SPOKANE, Wash. – Charlie Hill didn't get to Seattle Pacific until January.
 
Now, not even two months later, she's the top women's indoor pole vaulter in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
Hill got over the first four bars on her initial attempt Tuesday afternoon, and the last of those bars – her first-ever 12-footer – was high enough to give her the title at the GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
A freshman from Oregon City, Oregon, by way of Clackamas Community College, Hill's winning height was 12 feet, ¾ of an inch. It was enough to beat out a group of four others – including Falcons teammates Lizzy Daugherty and Madison Licari – for the top spot. That foursome all cleared 11-7. Using the tiebreaker formula of fewest misses, Daugherty wound up third and Licari was fifth.
 
Hill said she wasn't thinking about how high she might go or how far up the standings she might finish.
 
"I was just trying to go for every attempt, just go and put everything into it," she said. "When I think about heights and placing, that doesn't do well for me. I started a little higher than I normally do (coming into the competition when the bar was at 10-7). I usually start at around 10. But I think that helped me get higher toward the end."
 
Hill was one of three SPU champions on the final day of competition inside The Podium.
 
Annika Esvelt, who won the 5000 meters on Monday, made it a double by taking the 3000 on Tuesday. She pulled away from Simon Fraser's Olivia Willett and came across the finish line in 9 minutes, 50.84 seconds. That was nearly 15 seconds faster than her Canadian counterpart (10:05.61).
 
With her two victories, Esvelt was named the Female Track Athlete of the Meet.
 
David Njeri, who came in as the favorite in the men's triple jump, went home as the winner. His mark was 46 feet, 10¼ inches. That was 2 feet, 9 inches farther than the 44-1¼ posted by Western Oregon's Marley Harrison.
 
 

FITTING INTO A NEW TEAM
Last year at Clackamas, Hill had an outdoor personal best of 11 feet, 5¾ inches. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, she still retained that year of eligibility. She started exploring other options and visited SPU in December,
 
In early January, Hill arrived on campus. By Jan. 15, she had a Falcons uniform on and was in action at the UW Indoor Preview, and then two weeks later at the UW Invitational.
 
But by her own acknowledgment, it was a rough start, as she went 10-8¾ in the first meet and 10-6¼ in the second.
 
"Honestly, it was so disappointing," Hill said. "But I knew I had to keep going for it and not give up."
 
Having cleared the 10-7 bar, Hill got over at 11-1, 11-7 and finally 12-0¾. After everyone else went out on that last one, she took three runs at 12-3½. It didn't work out, but she is already eager to try again.
 
"I know that I still have a couple things to work on – you always have more stuff to work on," Hill said. "I'm hoping I won't stay at 12 for too long."
 
COMFORTABLY IN FRONT
It was expected that Esvelt and Simon Fraser's Willett would have a close race from start to finish in Tuesday's 3K. Through the first 800 meters, it was Willett, Esvelt, and Western Oregon's Caitlin Heldt at the front of a tight pack.

 

By 900, Esvelt had edged ahead and kept stretching it out from there.
 
"I thought she would try to go out a little faster – that's why I stuck with her," said Esvelt, who is the second straight Falcon to win the 3K (Kate Lilly won in 2020). "I thought she was going to go for a national qualifying time. Then she started going more slowly, so I just sort of went for it and finished strong and had a good (final) time."

 

Njeri, who was third in the long jump on Monday and seventh in the 100-meter dash on Tuesday, took the triple jump lead on his first attempt of the preliminaries at 45 feet, 6½ inches. He added on to that with his second attempt, which was the eventual winning mark of 46-10¼. Western Oregon's Harrison had what became his runner-up mark of 44-1¼ on his second attempt.
 
Njeri became Seattle Pacific's first GNAC indoor men's champion since 2012. He now is the current owner of both the conference indoor and outdoor triple jump titles and is the first Falcon male to win either one.
 
"I'd say it was a really good meet," Njeri said. "The first day was pretty good – my time was a school record in the 60 (tying his previous mark of 7.00), and I competed well in the long jump. Actually, I bruised my heel in the long, and that's why I didn't jump as far in the triple today. My first four jumps (three in the prelims and the first one in the finals) were really painful, so I just called it after four."
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
-- Ellie Rising took second place in the women's 800 meters with an indoor best time of 2 minutes, 14.81 seconds. Simon Fraser's Alison Andrews-Paul ran away with it, clocking 2:05.09. That was a meet record, breaking the old mark of 2:08.28 set in 2010 by former Falcon star Jessica Pixler.
-- SPU's sprint combination of Jenna Bouyer, Peace Igbonagwam, and Aniya Green went 3-4-8 in the 200-meter dash. Igonagwam also was sixth in the 60 dash.
-- SPU finished fifth in the women's team standings with 79 points. Simon Fraser scored 124 to claim its first-ever team championship.
-- Western Washington, as expected, cruised to the men's crown with 171 points, a 61-point margin on second-place Simon Fraser's 110. The Falcons were seventh with 29 points.
 
