SEATTLE – Kainoa Lee came into the winter never having made 14 feet in the pole vault.
 
Now, the Seattle Pacific sophomore has done it twice – and keeps going higher.
 
 

Lee got over the bar at 14 feet, 3¼ inches on Saturday, giving him fourth place at the UW Invitational indoor track and field meet.
 
His clearance at the University of Washington's Dempsey Indoor topped his previous personal best of 14-1¼, set at the season-opening Spokane Invitational on Dec. 11. Lee went 13-1½ on Jan. 15 at the UW Indoor Preview.
 
He passed on the first three bars Saturday, entering the competition at 13-3½, and got over on his first attempt. He then cleared 13-9¼ on his first attempt. That moved it up to 14-3 ¼. He missed on the first one, but made it on the second.
 
Lee took three tries at 14-9, but was not able to get over.

This is Lee's first season of indoor competition, as last season was canceled by the pandemic. During the 2021 spring outdoor season, he came tantalizingly close to 14 feet, with a PR of 13-11¼ at the Ed Boitano Invitational on March 27.
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
-- While Lee was going higher, David Njeri was going farther. Njeri leaped a personal-best 22 feet, 7 inches in the long jump, giving him sixth place. That eclipsed his previous indoor PR of 22-3½, set in 2020 at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships. Njeri also took third in the triple jump on Saturday at 47-1½ and tied his PR in the 60-meter dash with a 7.18.
-- Julius Shepherd broke 52 seconds in the men's 400-meter dash for the first time, clocking 51.14 to take sixth place. His previous best was 52.09.
-- Jon Owen dropped nearly five seconds off his PR in the men's mile, finishing in 4:25.50. His old PR was 4:30.47.
-- Jenna Bouyer PR'd in the women's 400-meter dash at 58.77. That was more than a full second faster than her previous best of 59.98.
-- Peace Igbonagwam now officially has an indoor 400-meter time to her credit, going 58.71. She ran the 400 at the Spokane Invitational in December, but was disqualified for a lane violation. She and Bouyer are currently 3-4 on the GNAC list.
-- Igbonagwam also got her first long jump of the season and went 17-11½. That puts her third in the GNAC. She is the two-time defending conference champion.
-- Freshman Nicki Yorges ran her first-ever indoor mile, and clocked 5:12.37, which ranks No. 5 in the GNAC
-- Defending GNAC outdoor 800-meter champion Ellie Rising got her first race at that distance indoors and finished in 2:18.46, currently No. 3 on the conference list.
 
ESVELT STILL NO. 2 IN 5K
Annika Esvelt of the Falcons remains in No. 2 on the NCAA Division II 5000-meters list as of Saturday evening. The sophomore ran her first-ever track race at that distance on Friday and finished in 16 minutes, 31.74 seconds. The only runner currently ahead of her is Celine Ritter of Lee (Tennessee) in 16:23.46. The closest one behind her is Lindsay Cunningham of Winona State at 16:43.27.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons head to Spokane on Feb. 12 for the Whitworth Invitational. The meet will take place inside The Podium, where the season opened in December. Field events begin at 9:00 a.m., and track races start at 9:30. That will give Seattle Pacific athletes a chance to compete again in the same venue to which they will return the following week (Feb. 21-22) for the GNAC Championships.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
UW Invitational
Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
60-meter dash – 1, Aaliyah Wilson (UW) 7.40. SPU – 11, Peace Igbonagwam 7.85; 13, Jenna Bouyer 7.85; 36, Aniya Green 8.26.
400 – 1, Sarah King (Unattached) 54.02. SPU – 14, Peace Igbonagwam 58..71; 15, Jenna Bouyer 58.77; 25, Aniya Green 1:00.45; 26, McKenzie Fletcher 1:00.80; 35, Charisma Smith 1:04.49.
800 – 1, Carley Thomas (UW) 2:05.40. SPU – 28, Ellie Rising 2:18.46.
Mile – 1, Lena Lebrun (Arizona State) 4:50.88. SPU – 27, Nicki Yorges 5:12.37.
Pole vault – 1, Makenna Barton (UW) 13-2¼ / 4.02m. SPU – 9, Madison Licari 11-2½ / 3.42m; 12, Charlie Hill 10-6¼ / 3.21m; Emily Northey no height.
 

NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
UW Invitational
Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
60-meter dash – 1, Mohamud Mohamud (Unattached) 6.86. SPU – 12, Jeff Gordon 7.14; 16, David Njeri 7.18.
400 – 1, Austin Albertin (CWU) 49.21. SPU – 6, Julius Shepherd 51.14; 14, Evan Carpenter 52.46.
800 – 1, Cass Elliott (UW) 1:49.74. SPU – 28, Isaiah Archer 1:59.01.
Mile – 1, Jake Heyward (Nike) 3:53.25 (meet record, breaks old record of 3:55.75). SPU – 49, Jon Owen 4:25.50.
Pole vault – 1, Adam O'Brien (S. Oregon) 15-3 / 4.65m. SPU – 4, Kainoa Lee 14-3¼ / 4.35m; 6, Brad Bowman 12-7½ / 3.85m.
Long jump – 1, Ethan Sterkel (WWU) 23-9½ / 7.25m. SPU – 6, David Njeri 22-7 / 6.88m.
Triple jump – 1, Albert MacArthur (Thriller) 51-1 / 15.57m. SPU – 3, David Njeri 47-1½ / 14.36m.