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SAN FRANCISCO – Mary Charleson is going to have to speed up her timeline.
 
That's because the Seattle Pacific sophomore keeps speeding up her time.
 
Charleson ran herself right into the NCAA Division II national picture in the 5,000 meters on Friday afternoon, posting a personal-best mark of 17 minutes, 2.93 seconds at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival. Her time for 12½ laps around the oval at Cox Stadium wiped out her previous PR of 17:30.38 – recorded just two weeks ago on March 19 at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open in Portland.

 

Before this season, Charleson hadn't even broken 18 minutes for that distance. Her best time as a freshman last spring was 18:07.96.
 
"I remember a conversation Chris (assistant coach Reed) and I were having during cross country after I ran regionals and ran my best race of the season," Charleson said. "He said, 'Mary, what do you think you can run?', and I said, 'I think I can get around 17:30 in the 5K.'
 
"It was so exciting – I was hoping for a 17:15 today."
 
With her high 17:02, Charleson (Mill Creek, Wash. / Henry M. Jackson HS), could be hovering somewhere near the national top 10 by the end of the weekend. Even more important will be some six weeks from now when the final field is determined for the NCAA championships in Bradenton, Fla.
 
The top 20 on the qualifying list are guaranteed a spot. Last year, 24 were accepted for the 5,000 (including SPU's Anna Patti), and the last time in was 17:01.38.
 
"Just to get national provisional (the standard is 17:21.38) is what I wanted to do," Charleson said. "To be so much under that is really exciting. It just opens up possibilities that I hadn't even thought of before."
 
A DO-IT-HERSELF PROJECT
As outstanding as Charleson's time was, even more noteworthy was the fact that she did it while running alone part of the way. She won her section by 16.67 seconds, and was 17th overall among the 140 who finished the race, spread over five sections.
 
"She ran the first part of the race in a very controlled 84 seconds (per lap) and she was in the middle of a big pack, and it was so easy for her," assistant coach Reed said. "I said, 'If you find an opening, go ahead and take it.' And she found an opening. She got on the inside rail and just ran away from everyone."
 
Charleson said she felt comfortable the entire time.
 
"After I had taken the lead, there was a girl who was with me until 1K to go," she said. "I just picked it up more and went by myself. I was kind of antsy, waiting for the pace to pick up a little bit. Finally when I broke through the pack, I felt so much better. It was like, 'OK, let's see what you can do'"
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
Charleson wasn't the only Falcon delivering a national caliber performance on Friday.
 

-- In the day's very first race at San Francisco, senior Anna Patti finished eighth overall in the 10,000 meters in 36 minutes, 9.37 seconds. That also could be close to the national top 10 by the end of the week.
-- Sophomore Chynna Phan got onto the NCAA provisional list in the 800, finishing in 2:13.32. That was .01 better than the 2.13.33 standard, and beat her PR of 2:13.59 from last week's Doris Heritage Distance Festival. She's entered in the 800 on Saturday at Stanford.
--  Seniors Jahzelle Ambus and Lynelle Decker, competing 30 miles away at the Stanford Invitational, both posted NCAA provisional times in their respective events. Ambus (Portland, Ore.) went 55.62 in the 400 meters, breaking her personal best of 55.91, with which she won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title last May.
-- Decker (Vancouver, Wash. / Mountain View HS) finished her heat of the 1,500 meters at Stanford in 4:30.67. That was close to her PR of 4:29.60. Decker is better known for the 800 (which she will run on Saturday), but is the defending GNAC 1,500 champion. A 4:30 easily would have made the cut for last year's nationals.
-- Senior Jalen Tims (Portland, Ore.) posted another provisional time in the 400 hurdles at Stanford, going 1:02.06. That was less than a second away from her PR of 1:01.30 set at Lewis & Clark.
 

--Juniors Sarah Macdonald and Hannah Calvert recorded PRs at San Francisco. Macdonald's came in the 1,500 in 4:39.84, beating last week's 4:40.38. Calvert's was in the 5,000, as she broke 18 minutes for the first time, finishing in 17:49.54 – a drop of 35 seconds from what she ran in Portland, and 25 seconds from her previous PR of 18:54.57.
-- Junior Kyra Brannan (Kennewick, Wash. / Kamiakin HS) had her first 18-foot long jump of the outdoor season, going 18 feet, 4 ½ inches at Stanford. That was 10 inches better than her previous season best, and is closing in on her 18-7 personal best.
-- Also at Stanford, junior Cheryl Hong posted an outdoor PR of 57.50 in the 400.
                                                                                                                     
 
NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
San Francisco State Distance Carnival
Friday, April 1, 2016
Cox Stadium / San Francisco, Calif.
                                                             
SPU EVENTS ONLY
800 – 1, Tamara Perez (Alaska Anchorage) 2:11.01#. SPU – 10, Chynna Phan 2:13.32#.
1500 – 1, Hannah Hermannson (Marymount) 4:22.63. SPU – 34, Sarah Macdonald 4:39.84.
5000 – 1, Gracie Tostenson (Boise State) 16:27.76. SPU – 17, Mary Charleson 17:02.93#; 56, Hannah Calvert 17:49.54.
10,000 – 1, Kristen Rohde (High Performance West) 35:13.12. SPU – 8, Anna Patti 36:09.37.
Pole vault – 1, Lea Butler (Stanislaus State) 10-8 / 3.25m. SPU – 2, Emma Lambert 10-2 / 3.10m; Michaella Kahns no height.

# NCAA provisional qualifying
 

Stanford Invitational
Friday, April 1, 2016
Cobb Track and Angell Field / Stanford, Calif.
                     
SPU EVENTS ONLY
100 – 1, Ashton Purvis (Unattached) 11.58 (top 9 to finals). SPU – 14, Becca Houk 12.29.
400 – 1, Dalilah Muhammad (Nike) 52.64. SPU – 16, Jahzelle Ambus 55.62#; 27, Cheryl Hong 57.50.
1500 – 1, Erin Teschuk (North Dakota State) 4:15.30. SPU – 56, Lynelle Decker, 4:30.67#.
100 hurdles – 1, Tianna Davis (Unattached) 13.32 (top 9 to finals). SPU – 16, Maliea Luquin 15.06.
400 hurdles – 1, Kyra Johnson (Fresno State) 59.22. SPU – 9, Jalen Tims 1:02.06#; 12, Maliea Luquin 1:03.61.
Long jump – 1, (tie) Allie Lahren (North Dakota State) and Deshaunda Morrison (Sequoias) 18-10 / 5.74m. SPU – 4, Kyra Brannan 18-4 ½ / 5.60m; 8, Maliea Luquin 17-0 ¾ / 5.20m; 12, Geneva Lehnert 16-2 ¼ / 4.93m.

# - NCAA provisional qualifying