Complete men's results (PDF)
        Complete women's results (PDF)
 
TACOMA – Before most athletes get to college, they've long since decided to concentrate on just one sport.
 
Peyton Harris still wanted to do two – soccer and track – at Seattle Pacific. And for nearly three years, he did.
 
But now, Harris has concluded that track holds the most promise for him. So from here on out, that pursuit will get his undivided attention.
 
If Saturday's performance was any indication, chances are it'll turn out to be a positive choice.

Harris delivered a strong early-season effort in the 110-meter hurdles, coming within two-hundredths of his personal best by posting a 15.09 in the JD Shotwell Invitational at Baker Stadium on the University of Puget Sound campus.
 
The only time Harris (Boise, Idaho) went faster was in last year's Great Northwest Athletic Conference preliminaries with a 15.07.
 




"I felt really good, really fresh out here," said Harris, whose mark made him an automatic qualifier for next month's GNAC Championships. "I was just coming off a 4-by-1 (he ran the anchor leg), so I was feeling fast. I got a really good start over the first hurdle and there was good competition here. I ran a really good race, especially this early in the year."
 
On the soccer pitch, Harris saw limited playing time, but still enjoyed the game and being part of SPU's very successful program.

 

"It was a really tough decision. … I got to thinking more and more, and realized that I've been torn between both sports," Harris said. "I've started to have a lot of success in track and started to really love what I'm doing here – not to say that I don't love soccer and the guys on the soccer team and all the coaches.
 
"It's the best thing for me to focus on one thing and really be excellent at it, and get my grades up, too."
 
Harris, who is the defending GNAC outdoor long jump champion, is looking to get into the 14-second range in the hurdles before next month's conference meet.
 
"I clipped a couple (hurdles) today, which definitely threw me off a little bit." he said. "Just being consistent and having a great start like that again, I really think I can go break 15 this year – which was my goal from the beginning of the year – and go on from there."
 




GETTING THROUGH THAT FIRST ONE
As a sophomore, Emma Lambert knows some things about running the 400-meter hurdles. She did it half a dozen times last season, dropping three seconds along the way and coming within five-hundredths of making the GNAC finals.
 
Brooke Benner, on the other hand, had never done that race. She had run the 300 hurdles at Naches Valley High School in Eastern Washington, and ran them well enough to take second place in the Class 1A (small school) state meet last spring.
 
But the extra 100 meters in the breath-sapping event was something different.

 

No matter. Benner and Lambert pushed, pulled, and ran each other right into the GNAC Championships, as both posted automatic qualifying times on the Baker Stadium track.
 
Benner placed second overall in 1 minute, 4.32 seconds. Lambert (Portland, Ore.) was right on her heels with a 1:04.79 – just one-hundredth shy of her personal best.
 
"I was definitely nervous for it," Benner said. "I did 300 hurdles (last) year, and that kind of helped me wrap my head around it. And it honestly wasn't as bad as I expected.
 
"I was definitely tired," she added. "I was just thinking I wanted to get it done as fast as I can."
 
The first time Lambert did the 400s as a freshman, she came across in 1:07.76. Her first sub-1:05 didn't come until that race in the conference prelims.
 
Now, she has done it six weeks earlier, but obviously is looking for much faster.
 
"I think a lot of girls in our conference have run a 63 or a 62. I know I'm on my way to that, because I improved over my Sacramento race (1:05.50 on March 18) and felt really good today," Lambert said. "Hopefully around 62, that would be the ultimate goal. I definitely would be happy breaking 64."
 
Both women have much more on their mind than just the hurdles, though. Benner is working on the triple jump (she went 36 feet on Saturday in her first try outdoors; she snagged second place at GNAC indoors at 38-4 ¾). She also will concentrate on the heptathlon.
 
In addition to the hurdles, Lambert is a pole vaulter. She contributed key points in that event to last spring's outdoor team title, and this winter's indoor crown.
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
 

-- Seniors Kyra Brannan and Cheryl Hong went 1-2 in the 100-meter dash. Brannan posted a season-best time of 12.29, and Hong recorded a career best of 12.41, a full two-tenths faster than her previous mark of 12.61. Brannan was already on the GNAC automatic list; Hong is now on it, too.
-- The Falcon women won the 4x100 relay in 48.11, with Becca Houk, Olivia Gabriel, Brannan, and Hong.
-- Freshman Gillian Edgar won her heat of the women's 400 meters in 1:03.82. She was eighth overall. Sophomore Keana Fine took sixth in 1:02.47.

-- Junior Brysten James ran a 10-second PR in the men's 800 meters, crossing the line in 1:59.03. He had never come close to breaking two minutes, with his previous best being 2:09.79 in the 2016 season opener on this same Baker Stadium track.
-- This is one of the few meets with team scoring. The Falcon women finished fourth among the 13 with 76 points. Central Washington won with 127. On the men's side, SPU tied for eighth among 14 with 22 points. Spokane Community College won with 109.
-- Seattle Pacific will head to Canada next Saturday for the Emilie Mondor Invitational. The meet will be at Terry Fox Stadium on the Simon Fraser campus in Burnaby, B.C.


NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
JD Shotwell Invitational
Saturday, April 1,2017
Baker Stadium / Tacoma, Wash.
 
Team scores –  1, Spokane CC 109; 2, Western Washington 101; 3, Central Washington 98; 4, Whitworth 66; 5, Olympic College 59; 6, Saint Martin's 57; 7, Puget Sound 42; 8, (tie) Seattle Pacific and Pacific Lutheran 22; 10, Green River CC 14; 11, (tie) Tacoma City Running Club  and Club Northwest 10; 13, Get Strong First Track Club 6; 14, Alaska Fairbanks 3.