UP NEXT
The SPU Final Qualifier is set for this Saturday, Feb. 26, at the University of Washington's Dempsey Indoor. The first events are at 4:30 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Championships
Monday-Tuesday, Feb. 21=22, 2022
The Podium / Spokane, Wash.
 
Team scores (through 17 of 17 events) – 1, Simon Fraser 124; 2, Western Oregon 115; 3, Western Washington 113; 4, Central Washington 106; 5, Seattle Pacific 79; 6, Alaska Anchorage 42; 7, Northwest Nazarene 31; 8, Saint Martin's 30; 9, Montana State Billings 19.
 
 
TUESDAY FINALS
60-meter dash – 1, E'lexis Hollis (CWU) 7.58#.  SPU – 6, Peace Igbonagwam 7.78.
200 – 1, Marie Eloise Leclair (Simon) 24.53#.  SPU – 3, Jenna Bouyer 25.37; 4, Peace Igbonagwam 25.40; 8, Aniya Green 25.95.
400 – 1, Emily Lindsay (Simon) 55.79#.  No SPU.
800 – 1, Alison Andrew-Paul (Simon) 2:05.09# (meet record, breaks old record of 2:08.28 set by Jessica Pixler of SPU in 2010).  SPU – 2, Ellie Rising 2:14.81.
Mile – 1, Megan Roxby (Simon) 5:02.38.  SPU – 10, Nicki Yorges 5:25.68
3000 – 1, Annika Esvelt (SPU) 9:50.84#.  No other SPU.
60 hurdles – 1, Diana Voloshin (Simon) 8.77#.  No SPU.
4x400 relay – 1, Simon Fraser 3:47.07#.  SPU – 3, Seattle Pacific 3:59.14.
Pole vault – 1, Charlie Hill (SPU) 12-0 ¾ / 3.68m.  Other SPU – 3, Lizzy Daugherty 11-7 / 3.53m; 5, Madison Licari 11-7 / 3.53m.
Triple jump – 1, Ana Popchock (WOU) 37-2¼ / 11.33m.  No SPU.
Shot put – 1, Moana Gianotti (WOU) 44-11½ / 13.70m.  No SPU.
 
 
MONDAY FINALS
5000 – 1, Annika Esvelt (SPU) 17:31.61. No other SPU.
4000 distance medley relay – 1, Simon Fraser 12:13.12. No SPU.
High jump – 1, Aliyah Dawkins (WWU) 5-5 ¾ / 1.67m. No SPU.
Long jump – 1, Peace Igbonagwam (SPU) 18-1 / 5.51m. No other SPU.
Weight throw – 1, Meagan Smallbeck (CWU) 56-2 / 17.12m. No SPU.
 
 
PRELIMINARIES
60-meter dash – 1, E'lexis Hollis (CWU) 7.62.  SPU finals qualifier – 3, Peace Igbonagwam 7.66#.  Other SPU – 10, Jenna Bouyer 7.84.
200 – 1, Marie-Eloise Leclair (Simon) 24.70#.  SPU finals qualifiers – 4, Jenna Bouyer 25.24; 7, (tie) Aniya Green and Peace Igbonagwam 25.71.  No other SPU.
400 – 1, Emily Lindsay (Simon) 56.77#. No SPU finals qualifiers.  SPU – 11, Aniya Green 1:00.64; 12, Johanna Brown 1:01.14; 14, McKenzie Fletcher 1:01.28.
800 – 1, Cassidy Walchak-Sloan (STM) 2:15.85. SPU finals qualifier – 4, Ellie Rising 2:16.02.  No other SPU.
60 hurdles – 1, Diana Voloshin (Simon) 8.80#.  No SPU.
 
 
PENTATHLON
Final standings – 1, Jenelle Hurley (WOU) 3,457; 2, Aliya Dawkins (WWU) 3,340; 3, Matty Lagerwey (WWU) 3,138; 4, Eden Mortensen (STM) 3,128; 5, Sarah Sewell (CWU) 3,097; 6, Amity Deters (WOU) 3,055; 7, Macy Clemens (WOU) 2,905; 8, Leanne Kibbee (WWU) 2,778; 9, Carlotte Duenninger (UAA) 2,394.  No SPU.
 
Pentathlon 60 hurdles – 1, Aliyah Dawkins (WWU) 9.15 (879 points).  Pentathlon high jump – 1, Aliyah Dawkins (WWU) 5-5¾ / 1.67m (818 points).  Pentathlon shot put – 1, Aliyah Dawkins (WWU) 29-9¼ / 9.07m (469 points).  Pentathlon long jump – 1, Aliyah Dawkins (WWU) 17-9¼ / 5.42m (677 points).  Pentathlon 800 – 1, Jenelle Hurley (WOU) 2:33.05 (655 points).
 
