ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Peace Igbonagwan had never forgotten how good a 19-footer felt in the long jump.
 
But this time, she figured that maybe the best way to get back there was to do exactly that: Forget about it.
 
It worked.
 
The Seattle Pacific senior soared a career-best 19 feet 8¼ inches on Saturday morning, easily winning that event in the Wildcat Invitational at the CWU Recreation Sports Complex.
 
 

"Honestly, I think I was stressing a lot and thinking too much about jumping like I used to. I think that was going through my head a lot," Igbonagwam said. "Today was different because I didn't really think about it too much. I was just having faith that I would do well, but I wasn't thinking about it. I just went out there and did my best."
 
The mark came on her second of three jumps in the preliminary round. That turned out to be her only 19-footer of the day, but she said she did have some 18-footers in there among the prelims and her three attempts in the finals.
 
Igbonagwam had long jumped in two previous meet this season, both in California, but had gone just 17-6 at the West Coast Relays in Clovis on April 1, and 17-3 ½ at the Bryan Clay Invitational last Friday in Azusa.
 
"It was so amazing – it was so good," she said of finally popping a big one, which easily beat the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark of 19-1 and ranked No. 10 nationally as of Saturday evening (with other meets around the country still to report their results).. "I felt like a jumper again. I felt really good jumping, and it felt like I was back."
 
Saturday's performance was the fifth 19-footer in Igbonagwam's career. Her last three have come indoors, including her previous overall lifetime best of 19-7½ at the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships during her freshman year. That gave her the first of her three consecutive conference indoor crowns in that event.
 
Igbonagwam's most recent one was at the 2020 GNAC indoor meet when she went 19-5½, that coming just one month before the athletics shut down for an extended period because of the coronavirus pandemic.
 
The only time she had gone that far in a springtime meet was at the Aztec Open on March 22, 2019, when she went 19 feet exactly in what was her SPU outdoor debut
 
Her jump on Saturday ranks No 4 in Falcons history. The record of 21-8¾ / 6.62 meters was set in 1976 by Sherron Walker.
 
 

It also is the second-best distance in GNAC history. The 19-8¼ converts to 6.00 on the metric scale. The only other 6-meter GNAC long jumper is none other than former Falcon star Renick Meyer who went 20-5 / 6.22 in the 2018 conference heptathlon.
 
Igbonagwam also is a key contributor in the sprints for SPU, and on most days when she's long jumping, she's also entered in some combination of the 100, 200, or 400, plus either or both relays.
 
But after a busy few weeks, including those two trips to California (and another one coming up next weekend), she took a breather of sorts by doing just the long jump on Saturday.
 
"I really think it did help just to have to focus on the long jump and think about how I was running and the runway," Igbonagwam said. "That helped a lot with the mental part."
 
Although the regular season is now down to its final couple of meets before the GNAC Championships back in this same venue on May 13-14, Igbonagwam firmly believes more big leaps are still to come in the weeks ahead.
 
"I think it only goes up from here," she said. "I'm feeling really confident for the next meet."
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
-- As of Saturday, top six women's long jumpers in GNAC history are all Falcons:Renick Meyer 20-5 (2018), Peace Igbonagwam 19-8 1/4 (2022), Stephanie Huffman 19-8 (2002), Ali Worthen 19-8 (2013), Kyra Brannan 19-7 (2017), and Danielle Ayres-Stamper 19-6 1/4 (2005).
 -- Ellie Rising won the women's 1500 meters, clocking 4 minutes, 44.99 seconds, half a second on front of Eastern Washington's Lily Fetzer (4:45.54).
-- Jon Owen continued his push toward the sub 4-minute mark in the men's 1500, posting a personal-best 4:01.36 to take second place. It was his fourth PB of the season. Drew Thompson came up with a five-second PB of 4:04.69 to claim fourth place. Owen and Northwest University's Micah Murphy drove each other toward the finish line, with Murphy getting there first in 4:00.99.
-- Aniya Green posted a personal best of 12.65 in the women's 100-meter dash, finishing fifth. She was second in the 200 at 25.86.
-- SPU also got a second-place finishes from Libby Michael in the women's 800 in 2:19.69 and from Nicki Yorges in the women's 3000 in 10:38.21.
-- Colin Boutin posted a personal-best in the men's 3000, placing fifth in 8:58.18. His previous best was 8:59.35 as a freshman in 2019.

UP NEXT
The Falcons will be in two places next week. Most of the team will head north to Bellingham on Saturday, April 30, for the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational. Competition inside Civic Stadium begins at 9:00 a.m. in the field and at 9:30 a.m. on the track. The last event is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
 
A select group of sprinters will trek back to Clovis, California for the Fresno State Invitational. The first races at Veterans Memorial Stadium start at 1:00 p.m. At the West Coast Relays on that same oval on April 1, the Falcons came up with multiple solid performances, including Vanessa Aniteye's school record in the women's 400 meters (54.60), half a dozen NCAA provisional qualifying marks (Aniteye and both women's relays among them), and 12 personal bests.


NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Wildcat Invitational
Saturday, April 23, 2022
CWU Recreation Sports Complex / Ellensburg, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
100 – 1, Katie Petsch (E. Washington) 12.03.  SPU – 5, Aniya Green 12.65.
200 – 1, Katie Petsch (E. Washington) 25.05.  SPU – 2, Aniya Green 25.86.
800 – 1, Madi Carr (E. Washington) 2:19.02.  SPU – 2, Libby Michael 2:19.69.
1500 – 1, Ellie Rising 4:44.99.  No other SPU.
3000 – 1, Cassidy Wolchak-Sloan (Saint Martin's) 10:28.60.  SPU – 2, Nicki Yorges 10:38.21.
400 hurdles – 1, McCall Dechenne (C. Washington) 1:03.20.  SPU – 7, McKenzie Fletcher 1:08.57; 8, Johanna Brown 1:08.60.
Pole vault – 1, Savannah Schultz (E. Washington) 12-6 ¼ / 3.82m.  SPU – 4, Madison Licari 11-6½ / 3.52m!; 5, Lizzy Daugherty 11-0 ¾ / 3.37m!; 10, Emily Northey 9-1 / 2.77m; Charlie Hill no height.
Long jump – 1, Peace Igbonagwam (SPU) 19-8¼ / 6.00m#!.  No other SPU.
 
# NCAA provisional qualifying
!  GNAC automatic qualifying
 
 
NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Wildcat Invitational
Saturday, April 23, 2022
CWU Recreation Sports Complex / Ellensburg, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
100 – 1, Joe Gauthier (E. Washington) 10.69.  SPU – 15, Evan Carpenter 11.34; 20, Darius Holmes 11.61.
200 – 1, Logan Allen (E. Washington) 21.96.  SPU – 7, Evan Carpenter 22.50.
1500 – 1, Micah Murphy (Northwest) 4:00.99.  SPU – 2, Jon Owen 4:01.36; 4, Drew Thompson 4:04.69.
3000 – 1, Lance Slichko (Saint Martin's) 8:45.83.  SPU – 5, Colin Boutin 8:58.18; 8, Brennan LeBlanc 9:15.35; 12, Gabe Endresen 9:31.73.
Pole vault – 1, Zach Klobutcher (E. Washington) 16-3½ / 4.97m.  SPU – 7, Kainoa Lee 14-4 / 4.37m; 13, Brad Bowman 12-10¼ / 3.92m.