Complete UW Indoor Open women's results (PDF)
        Complete UW Indoor Open men's results (PDF)
        Complete Husky Classic women's results (PDF)
        Complete Husky Classic men's results (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – The bar wiggled. It wobbled. But as Michaella Kahns bounced up from the pole vault pit …
 
… that bar stayed put on the pegs.
 
The judge's white flag went up, making it official: The Seattle Pacific senior had gone higher than she ever had in her life.
 
Kahns cleared 11 feet, 10 ¾ inches on her third and final attempt on Sunday at the UW Indoor Open. That bettered her previous indoor best of 11-6 ½, set last season, beat her all-time high of 11-9 ¾, set twice outdoors (most recently last April 23 in Ellensburg) and put her onto the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying list.
 
"I've been waiting awhile for a new PR, and I've just been implementing some new techniques," said Kahns (Burlington, Wash. / Burlington-Edison HS), who tied for 13th among those who cleared the same height, but was officially 20th when tiebreakers were factored into it. "So it was fantastic that it all came together today."
 




Kahns did brush the bar as she went over it and pushed her pole away from her. She kept her eye on it until she saw the white flag, indicating a clean jump.
 
"It did stay on, and I'm so happy that it did," Kahns said. "I was on a bigger pole, and it felt really good."
 
Kahns' previous best height this winter was 11-1 on Jan. 27 at the UW Invitational. On Sunday, even though she didn't clear the next bar of 12-5, she did get a couple of good looks at it, and is now even more confident that she can get into that range at next weekend's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in Nampa, Idaho.
 
She will be going after a second straight GNAC indoor crown. Kahns also won the conference outdoor title in 2015.
 
Much of her confidence going into that meet comes from the new techniques on which she has been working.
 
"It's just getting upside down more and closing off with the pole – those are the things that I need to get higher heights," said Kahns. "Those are starting to happen – 12-5 was in reach (today). Hopefully, I'll get another PR next week."

Kahns is tied for 20th on the national list as of Sunday evening. At least the top 16 are accepted into nationals, but it'll take a minimum of 12-2 (the current 16th-best mark) or higher to get in.

 

MARKHAM HITS THE BIG 4-0 AGAIN
For the first time since her freshman year, senior Sammi Markham has hit 40 feet in the shot put in back-to-back meets.
 
Markham (Gig Harbor, Wash. / Gig Harbor HS) dropped the shot in at 40 feet, 3½ inches on her final attempt Sunday afternoon. At the UW Invitational on Jan. 28, Markham had a distance of 41-8¾
 
During her 2014 freshman season, Markham went 42-6 at the UW Indoor Open, followed by 41-8 ½ at the GNAC Championships. Her indoor personal best is 42-10 ¾ at the 2015 GNAC Championships.
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
 

-- Falcons freshman Scout Cai made her collegiate pole vault debut on Sunday, and got over the bar at 11-5 to tie for 21st. Cai (Colfax, Wash. / Colfax HS) had one very good look at 11-10¾. She nicked the bar on the way over, but it looked for a moment as it if it might stay up there. It was still bouncing on the pegs as Cai hit the mat before it tumbled off. Cai cleared the first two heights – 10-10¾ and 11-5 -- on her first attempts. Cai also set a PR in the long jump with a mark of 16 feet, 7 inches. That bettered her 16-5¾ from the UW Invitational on Jan. 27.

 

-- Freshman Kate Lilly is finding her speedier self of late. Two weeks ago at the UW Invite, she dropped nearly 12 seconds in the mile, going from 5:19.22 to 5:07.82. On Sunday, Lilly (Renton, Wash. / Hazen HS) came up with a performance just at noteworthy in the 800, crossing the finish line in 2:16.19. That was an improvement of five seconds from the 2:21.22 she posted on Jan. 14 in her college debut at the UW Indoor Preview.

 

-- Ben Halladay set his sights on racing with the leaders Sunday and was rewarded for it. The junior set a 3 ½-second PR in the mile with his time of 4:24.84. That beat his old PR of 4:28.37, set last Jan. 16. A time equal to or better than at next week's GNAC Championship would put him in the hunt for team points by placing in the top 8. As of Sunday evening, Halladay (Mukilteo, Wash. / Kamiak HS) is ninth on the conference list, just 38 hundredths out of the No. 8 spot.

 

-- Sophomore Jesse Phan made the most of his first-ever individual indoor race. Phan (Bellingham, Wash. / Mt. Baker HS) finished his 800-meter run in 1:55.51. For the moment, that would put him No. 6 on the conference list. He did not compete last year after transferring to SPU in time for the winter quarter. He also did not race in this winter's indoor season opener, then was only on a relay in the second meet.

