Complete men's results (PDF)
        Complete women's results (PDF)

LACEY, Wash. – This is more the kind of race that Ryan Endresen had in mind.

The SPU junior went to the front early and stretched out his lead on the way to winning the 400-meter hurdles at Saint Martin's on Saturday. Endresen (Portland, Ore.) logged a time of 54.15 seconds that was his season-best by a long way. Coming into the meet, his best time this spring was 55.61.

Endresen's PR is 53.78 in the 2011 GNAC finals – fast enough to get onto the NCAA provisional qualifying list. This year, it'll take a 53.60.

Last year at the Saint Martin's Invite, Endresen was moving along until he clipped a hurdle hard. He still wound up in second place, but with a time of 55.22 seconds. On Saturday, he was clean over all 10 hurdles.

Freshman sprinter David Ferguson (Inverness, Ill.) set ran a career-best 11.26 seconds in the 100 meters to get onto the GNAC provisional qualifying list. He also had a career-best 22.56 in the 200, but already was GNAC provisional in that event.

Junior AJ Baker (Au Gres, Mich.) finished second in the 5,000 meters. Junior Nathan Seely (Lynden, Wash./Lynden HS) was third in the 400.

FULL-SPEED AHEAD FOR VALENTINE
Myisha Valentine isn't one to rest on her laurels.
 
Or on her clouds, either.
 
Just one week after multiple career-best performances in California, the Seattle Pacific senior sprinter was back in that same speedy mode on Saturday, running faster than she ever has in the 100 and 200 meters and winning both events at the Saint Martin's Invitational.
 
Valentine (Mountlake Terrace, Wash./North Sound Christian HS) was clocked in 12.32 seconds in the 100, erasing her previous best of 12.57 set on March 24 at the Club Northwest Spring Break Open in West Seattle. Saturday's time was just one place – and .01 seconds – out of the all-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-time top 10.
 
Later, she broke the 25-second mark in the 200 for the first time in her career, coming through the wire in 24.94. That was the fourth-fastest time in conference history.
 
“As far as pure fun, I don't get nervous in the 200,” Valentine said. “And the 100 is just a treat.”
 
The one sprint that Valentine didn't run on Saturday was the 400. But it was a strong performance at that distance in last Friday's Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif., that seems to have pushed her into a higher gear. Valentine finished that race in 56.47 seconds, her first time ever below 57. The next day at the Beach Invitational in Norwalk, Calif., she went 25.18 in the 200 – a career best that lasted for all of one week and had been No. 6 in the GNAC top 10.
 
“Getting a 56 was a huge ego boost. It was like, 'I can actually do this – it's really happening,” Valentine said. “My goal was to get anything in the 56s (in the 400) or anything in the 24s (in the 200). I was screaming – it was  a happy day.
 
“Now, I'm on Cloud 9.”
 
But on Saturday, Valentine let the clouds float overhead on an overcast afternoon while she took care of business on the track, winning her fourth and fifth individual events of the season. Of those victories, three have come in the 200: the Spring Break Open, the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational on March 31 in Bellingham, and now the Saint Martin's Invite. She also has run on three winning relays, and has won four heat races in various meets.
 
Valentine, who joined the Falcons last spring after spending two years at Spokane Community College, said that fact that her competitive days are winding down has been a factor in her most recent races.
 
“It's my last year of track, we're in the last couple weeks. … It was time to kick it in and get it done,” Valentine said. “I really want to get to nationals in the 200. (The NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time is 24.55.) “It's a lot of mental work, rest my legs, and just get focused. I feel like I'm in shape to do it. It's just put it out there and not be afraid to hurt at the end.”
 
The Falcons won four events altogether on Saturday.

Senior Carly Andrews (Issaquah, Wash./Issaquah HS) won the javelin with a throw of 131 feet, seven inches. Freshman Michaela Farner (Molalla, Ore.) was third at a career-best 128-1.
 
The 4x400 relay team of sophomore BryAnne Wochnick (Portland, Ore.), junior Emily Quatier (Portland, Ore.), freshman Jasmine Johnson (Federal Way, Wash./Federal Way HS) and freshman Kelsey Chase (Spokane, Wash./Northwest Christian-Colbert HS) was first across the line easily in 3:56.59. Quatier and Johnson also went 2-3 in the 400 meters, and Wochnick was third in the 200.

Junior Katie Thralls (Livermore, Calif.), who started turning out for track just a month ago after the women's basketball season ended, broke five minutes in the 1,500 meters for the first time, taking third place in 4:55.39. That put her onto the GNAC provisional qualifying list.

Sophomore Kishia Mitchell (Puyallup, Wash./Rogers HS) combined with Valentine for a 1-2 finish in the 100.
 
Team scores were not immediately available. Seattle Pacific came in as the defending women's team champion.
 
 

NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Saint Martin's Invitational
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Saint Martin's University / Lacey, Wash.

Team scores – Not yet available.

