Complete women's heptathlon results (PDF)
        Complete men's decathlon results (PDF)
 
LACEY, Wash. – From her first strides off the starting line, Maliea Luquin wasn't leaving anything to chance.
 
But the Seattle Pacific junior made sure she was leaving everything on the track.
 
Figuring she needed a time of 2 minutes, 22 seconds or faster in the meet-ending 800 to clinch a top-3 finish in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's heptathlon, Luquin beat that with room to spare on Tuesday. She clocked 2:20.24 for two laps around the oval at Saint Martin's University to secure third place in the standings with a career-best score of 4,584 points.
 
Luquin (Portland, Ore.) beat her previous high of 4,522 from the Sam Adams Combined Events in Santa Barbara, Calif., on April 3-4. It was another NCAA Division II provisional qualifying total.
 
And that 800 time? Luquin got it by going out hard with Alaska Anchorage's Haleigh Lloyd and never backing off. Lloyd, a regular 800 runner, eventually pulled away to win in 2:14.20. But Luquin, a hurdler and long jumper, was still nearly a full second faster than her previous PR of 2:21.17.
               
"That 8 I'm really proud of – it was hard," said Luquin, who spent several moments on hands and knees getting her breath back after her performance. "That was the hardest I've ever worked on the track."
 
While Luquin was wrapping up third place, sophomore teammate Maddi Hommes came up big in the javelin, winning it to help her claim sixth place overall with 4,381 points. That was an NCAA provisional score, and was significantly higher than the 4,218 she had at the Sam Adams meet earlier this month.





The third-place finish for Luquin was worth six team points, and Hommes added another three. Those nine points will be crucial for the Falcons when they head to Western Oregon University to pursue the overall team championship.
 
It is expected to be a battle between Seattle Pacific and two-time defending champion Alaska Anchorage next Friday and Saturday in Monmouth. The Seawolves got the early jump with a 1-2-4 heptathlon finish from defending champion Karolin Anders (5,162 points), runner-up Lloyd (4,589), and fourth-place Rosie Smith (4,559) Those places added up to 23 team points.
 
"We know Anchorage is one of our biggest competitors, so having them be three of the top four (today) is a pretty big deal for them," Hommes said. "Our goal was to split them up, which Maliea helped out with. So yes, we're definitely in contention (for the title).
 
Aside from her best-ever score, the 800 time was Luquin's second PR of the meet. The other one came on Monday when she cleared 5-1 in the high jump.
 
"It felt really short and really good – everything went well," Luquin said of the two-day, seven-event test.
 
Hommes (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden HS) won the javelin with a toss of 122 feet, 3 ½ inches. It's the second straight year she has won that portion of the hep, and this one was with a mark of nearly 10 feet farther than the 112-4 ½ she threw in the 2014 meet.
 
The javelin mark was a season-best for Hommes, one of four that she had in the meet. The last of those came in the 800, in which her 2:21.97 was good for fourth place. On Monday, she had season-bests in the 100 hurdles (16.77) and high jump (5-1).
 
"I had a few highlight events, especially the javelin," Hommes said. "I wish I could have done better (overall), but I'm happy with the work I put in."
 
Luquin and Hommes both are automatic qualifiers in the 400 hurdles for next week's competition in Oregon. Luquin also is an auto qualifier in the 100 hurdles, and will enter the long jump, as well. On Tuesday, she was second behind UAA's Anders in the long at 17-6 ¼, just 1 ¼ inches away from her career-best set earlier this season.
 
The entire SPU team will be in Lacey on Saturday for the regular-season finale Saint Martin's Invitational. Field events start at 10:00 a.m., with track events at 11. The last race is set for 5:10 p.m.


NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Mulit-Event Championships
Heptathlon
Monday-Tuesday, April 27-28, 2015
Saint Martin's University / Lacey, Wash.
 
Scores – 1, Karolin Anders (UAA) 5,162+; 2, Haleigh Lloyd (UAA) 4,589#; 3, Maliea Luquin (SPU) 4,584#; 4, Rosie Smith (UAA) 4,559#; 5, Kaylie Greninger (WWU) 4,462#; 6, Maddi Hommes (SPU) 4,381#; 7, HarLee Ortega (CWU 4,158; 8, Sam Moore (WOU) 4,048; 9, Kawena Warren (NNU) 3,996; 10, Janessa Dyk (NNU) 3,704; 11, Viktoriya Vasina (CWU) 3,409.
 
TUESDAY EVENTS
Long jump – 1, Karolin Anders (UAA) 18-3 ¾ / 5.58m (723 points). SPU – 2, Maliea Luquin 17-6 ¼ / 5.34m (654); 10, Maddi Hommes 15-1 / 4.60m (454).
Javelin – 1, Hommes 122-3 ½ / 37.27m (615 points). Other SPU – 9, Luquin 73-4 ¾ / 22.37m (333).
800 – 1, Haleigh Lloyd (UAA) 2:14.20 (904 points). SPU – 2, Luquin 2:20.24 (820); 4, Hommes 2:21.97 (797.
 
MONDAY EVENTS
100 hurdles – 1, Karolin Anders (UAA) 15.50 (777 points). SPU – 3, Maliea Luquin 14.81 (867); 8, Maddi Hommes, 16.77 (623).
High jump – 1, Anders (UAA) 5-7 / 1.70m (855 points). SPU – T4, Luquin and Hommes 5-1 / 1.55m (678)..
Shot put – 1, Anders (UAA) 38-7 ½ / 11.77m (646 points). SPU – 5, Hommes 31-11 ½ / 9.74m (512); 8, Luquin 29-1 ¾ / 8.88m (456).
200 – 1, Anders 26.05 (793 points). SPU – 3, Luquin 26.24 (776); 7, Homes 27.12 (702).
 
! NCAA automatic qualifying
# NCAA provisional qualifying