100 – 1, Kevin Dudley (Olympic Coll.) 10.99. SPU – 20, David Choi 11.81; 25, Christian Wong 12.03; 27, Zach Telfer 12.38.
200 – 1, Jackson Hand (Saint Martin's) 22.25. SPU – 25, Lazarus Scarbrough 24.07; 27, David Choi 24.20/ 28, David McLeod 24.26; 32, Christian Wong 25.09.
400 – 1, Ryan McArthur (W. Washington) 49.40. SPU – 3, Justin Ramsey 50.26; 11, Lazarus Scarbrough 52.97; 14, David McLeod 53.84.
800 – 1, Zach Boyd-Helm (Unattached) 1:52.61. SPU – 7, Brysten James 1:59.03.
1500 – 1, Dominec Rehm (Spokane CC) 3:59.63. SPU – 25, Lloyd Byram 4:17.84; 30, Clark Sterling 4:23.04.
5000 – 1, Gregory Leak (Tacoma City) 14:41.31. SPU – 17, Joseph Walker 16:14.65.
4x100 relay – 1, Saint Martin's 42.18. SPU – 3, Seattle Pacific (Shayne Carpenter, Justin Ramsey, David Choi, Peyton Harris) 44.04.
4x400 relay – 1, Central Washington 3:27.49. No SPU.
110 hurdles – 1, Parker Bowden (Spokane CC) 14.89. SPU – 2, Peyton Harris 15.09!.
400 hurdles – 1, Cordell Cummings (W. Washington) 55.49. No SPU.
3000 steeplechase – 1, Dylan Hayes (W. Washington) 9:27.86. No SPU.
High jump – 1, Brandon Swanson (Green River CC) 6-3 ½ / 1.92m. No SPU.
Pole vault – 1, Kaleb Taylor (Spokane CC) 15-3 / 4.65m. No SPU.
Long jump – 1, Dekker Lovitt (Spokane CC) 21-8 ¼ / 6.61m. No SPU.
Triple jump – 1, Grant Scarlett (C. Washington) 42-2 ¾ / 12.87m. No SPU.
Shot put – 1, Lucas Hatton (PLU) 49-3 ½ / 15.02m. No SPU.
Discus – 1, Colton Paller (Olympic Coll.) 157-7 / 48.03m. No SPU.
Hammer – Not available.
Javelin – 1, Andrew Bloom (Whitworth) 207-3 / 63.18m. No SPU.

!  GNAC automatic qualifying


NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
JD Shotwell Invitational
Saturday, April 1,2017
Baker Stadium / Tacoma, Wash.

Team scores – 1, Central Washington 127; 2, Spokane CC 89.5; 3, Western Washington 86.5; 4, Seattle Pacific 76; 5, Saint Martin's 70.5; 6, Whitworth 68; 7, Puget Sound 53; 8, Pacific Lutheran 43.5; 9, Olympic College 14; 10, Club Northwest 10; 11, Green River CC 7; 12, Everett CC 4; 13, (tie) Alaska Fairbanks and Bellingham Distance Project 1.
 
100 – 1, Kyra Brannan (SPU) 12.29!. Other SPU – 2, Cheryl Hong 12.41!; 5, Becca Houk 12.69; 15, Olivia Gabriel 13.16.
200 – 1, Grace Hamre (Saint Martin's) 25.47. SPU – 4, Becca Houk 26.18; 11, Olivia Gabriel 26.71.
400 – 1, Emiliy Bradlina (Puget Sound) 58.38. SPU – 6, Keana Fine 1:02.47; 8, Gillian Edgar 1:03.82.
800 – 1, Shannon Porter (Unattached) 2:13.71. No SPU.
1500 – 1, Shannon Porter (Unattached) 4:32.61. No SPU.
5000 – 1, Lilliann Stelling (W. Washington) 17:31.90. No SPU.
4x100 relay – 1, Seattle Pacific (Becca Houk, Olivia Gabriel, Kyra Brannan, Cheryl Hong) 48.11. No other SPU.
4x400 relay – 1, Saint Martin's 3:59.26. No SPU.
100 hurdles – 1, Tiana Banfro (C. Washington) 14.95. No SPU.
400 hurdles – 1, Sarah Martinez (Whitworth) 1:02.53. SPU – 2, Brooke Benner 1:04.32!; 3, Emma Lambert 1:04.79!.
3000 steeplechase – 1, Kaitlyn McKinney (C. Washington) 12:16.88. No SPU.
High jump – 1, Avalyne Peters (PLU) 5-5 ½ / 1.54m. No SPU.
Pole vault – 1, McKenna Emmert (C. Washington) 12-1 ½ / 3.70m. SPU – 5, Ryleigh Crenshaw 10-2 / 3.10m; Michaella Kahns no height.
Long jump – 1, Anna Cartee (Spokane CC) 16-8 ½ / 5.09m. No SPU.
Triple jump – 1, Brooke Williams (C. Washington) 36-1 ½ / 11.01m. SPU – 2, Brooke Benner 36-0 / 10.97m.
Shot put – 1, Chloe Quinnett (Whitworth) 40-4 / 12.29m. SPU – 3, Sammi Markham 39-7 / 12.06m.
Discus – 1, Angela Mumford (C. Washington) 124-6 / 37.96m. No SPU.
Hammer – Not available.
Javelin – 1, Katie Reichert (Club NW) 156-7 / 47.74m. SPU – 6, Sammi Markham 131-11 / 40.21m.

!  GNAC automatic qualifying