25, 2017
West Seattle Stadium / Seattle,Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
200 – 1, Asa Kaba (Unattached) 25.87. SPU – 2, Cheryl Hong 25.99; 3, Lani Taylor 26.12; 5, Becca Houk 26.63; 7, Olivia Gabriel 26.91.
400 – 1, Hannah Derby (UW) 55.83 (meet record, breaks old record of 56.35 set by Michelle Fero (UW) in 2012). SPU – 5, Brooke Benner 1:00.00; 6, Keana Fine 1:04.01.
800 – 1, Chynna Phan (SPU) 2:12.94#. Other SPU – 2, Kate Lilly 2:15.20; 7, Gillian Edgar 2:31.91.
1500 – 1, Emily Hamlin (UW) 4:31.36 (meet record, breaks old record of 4:33.80 set by Heather Lucas (PLU) in 1991). SPU – 5, Mary Charleson 4:33.58#; 10, Alyssa Foote 4:45.16; 11, Hannah Calvert 4:46.13; 12, Sarah Macdonald 4:52.22; 13, Sedona McNerney 4:59.01; 14, Katherine Walter 5:00.84; 18, Hailey Kettel 5:19.27.
5000 – 1, Lana Lacey (Club NW) 17:30.98. No SPU.
10,000 – 1, Sophia Galvez (WWU) 38:27.78. No SPU.
4x400 relay – 1, Seattle Pacific (Kate Lilly, Olivia Gabriel, Hannah Calvert, Kyra Brannan) 4:01.70. Other SPU – 2, Seattle Pacific (Emma Lambert, Mary Charleson, Lani Taylor, Gillian Edgar) 4:04.22; 3, Seattle Pacific (Chynna Phan, Geneva Lehnert, Sarah Macdonald, Scout Cai) 4:09.09; 4, Seattle Pacific (Becca Houk, Keana Fine, Hailey Kettel, Brooke Benner) 4:11.49.
3000 steeplechase – 1, Caroline Austin (Seattle Running) 10:12.63 (meet record, breaks old record of 11:14.11 set by Katelyn Steen (WWU) in 2012). No SPU.
High jump – 1, Geneva Lehnert (SPU) 5-2 ½ / 1.59m. No other SPU.
Pole vault – 1, Chay Pinley (ClubNW) 11-11 ¾ / 3.65m. SPU – 5, Scout Cai 11-5 ¾ / 3.50m; 6, Michaella Kahns 10-11 ¾ / 3.35m; 7, Ryleigh Crenshaw 10-11 ¾ / 3.35m (Kahns higher place on fewer-misses tiebreaker); T10, Emma Lambert 10-0 / 3.05m.
Long jump – 1, Geneva Lehnert (SPU) 17-7 ¾ / 5.38m. Other SPU – 3, Kyra Brannan 17-6 ¾ / 5.20m.
Shot put – 1, Angel Nkwonta (UW) 43-1 ½ / 13.14m. SPU – 2, Sammi Markham 39-4 ½ / 12.00m.
Hammer –1, Onvie Chibuogwu (UW) 181-7 / 55.36m. No SPU.
Javelin – 1, Sammi Markham (SPU) 139-0 / 42.36m#! No other SPU.
 
# - NCAA Division II provisional qualifying     ! GNAC automatic qualifying
 
 
NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Doris Heritage Distance Festival
Saturday, March 25, 2017
West Seattle Stadium / Seattle,Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
200 – 1, Kodiak Landis (CWU) 22.38. SPU – 2, Justin Ramsey 23.35; 5, Shayne Carpenter 24.47; 7, Christian Wong 25.44.
400 – 1, Walker Flynn (Unattached) 49.42. SPU – 3, Justin Ramsey 50.84.
800 – 1, Travis Burkstrand (Brooks) 1:53.32. SPU – 2, Jesse Phan 1:58.08; 4, David McLeod 2:02.98; 10, Josiah Zering 2:10.32.
1500 – 1, Andrew Gardner (UW) 3:53.38. SPU – 12, Ben Halladay 4:03.33; 21, Brysten James 4:16.98; 24, Joseph Walker 4:18.10; 27, Clark Sterling 4:22.84.
5000 – 1, Isaac Derline (WWU) 14:50.17. No SPU.
10,000 – 1, Lloyd Byram (SPU) 33:25.91. Others – 10, Chris Reed (Club NW) 38:47.70.
4x400 relay – 1, Seattle Pacific (Lazarus Scarbrough, David Choi, Peyton Harris, Brysten James) 3:33.86. Other SPU – 2, Seattle Pacific (David McLeod, Clark Sterling, Christian Wong, Justin Ramsey) 3:37.48; 3, Seattle Pacific (Ben Halladay, Joseph Walker, Jesse Phan, Shayne Carpenter) 3:37.58.
3000 steeplechase – 1, Dean Willis (Northwest) 10:22.43. No SPU.
High jump – 1, Randy Stevenson (Unattached) 5-6 ½ / 1.69m. No SPU.
Pole vault – 1, Adam Thomas (WWU) 14-11 / 4.55m. No SPU.
Long jump – 1, Peyton Harris (SPU) 21-7 ¼ / 6.58m. Other SPU – 4, Chris Bench 17-6 ¾ / 5.20m.
Shot put – 1, Jose Padilla (UW) 55-1 / 16.79m (meet record, breaks old record of 52-2 ½ / 15.91m set by Eric Holmstrom (CWU) in 2013). No SPU.
Hammer – 1, Carey Campbell (UW) 179-1 / 54.57m. No SPU.
Javelin – 1, Tyree Rutter (CWU) 185-11 / 56.68m. No SPU.