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

SEATTLE – Part of her motivation came from possibilities that lie in front of her.
 
But for Anna Patti, part of it also came from a race that is almost three months behind her.
 
Pulled along by the first of those factors and pushed by the other, the Seattle Pacific junior ran herself into contention for a trip to the NCAA Division II meet on Friday night, shattering her personal best and the national provisional qualifying standard in the 5,000 meters at the UW Invitational.
 
Patti's time for 16-plus laps around the Dempsey Indoor purple oval was 17 minutes, 17.46 seconds. That easily got her below the 17:28.78 NCAA provisional standard. (Automatic is 16:31.38.)

It was 49 seconds faster than her old indoor PR of 18:06.77, and was even faster than her outdoor PR of 17:19.10.
 
"I had sort of a goal time to PR, which was 17:19, so I really wanted to be right there – which I know is ambitious, but it worked out all right," Patti said. "I wasn't sure when I was going to run another 5K, so it was really important to do well here."
 
Patti (Renton, Wash. / Lindbergh HS) wasn't the only Falcon junior who came through on Friday. Jahzelle Ambus, who transferred to SPU after competing the past two years at Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore., clocked 25.17 seconds for 10^th place in the 200-meter dash.
 
The time tied the career best that Ambus (Portland, Ore.) set last spring at Lane. She's not done for the weekend, either, as she is entered in the 400 on Saturday.
 
JUST KEEPS IT GOING
The latter part of the 2014 indoor season served as a launch pad of sorts for Patti. It carried over into the spring outdoor schedule, as she made NCAA provisional in the 5K and 10K, although her times ultimately weren't far enough up the list to make the cut.
 
Then in November, Patti ran the cross country race of her life at the NCAA West Regionals in Billings, Mont. She finished seventh – a spot that in many other years would have gotten her to nationals as an individual.
 
But on that late November day, it was one place short. Patti has used that as one of the drivers of her training between then and now.
 
"I came into indoor with a lot of fire from cross country and how that ended," Patti said. "Throughout December, I was thinking of that. I knew the worst thing I could do was let that negatively affect me. But the best thing I could do was let that be my fire and my fuel."
 
At last year's NCAA indoor nationals in Winston-Salem, N.C., 17 runners made it into the 5,000. The last of those qualifiers came in at 17:19.66. Patti's time on Friday would have been the 13^th seed.
 
Patti took the lead in her Friday preliminary heat with a little less than 1,000 meters left. She kept it until Seattle University's Sophie Curatilo passed her in the final 50 meters. Curatilo won that heat in 17:14.94 and was 10^th overall. Patti finished 12^th overall.
 
As of Friday night, Patti ranked No. 7 on the Division II list with more than a month to go until everything is settled as to whom ultimately gets tickets to Birminghan, Ala., for this year's meet.
 
"It's January, so I'm definitely glad to be and thankful to be running this well this early," Patti said. "So there's lots to work on and a lot of weeks and races left."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
UW Invitational
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
200 – 1, Ashley Marshall (UC Davis) 24.60. SPU placers – 10, Jahzelle Ambus 25.17; 20, Kyra Brannan 25.93; 23, Becca Houk 26.02; 29, Tasia Baldwin 26.35; 42, Kelsey Chase 27.19.
5000 – 1, Polina Carlson (Brooks) 16:20.85. SPU placers – 10, Anna Patti 17:17.46; 33, Sarah Macdonald 18:25.67.
4000 distance medley relay – 1, Washington 11:05.38. SPU placer – 9, Seattle Pacific (Mary Charleson, Maddi Hommes, Hailey Kettel, Hannah Calvert) 12:19.65.

 
NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
UW Invitational
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
200 – 1, Alex Donigan (W. Washington) 21.63. SPU placer – 19, David Ferguson 22.90.
5000 – 1, Jason Witt (Brigham Young) 13:42.08 (meet record, breaks old record of 13:42,90 set by Cam Levins of Southern Utah in 2012). SPU placer – 23, Turner Wiley 15:50.22.
4000 distance medley relay – 1, Bowerman Track Club Pro 9:42.66. No SPU team.