 
 
NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Championships
Monday, Feb. 21, 2022
The Podium / Spokane, Wash.
 
Team scores – 1, Western Washington 49; 2, Western Oregon 35; 3, Northwest Nazarene 30.5; 4, Simon Fraser 23; 5, Alaska Anchorage 22; 6, Seattle Pacific 13; 7, Central Washington 11.5; 8, Montana State Billings 7; 9, Saint Martin's 3.
 
 
TUESDAY FINALS
60-meter dash – 1, Bobby Widmar (CWU) 6.96.  SPU – 7, David Njeri 7.15.
200 – 1, Callum Robinson (Simon) 21.76.  SPU – Jeff Gordon DQ (lane violation).
400 – 1, Callum Robinson (Simon) 47.82#.  No SPU.
800 – 1, Maculey Franks (WWU) 1:51.45#.  No SPU.
Mile – 1, Aaron Ahl (Simon) 4:01.78#.  SPU – 11, Jon Owen 4:28.80.
3000 – 1, Aaron Ahl (Simon) 8:21.23 (meet record, breaks old record of 8:27.83 set by Henry Cheseto of UAA in 2015).  No SPU.
60 hurdles – 1, Joshua Wagner (UAA) 8.11#.  No SPU.
4x400 relay – 1, Alaska Anchorage 3:22.22.  SPU – 5, Seattle Pacific (Jeff Gordon, Isaiah Archer, Evan Carpenter, Julius Shepherd) 3:25.97.
High jump – 1, Beau Sheeran (WWU) 6-10¾ / 2.10m#.  No SPU.
Triple jump – 1, David Njeri (SPU) 46-10¼ / 14.28m.  No other SPU.
Shot put – 1, Ben Malquist (WWU) 51-1 / 15.57m.  No SPU.
 
 
MONDAY FINALS
5000 – 1, Kevin McDermott (WWU) 14:52.36.  No SPU.
4000 distance medley relay – 1, Simon Fraser 10:09.88.  No SPU.
Pole vault – 1, Kacey Provo (WWU) 15-3 / 4.65m.  SPU – 4, Kainoa Lee 14-7¼ / 4.45m; 7, Brad Bowman 12-7½ / 3.85m.
Long jump – 1, Ethan Sterkel (WWU) 23-10 / 7.26m#.  SPU – 3, David Njeri 22-5¼ / 6.84m.
Weight throw – 1, Colton Burr (NNU) 57-6¼ / 17.53m. No SPU.
 
 
PRELIMINARIES
60-meter dash – 1, Tyrone Woodard (WWU) 6.97.  SPU finals qualifier – 3, David Njeri 7.00.  Other SPU – T11, Jeff Gordon 7.11.
200 – 1, Callum Robinson (Simon) 21.50 (meet record, breaks old record of 21.56).  SPU finals qualifier – 6, Jeff Gordon 22.34.  Other SPU – 14, Evan Carpenter 22.98
400 – 1, Callum Robinson (Simon) 48.98. No SPU finals qualifiers.  SPU – 14, Evan Carpenter 51.30; 20, Julius Shepherd 52.69.
800 – 1, Maculey Franks (WWU) 1:51.07k#.  No SPU finals qualifiers.  SPU – 11, Isaiah Archer 1:56.12; 13, Jon Owen 1:57.10.
60 hurdles – 1, Joshua Wagner (UAA) 8.28. No SPU.
 
 
HEPTATHLON
Final standings – 1, Steven Schmidt (NNU) 4,588; 2, Ryan Kenny (WWU) 4,571; 3, JJ Walker (WOU) 4,463; 4, Cooper Cummings (WWU) 4,368; 5, Andrew Boyd (STM) 4,289; 6, Brennen Sorah (WOU) 4,259; 7, Gabe Burchfield (WOU) 4,208; 8, Logan Easley (CWU) 4,191; 9, Deshaun Stevens (WOU) 3,742.
 
MONDAY EVENTS
Heptathlon 60-meter dash – 1, Ryan Kenny (WWU) 7.28 (785 points).  Heptathlon long jump – 1, Deshaun Stevens (WOU) 21-9 / 6.63m (727 points).  Heptathlon shot put  – 1, Andrew Boyd (STM) 39-3¾ / 11.98m (605 points).  Heptathlon high jump – 1, Steven Schmidt (NNU) 6-8¾ / 2.05m (850 points).
 
TUESDAY EVENTS
Heptathlon 60-meter hurdles – 1, Andrew Boyd (STM) 8.61 (834 points).  Heptathlon pole vault – 1, JJ Walker (WOU) 13-11¼ / 4.25m (688 points).  Heptathlon 1000 – 1, Deshaun Stevens (WOU) 2:55.21 (712 points).