100 – 1, Kincaid Nichols (CWU) 10.90!. SPU placers – 7, David Ferguson 11.26*; 11, RJ Straker 11.69.
200 – 1, Edd Brown (Saint Martin's) 22.15!. SPU placers – 5, Ferguson 22.56*; 10, John Corazza 23.05.
400 – 1, Jonathon Poolman (WWU) 49.17!. SPU placers – 3, Natte Seely 50.20*; 9, Corazza 51.33; 19, Taylor Ladd 54.72.
800 – 1, Frank Krause (Saint Martin's) 1:56.32*. No SPU competitors.
1500 – 1, Kyle VanSanten (Saint Martin's) 3:53.25!. SPU placers – 12, Ryan Alcantara 4:14.46; 18, Gavin Brand 4:30.96.
5000 – 1, Eric Brill (WWU) 14:49.54!. SPU placers – 2, AJ Baker 15:15.65*; 4, Jordan Wolfe 15:22.37*; 8, Will Harrison 15:59.89.
10,000 – 1, Dak Riek (WWU) 31:43.76*. No SPU competitors.
110 hurdles – 1, Nari Sternen (Everett CC) 15.10. No SPU competitors.
400 hurdles – 1, Ryan Endresen (SPU) 54.15!. No other SPU competitors.
3000 steeplechase – 1, Kyle Johnson (Unattached) 9:22.82. No SPU competitors.
4x100 relay – 1, Central Washington 42.80. No SPU team.
4x400 relay – 1, Central Washington 3:25.15. No SPU team.
High jump – 1, Lewis Meyers (CWU) 6-4 ¼ / 1.94m!. No SPU competitors.
Pole vault – 1, Ryan Vu (Unattached) 16-4 ¾ / 5.00m. SPU placer – 4, Ray Zoellick 13-11 ¼ / 4.25m*.
Long jump – 1, Donovan Gage (Everett CC) 22-7 ¼ / 6.89. SPU placer – 17, Thomas Svendsen 18-4 ½ / 5.60m.
Triple jump – 1, Bryan Mack (CWU) 46-1 ½ / 14.06m!. No SPU competitors.
Shot put – 1, Nelson Westlin (WWU) 51-5 ½ / 15.68m!. No SPU competitors.
Discus – 1, Michael Hoffman (WWU) 159-2 ½ / 48.53m!. No SPU competitors.
Hammer – 1, Hoffman (WWU) 183-9 / 56.00m#!. No SPU competitors.
Javelin – 1, Branden Keller (CWU) 202-11 ½ / 61.87m #!. No SPU competitors.


NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Saint Martin's Invitational
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Saint Martin's University / Lacey, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not yet available.
 
100 – 1, Myisha Valentine (SPU) 12.32!. Other SPU placers – 2, Kishia Mitchell 12.44*; 4, Tasia Baldwin 12.49*; 5, BryAnne Wochnick 12.55*; 10, Natalie Nobbs 13.15.
200 – 1, Valentine 24.94!. Other SPU placers – 3, Wochnick 25.57!; 6, Kelsey Chase 26.19*.
400 – 1, Eleanor Siler (WWU) 55.94!. SPU placers – 2, Emily Quatier 57.03!; 3, Jasmine Johnson 58.46*; 9, Chase 1:00.34; 10, Gabrielle Serventi 1:00.45.
800 – 1, Joscelyn Minton (Saint Martin's) 2:13.39*. No SPU competitors.
1500 – 1, Lindsey Wagner (Northwest U) 4:44.90. SPU placers – 3, Katie Thralls 4:55.33*; 7, Alli Cutting 5:00.29; 9, Elizabeth Doe 5:15.25.
5000 – 1, Katie Strong (Everett CC) 18:10.08. No SPU competitors.
10,000 – 1, Ashley Llapitan (Saint Martin's) 42:30.40. No SPU competitors.
100 hurdles – 1, Lisa Petersen (Green River CC) 15.01. No SPU competitors.
400 hurdles – 1, Alexandra McDonald (WWU) 1:04.68!. SPU placer – T2, Nobbs 1:06.60*.
3000 steeplechase – 1, Rose Wetzel (Club NW) 10:50.21. SPU competitor – Josie Becker DNF.
4x100 relay – 1, Central Washington 49.71. No SPU team.
4x400 relay – 1, Seattle Pacific (Wochnick, Quatier, Johnson, Chase) 3:56.59. No other SPU teams.
High jump – 1, Jenny Brogdon (Club NW) 5-7¼ / 1.71m. SPU placer – T3, Brittany Aanstad 5-1¼ / 1.56m*.
Pole vault – 1, Karis Anderso (WWU) 12-6¼ / 3.82m#!. SPU placer – T2, Terra Schumacher 11-6½ / 3.52m!.
Long jump – 1, Emiliy Warman (WWU) 18-1¼ / 5.52m!. SPU placer – 3, Nobbs 16-10¾ / 5.15m*.
Triple jump – 1, Katharine Lotze (CWU) 38-2¾ / 11.65m#!. No SPU competitors.
Shot put – 1, Samantha Potter (PLU) 38-5½ / 11.72m. No SPU competitors.
Discus – 1, Janell Alyea (Evergreen St.) 139-10 / 42.62m. No SPU competitors.
Hammer – 1, Lindsay Wells (WWU) 155-6 / 47.40m!. No SPU competitors.
Javelin – 1, Carly Andrews (SPU) 131-7 / 40.10m#*. Other SPU placers – 3, Michaela Farner 128-1 / 39.04m*; 10, Brittany Tri 114-1 / 34.78m.
 
 
# NCAA provisional qualifying
! GNAC automatic qualifying
* GNAC provisional qualifying