SEATTLE – Barreling toward the finish line of the 400-meter dash on Saturday morning, Isaiah Archer found himself in the middle of a five-runner traffic jam.
 
He kept his eyes on the road, such as it were – and on the prize.
 
When he looked up at the Dempsey Indoor readerboard, the Seattle Pacific sophomore knew right away that the prize was his.
 
 

The time next to Archer's name on the final day of the Husky Classic indoor track and field meet was 49.15 seconds.
 
That was fast enough to set a new Falcons program record for the indoor 400.
 
His time for one full lap plus another 93 meters on the 307-meter purple oval broke the old mark of 49.27, set on Feb. 21, 2015 by Mario Lopez.
 
"I knew I had a chance of getting the record, but I didn't know exactly when it would happen," said Archer, whose previous indoor best was 49.71 on the Dempsey track last year at the SPU Final Qualifier. "Apparently, today was that day."
 
SPU head coach Karl Lerum couldn't have been more pleased, not only with the record, but with how Archer went about setting it.

 

"That was such a fun race – and he's got a lot more in him," Lerum said. "He got put into a really good heat. It looked like a true indoor 400 race. These weren't time trials – these guys were racing each other. They were close at the break, kind of brushing shoulders and finding their lanes.
 
"It was a really fun race to watch. I'm excited for Isaiah's performance."
 
Archer wound up fourth in his five-runner heat, but also was eighth overall in the meet. The three who finished ahead of him in Heat 4 – Washington's Anthony Smith and Sam Baricevic, and Fuad Omer of The Inner Circle Track Club, were fourth, fifth and sixth overall, with times of 48.61, 48.75, and 49.07.

 

All five runners in that heat were separated by 93 hundredths of a second at the wire.
 
"I was just trying to slingshot off that last little curve (going onto) the last straghtaway," Archer said. "It was really hard to get around anyone.
 
"I could tell that our section got really, really hot," Archer added. "Those UW kids were rolling."
 
This day had a much better ending for Archer than his last trip to Dempsey Indoor two weeks ago. He ran a personal-best time in the 800, but it ultimately didn't count because he was hit with a disqualification on ruling of interference.
 
He said that was "definitely on my mind" Saturday, but he clearly left that race behind him. Also left behind was his only previous 400 this winter, when he clocked 50.23 at the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 14.
 
"I was excited for him to be able to have a chance to put it out there today," Lerum said, "and he took advantage of his opportunity."
 
As of Saturday evening, Archer ranks No. 2 on the GNAC list. His 49.15 had been on top for most of the afternoon until Maximilian Kremser went 48.25 at the Whitworth Invitational in Spokane.
 
ANITEYE POSTS GNAC TOP-10 TIME
Vanessa Aniteye ran into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-time top 10 in the women's 800 meters, going the distance in 2 minutes, 7.53 seconds.
 
 

That now ranks No. 6 on the conference list, and was mere one-hundredths of a second off the SPU record. The standard of 2:07.52 was set by Lynelle Decker on March 12, 2016 at the NCAA Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas.
 
For the past two meets, Aniteye was essentially all alone up front in her sections of the 800 at the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 14 and again at the UW Invitational on Jan. 28. Even then, she posted personal bests: 2:10.83 that led NCAA Division II for two weeks, and 2:08.64 that was No. 2 on the national list coming into this week.
 
Once again, Aniteye led almost all the way. But this time, she had someone challenging her from behind later in the race, as Kinsey Christianson of Iowa State finished in 2:08.88.

Aniteye wound up 11th overall. She was the only D2 runner among the 42 finishers. The rest of the field was 36 from D1 schools, one D3, one club, and three unattached.
 
"She was actually a little bit lower when she came through the 400 and 600 today than two weeks ago, and then she had a little bit of pressure after that," Lerum said. "She responded perfectly and still came back and even improved her time today. There's still so much room for Vanessa, and I'm excited for her."
 
Although Aniteye had the NCAA Division II-leading time for much of the season, she still hadn't made her way onto the GNAC top-10 list until Saturday, as the 800 has been one of the conference's strongest events for many years. Among the current top-10ers she moved past was former Falcons All-American star Jessica Pixler, whose best time was 2:07.57 in 2008.
 
Aniteye leapfrogged Grand Valley State's Taryn Chapko, back to the top of the national rankings as of Saturday evening, with other results still to come throughout the weekend. Chapko had taken over the No. 1 position from Aniteye on Feb. 3 with a 2:07.89.
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
 

-- Johanna Brown had quite a day in the women's 400. She broke the one-minute mark for the first time, stopping the watch in 59.78 seconds. That gave her 10th place.
-- Aniya Green also notched an indoor personal best in the 400, coming across in 59.06 to take eighth place.
-- Freshman pole vaulter Kayla Tassara came up with a collegiate personal-best performance, getting over the bar at 11 feet, 11 ¼ inches on her third and final attempt for seventh place. Her previous best was 11-9. She is solidly in No. 2 on the GNAC list, trailing only Northwest Nazarene's Kinsey Yenor at 12-10 ¼.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons now head into final preparations for the GNAC Championships, set for Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 20 and 21, at The Podium in Spokane. On the 20th, running events start at 2:15 p.m. and field events begin at 2:30. On the 21st,, field events begin at 9:30 a.m. and running at 11:00 a.m. The post-meet awards ceremony is scheduled for approximately 3:05 p.m. The schedule is subject to some slight changes after all entries have been submitted.
Those wishing to purchase tickets in advance can do so by clicking on this link.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Husky Classic
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 10-11, 2022
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
400 – 1, Alyssa Blockburger (USC) 55.84.  SPU – 8, Aniya Green 59.06; 10, Johanna Brown 59.78
800 – 1, Carley Thomas (UW) 2:03.68.  SPU – 11, Vanessa Aniteye 2:07.53.
Mile – 1, Sophie O'Sullivan (UW) 4:33.23. SPU – 109, Libby Michael 5:06.79.
60 hurdles – 1, Tawnie Moore (Unattached) 8.23.  SPU – 9, Hannah Chang 9.38.
Long jump – 1, Sarah Beckmon (The Inner Circle Track) 20-2 ½ / 6.16m.  SPU – Hannah Chang, foul.
Pole vault – 1, Sarah Ferguson (UW) and Avril Wilson (UW) 13-5 / 4.09m.  SPU – 7, Kayla Tassara 11-11 ¼ / 3.64m; 10, Lizzy Daugherty 10-11 ½ / 3.34m.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Husky Classic
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 10-11, 2022
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
400 – 1, Tyler Floyd (GLS Speed) 46.81.  SPU – 8, Isaiah Archer 49.15.
Pole vault – 1, Jaime Martin (Trinity Western) 16-5 ¼ / 5.01m.  SPU – 6, Brad Bowman 13-7 ¾ / 4.16m.
Triple jump – 1, Albert MacArthur (Unattached) 48-4 ¾ / 14.75m.  SPU – 2, David Njeri 48-0 / 14.63m.