VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – On to the finals.
 
Vanessa Aniteye of Seattle Pacific won her preliminary heat of the women's 800 meters on Friday at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, and will be the No. 3 seed for Saturday's title race.
 
The finals are set for 2:10 p.m. on the 200-meter banked oval inside the Virginia Beach Sports Center.

 

The Falcon senior completed four laps in 2 minutes, 9.56 seconds. She moved into the lead on the third lap ahead of Alaysia Brooks from Ursuline (Ohio). Brooks, who blitzed through the first 400 meters, dropped farther back on the last lap, but Josii Johnson from Westminster (Utah) moved up.
 
By that time, however, Aniteye was in command and got to the finish line 58 hundredths of a second ahead of Johnson, who subsequently advanced to the finals as the No. 5 seed. Brooks, who came in as the No. 6 seed, did not make the finals.

"It was a good race. I think I took it step by step, and that was my first goal was to try to make it through prelims comfortably, so that's good," Aniteye said. "I didn't have to run a personal-best to make finals, which was good."
 
Falcons head coach Karl Lerum was pleased with the way Aniteye went about her business.
 
"She just executed her race plan perfectly and looked like she was able to set herself up for a nice race (on Saturday)," he said. "I was happy to see that she could control the race and really didn't need to red-line her final 200 meters.
 
The race went out in a blistering pace. Brooks came through the 400 mark in 1:00.47 on splits of 29.10 and 31.37. Aniteye was right behind in 1:00.83, on splits of 29.76 for the first 200 and 31.07 for the second 200. None of the other 17 runners were in the 1:00s at the midpoint (1:01.75 was the next quickest).
 
"The race started pretty fast, and I just kind of rolled with it," Aniteye said. "I knew what to do. We had plan, and I tried to execute it, and it work out pretty good for me.
 
"I think I had (the leader) for the first 400, which was great not being the one who had to make the pace," said Aniteye, often was in front by herself during most of the meets leading up to nationals. "If I was to lead it, I would not have gone out in 60. I think it's good that I was with her. I would say that I was comfortable."
 
The one to catch on Saturday will be Helen Braybrook of Colorado State Pueblo. Braybrook had the fastest time of the day at 2:07.79, a personal best (and was the runner with that 1:01.75 at 400). She fended off Aryelle Wright from Colorado School of Mines, who ran a personal-best 2:08.30. Braybrook came into the meet as the No. 3 seed at an altitude- and track size-adjusted time of 2:08.18.
 
Taryn Chapko, a sophomore from Grand Valley State in Michigan, came in as the No. 2 seed at 2:07.89 behind Aniteye's top-seeded 2:07.53. She won the first of Friday's three preliminary heats, stopping the watch in 2:10.12. That has in the No. 4-seeded position for the finals.
 
"I'm hoping that tomorrow, I can have fresh legs," Aniteye said. "Obviously, the competition showed up today and showed that everyone is fit. Hopefully, the same goes for me so Saturday will be a real race, which should be interesting. I'm excited."
 
 

Lerum is expecting the same.
 
"It looks like it's going to be a great race," he said. "We have a handful of women who are peaking at the right time."
 
Aniteye's 2:07.53 entry time, which she clockedat the Husky Classic in Seattle on Feb. 11, is just one-hundredth of a second shy of the SPU indoor record. Lynelle Decker went 2:07.52 on the way to a second-place finish at the 2016 NCAAs.



NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
NCAA Division II Championships
Friday, March 10, 2023
Virginia Beach Sports Center / Virginia Beach, Va.
 
PRELIMINARIES
800 – Heat 1: 1, Taryn Chapko (Grand ValleyState) 2:10.12
Heat 2:  1, Vanessa Aniteye (SPU) 2:09.56.
Heat 3:  Helen Braybrook (Colorado State Pueblo) 2:07.79.
 
FINALS QUALIFIERS (Saturday, 2:10 p.m. PST)
1, Helen Braybrook (Colorado State Pueblo) 2:07.79
2, Aryelle Wright (Colorado Mines) 2:08.30
3, Vanessa Aniteye (Seattle Pacific) 2:09.56
4, Taryn Chapko (Grand Valley State) 2:10.12
5, Josii Johnson (Westminster) 2:10.14
6, Luisarys Toledo (Northwest Missouri) 2:11.00
7, Isabel Marsh (Adelphi) 2:11.31
8, Ines Macadam (Tiffin) 2:11.46