SPOKANE, Wash. – Hannah Chang and Brennan LeBlanc didn't waste any time getting their indoor track seasons off to a fast start.
 
In fact, each of the two Seattle Pacific Falcons took less time than ever before to break through significant barriers in their best event.
 
Chang beat 9 seconds in the women's 60-meter hurdles, and LeBlanc shattered 16 minutes in the men's 5000 meters at the season-opening Spokane Invitational on Saturday inside The Podium.
 
A sophomore, Chang won the opening qualifying heat of the hurdles in 8.96 seconds. That beat her old personal best of 9.10 from last February's Great Northwest Athletic Conference finals on this same straightaway and was just .01 away from the top overall time in qualifying heats. That moved her into the preliminaries, and she subsequently clocked 9.09 – also better than that previous PB – to take 17th place overall.
 
LeBlanc, a senior, zipped 25 times around the 200-meter banked oval in 15 minutes, 22.33 seconds. It was 41 seconds faster than his previous indoor PB of 16:03.54 at the 2022 GNAC meet in The Podium. And, it was fast enough for fifth place overall.
 
Matter of fact, that was almost 16 seconds faster than LeBlanc's best outdoor 5000 of 15:38.20 on March 19, 2022, at in the Doris Heritage Track Festival at West Seattle Stadium.
 
As for Chang, she didn't limit her personal-bests to the track. She also recorded one in the high jump, getting over the bar at 4 feet, 7 ½ inches, half an inch better than her previous indoor best of 4-7 at last season's GNACs.

Season-opening meets are often referred to as "rust-busters" as athletes get back into a competitive groove.
 
FAB START FOR FRESHMAN PAIR
Mason Hrcek made a memorable showing in his college debut. A freshman out of Mountlake Terrace High School north of Seattle, Hrcek cleared 14 feet, 7 ¼ inches in the men's pole vault to take second place.
 
His mark actually tied with Pacific Lutheran's Grady Lemma for the highest of the day. However, Leman got first placed on the fewer-misses tiebreaker. SPU senior Kainoa Lee helped make it a 2-3 finish for the Falcons by taking third at 14-1¼.
 
Hrcek cleared his 14-footer last May at the Northwest District high school meet. He went 14-3 that day to take second place.
 
Another SPU freshman made a solid showing in the women's high jump. Paige Kessler from Castle Rock in the southwest part of Washington, got over at 5 feet, 1½ inches. The Falcons did not have a 5-footer last winter.
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
-- Lizzy Daugherty and Emily Thomason went 4-5 in the women's pole vault. Both cleared 11-3 ¾,; Daugherty claimed the higher position on the tiebreaker. Thomason, a junior, was making her indoor debut. She joined the Falcons midway through last spring's outdoor season after competing previously at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. She did not compete indoors during her time there.
-- Senior sprinter Aniya Green joined Seattle Pacific's PB parade with an 8.14 in the 60-meter dash, beating her old mark of 8.16 at last year's Spokane meet.
-- Other personal bests came from Brady Boun in the men's 60-meter dash (7.38) and Gabe Endresen in the men's 5000 (16:28.65).
-- Charisma Smith won her heat of the 300-meter dash in 43.58 seconds
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will be off until after the holidays. They'll return to action on Saturday, Jan. 13, at the UW Indoor Preview. Competition at Dempsey Indoor on the University of Washington campus starts at 8:20 a.m. on the track and 9:00 a.m. in the field.


NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Spokane Invitational
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023
The Podium / Spokane, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
60-meter dash – 1, E'lexis Hollis (CWU) 7.44.  SPU – 34, Aniya Green 8.14; 45, Charisma Smith 8.27.
200 – 1, Neysia Howard (Grand Canyon) 24.27.  SPU – 28, Marissa Crane 26.18; 40, Aniya Green 27.00.
300 – 1, Jasneet NNijjar (WSU) 37.67.  SPU – 12, Charisma Smith 43.58.
600 – 1, Janiah Brown (Boise State) 1:32.13.  SPU – 13, Johanna Brown 1:39.17.
60 hurdles – 1, Micaela DeMello (WSU)_ 8.40.  SPU – 17, Hannah Chang 9.09.  Qualifying – 2, Hannah Chang 8.96.
High jump – 1, Emy Ntekpere (CWU) 5-8 ½ / 1.74m.  SPU – 17, Paige Kessler 5-1 ½ / 1.56m; 24, Sophie Mock 4-9 ½ / 1.46m; T28, Hannah Chang 4- ½ / 1.41m.
Pole vault – 1, Lauryn McGough (CWU) 12-3 ¾ / 3.75m.  SPU – 4, Lizzy Daugherty 11-3 ¾ / 3.45m; 5, Emily Thomason 11-3 ¾ / 3.45m; 11, Charlie Hill 9-10 / 3.00m.
Long jump – 1, Caitlin Simmons (EWU) 19-6 ¼ / 5.95m.  SPU – 36, Hannah Chang 15-11 ¾ / 4.87m; 38, Sophie Mock 15-11 / 4.85m; 48, Paige Kessler 15-2 ¾ / 4.64m.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Spokane Invitational
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023
The Podium / Spokane, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
60-meter dash – 1, Mason Lawyer (WSU) 6.70.  SPU – 44, Brady Boun 7.38; 45, Evan Carpenter 7.38.
300 – 1, Jared McAlvey (WSU) 33.71.  SPU – 18, Evan Carpenter 37.48.
Mile – 1, Samuel Geiger (Gonzaga) 4:11.87.  SPU – 17, Jonathan Lieb 4:37.72; 23, Kade Franco 4:48.30; 24, Ben Sheirbon 4:58.15.
5000 – 1, Evan Markelz (L&C) 14:52.57.  SPU – 5, Brennan LeBlanc 15:22.33; 12, Isaac Venable 15:34.48; 16, Gabe Endresen 16:28.65; 19, Nathaniel Gale 16:34.22.
Pole vault – 1, Grady Lemma (PLU) 14-7 ¼ / 4.45m.  SPU – 2, Mason Hrcek 14-7 ¼ / 4.45m; 3, Kainoa Lee 14-1 ¼ / 4.30m; 9, Mikel Saxon 13-1 ½ / 4.00m.
Long jump – 1, Preston Artis (UW) 124-3 ¾ / 7.41m.  SPU – 21, Brady Boun 18-6 / 5.64m.