--The Falcons will head to Idaho later this week for the GNAC Championships. The meet begins on Friday, with the women's pentathlon starting at 8:15 a.m., with running events at 1:30 p.m., and field events at 2:30 p.m., all Pacific time. Field events start at 9:00 a.m. PST on Saturday, with running events at 10:25 a.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
UW Indoor Open
Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
60-meter dash – 1, Whitney Rowe (Seattle Speed) 7.59. SPU – 58, Olivia Gabriel 8.24.
200 – 1, Atiya Harvey (San Fran. State) 24.74. No SPU.
400 – 1, Patience George (Adidas) 54.54. SPU – 19, Olivia Gabriel 59.69.
800 – 1, Regan Yee (Trinity Western) 2:07.97. SPU – 17, Kate Lilly 2:16.19
Mile – 1, Kayla Leland (Whitworth) 4:56.19. SPU – 30, Alyssa Foote 5:10.18; 37, Hannah Calvert 5:12.63; 45, Sedona McNerney 5:19.64.
1000 – 1, Mariah Kelly (New Balance Canada) 2:40.14. No SPU.
3000 – 1, Jenna Thurman (Adams State) 9:28.85. No SPU.
4x400 relay – 1, Academy of Art 3:58.14. No SPU.
60 hurdles – 1, Mariah Vongsaveng (CWU) 8.70. SPU – 31, Brooke Benner 9.64.
High jump – 1, Rechelle Mead (Idaho) 5-8 ¾ / 1.75m. No SPU.
Pole vault – 1, Rachel Baxter (Victory Athletics) 13-10 ½ / 4.23m. SPU – 20, Michaella Kahns 11-10 ¾ / 3.63m/ T21, Scout Cai 11-5 / 3.48m; Emma Lambert no height.
Long jump – 1, Rechelle Meade (Idaho) 19-0 ¾ / 5.81m. SPU – 24, Scout Cai 16-7 / 5.05m.
Triple jump – 1, Rian Werner (Acad. Art) 40-1 ½ / 12.23m. No SPU.
Shot put – 1, Sabrina Mendoza (Hawaii) 47-9 ¾ / 14.57m. SPU – 16, Sammi Markham 40-3 ½ / 12.28m.
Weight throw – 1, Oniye Chibuogwu (UW) 59-10 ½ / 18.25m. No SPU.
 
 
Husky Classic
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 10-11, 2017
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
60-meter dash – 1, Kennadi Bouyer (UW) 7.28 (meet record, breaks old record of 7.29 set by Ashley Marshall (Unattached) in 2016. SPU – 27, Kyra Brannan 7.98.
200 – 1, Jamie Ashcroft (Anchorage) 24.54. SPU – 22, Lani Taylor 25.64; 26, Cheryl Hong, 25.62; 29, Becca Houk 26.02.
800 – 1, Baylee Mires (Brooks Beast) 2:05.40. SPU – 49, Chynna Phan 2:15.78.
High jump – 1, Elizabeth Patterson (Unattached) 5-11 ¼ / 1.81m. SPU – T6, Geneva Lehnert 5-5 ¾ / 1.67m.
Long jump – 1, Stachia Reuwsaat (Chadron State) 19-3 / 5.88m. SPU – 4, Kyra Brannan 18-3 ¾ / 5.58m; 9, Geneva Lehnert 17-8 ¼ / 5.39m.
 
 
 
NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
UW Indoor Open
Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
60-meter dash – 1, Mobolade Ajomale (Acad. Art) 6.77 No SPU.
200 – 1, Jake Mihelich (Linfield) 22.10. No SPU.
400 – 1, Khallifah Rosser (Cal State L.A.) 46.56. SPU – 24, Justin Ramsey 51.28; 36, Lazarus Scarbrough 52.55.
800 – 1, Tom Gifford (Adams State) 1:52.14. SPU – 17, Jesse Phan 1:55.51; 44, David McLeod 2:01.99; 47, Clark Sterling 2:03.96; 49, Josiah Zering 2:09.10.
Mile – 1, Luc Bruchet (Asics / Canada) 4:04.12. SPU – 39, Ben Halladay 4:24.84; 62, Brysten James 4:33.54; 66, Joey Walker 4:43.78
1000 – 1, Thomas Riva (Unattached) 2:22.81. No SPU.
3000 – 1, Kale Adams (Adams State) 2:09.40. No SPU.
4x400 relay – 1, Cal State Los Angeles 3:18.06. SPU – 8, Seattle Pacific (Justin Ramsey, Jesse Phan, Lazarus Scarbrough, David McLeod) 3:29.03.
60 hurdles – 1, Ingvar Mosley (Cal State L.A.) 8.15. SPU – 39, Shayne Carpenter 9.41.
High jump – 1, Jakobe Ford (Spokane Speed) 7-0 ¼  / 2.14m. No SPU.
Pole vault – 1, Maxime Leveille (Trinity Western) 14-11 / 4.55m. No SPU.
Long jump – 1, Craig Mattox (Acad. Art) 23-5 ¼ / 7.14m. No SPU.
Triple jump – 1, Darius Armstead (Sac. State) 50-7 ½ / 15.43m. No SPU.
Shot put – 1, Darien Moore (Iron Wood TC) 63-6 ¾ / 19.37m. No SPU.
Weight throw – 1, Zeb Hoffman (Unattached) 63-2 ¾ / 19.27m. No SPU.
 
 
Husky Classic
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 10-11, 2017
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
60 hurdles – 1,Ashtyn Davis (California) 7.80. SPU – 20, Peyton Harris 8.71.
Long jump – 1, Norris Frederick (Asics) 24-5 / 7.44m. SPU – 16, Peyton Harris 20-7 ¾ / 6.29m.