RENTON, Wash. – In the world of track and field, good friends – even best friends – don't always wear the same-color uniform.
 
But they can still help each other achieve some big results.
 
It certainly worked out that way for Marissa Crane on Saturday.

The Seattle Pacific freshman raced to her first collegiate victory, winning the 400-meter dash at the seventh annual Doris Heritage Track Festival.
 
 

With the annual meet in honor of the former world-caliber runner and legendary Seattle Pacific coach taking place for the first time in its new home at Renton Memorial Stadium, Crane finished her full lap around the red oval in 58.57 seconds.

That was one of three SPU victories for the day.

Not only was Crane's time a personal best, it was (as of Saturday evening, with other results still to come in) the leading time in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Her previous best was 58.77 as a senior last spring at South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard, across Puget Sound.
 
"I definitely wanted to get a personal record, and I got that," Crane said after her day ended by leading off the second-place team in the 4-by-400 relay. "I wasn't expecting to come in first or anything. I was just trying to focus on myself and my own race and race the clock."
 
 

Having said that, there's still someone she definitely was racing against. While Crane was coming out of the starting blocks in Lane 3, Central Washington's Elise Hopper was next to her in Lane 4. In last spring's Class 4A (large school) Washington state high school meet, they were part of the title-winning 4-by-400 relay team, with Crane on leadoff and Hopper on the third leg.
 
So getting to connect with her pal again was already a special moment for Crane. Getting to race alongside her was even more special.
 
"We were competing together in the 400 for the same high school, but it's definitely fun (competing) on other teams, as well, because I get to see her," Crane said. "She's a person I used to train with, so I know I can get there with her."
 
Injuries and illness limited Crane to just three meets during the just-completed winter indoor season. She did clock a 400 time of 58.77 in her SPU debut at the Spokane Invitational on Dec. 10. She also was able to compete in the GNAC Indoor Championships, helping the Falcons score team points with third place in the 4-by-400 relay and eighth in the 4000 distance medley relay. She also was 11^th in the open 400.
 
But Crane said she's glad to be back outdoors, and is looking forward to several more tries in the 400 during the next several weeks leading up to the GNAC Championships on May 12-13 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.
 
"That was my first-ever track race, and I'm still doing it, from elementary school to college," she said. "It's something I've grown with and something I want to stick to."
 
She said her goal by May is to break that 58-second barrier – and she knows what it's going to take to do it.
 
"I'm definitely not an aggressive racer. I'm more conservative," Crane said. "So I think rewiring myself mentally to be more aggressive on the track will help me get there."
 
 

NOT THE ONLY 'W' OF THE DAY
While Crane was first to the wire in the 400, the Falcons had two other winners – one on the track and one in the field.
 
Libby Michael had the lead after the first lap and kept it on the way to winning the women's mile. Her time was 5 minutes, 8.73 seconds.
 
Lizzy Daugherty got over a 12-foot bar to win the women's pole vault. Daugherty cleared it on her third attempt. She went 11-9 ¾ to win the Ed Boitano Invitational outdoor opener on March 4 at the University of Puget Sound. Saturday's effort was her second career 12-footer. Daugherty went a career-best 12-4 last May 7 to win the Linfield Open.
 
HONORING THE SENIORS
Following the meet and a team barbecue of hamburgers, hot dogs, and potato salad, the Falcons honored the 10 seniors who will be moving on after this season.
 
That group included Vanessa Aniteye, Colin Boutin, Brad Bowman, McKenzie Fletcher, Jeff Gordon, Rory McClelland, Libby Michael, Jon Owen, Julius Shepherd, and Solomon Wittrell.

Click on the photo below to see a video of the Senior Day ceremony.

Aniteye also honored in a special ceremony prior to the meet recognizing the NCAA national indoor championship that she won in the 800 meters last Saturday in Virginia Beach. She was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Doris Heritage and also displayed the first-place trophy.
 
IT ACTUALLY FELT LIKE A SPRING TRACK MEET
After some sideways rain at last year's Doris Heritage Festival and barely-above-freezing temperatures at the Ed Boitano Invitational two weeks ago, Saturday's meet took place in some very pleasant conditions. The sky was clear and temperatures were in the mid-60s as the meet progressed throughout the afternoon.

AND THAT'S NOT ALL
-- SPU also had a trio of heat winners. Gabe Woodard was first in his section of the men's 400 in 55.18. Solomon Wittrell won his 200-meter dash heat in 24.12. And Maya Ewing took the lead right away in her heat of the women's 800 and won it in 2:29.50.
-- For established events, no meet records were set. However, since the mile had never before been run at the Doris Heritage Festival or at its predecessor, the Club Northwest Spring Break Open, Libby Michael's time will go into the books as the meet record. Ditto for Central Washington's Johan Correa in the men's mile with his winning time of 4:21.33.
-- The Falcons posted half a dozen second-place finishes. Aniya Green had two of those in the women's sprints, and both were in personal-best times: 12.61 in the 100-meter dash (previous best 12.65) and 25.36 in the 200 (way below her previous best 25.71 and more than a full second faster than the 26.43 she ran at the Ed Boitano on March 4).
-- Other second places were by Hannah Chang in her first college 100-meter hurdles race (14.80), the women's 4-by-400 relay of Marissa Crane, Matise Mulch, Maliyah Hicks, and Libby Michael (4:11.08), David Njeri in the men's 100-meter dash (a personal-best 11.13, beating his old PB of 11.35), and Jon Owen in the men's 800 (2:00.18).
-- Njeri's finish in the 100 was part of a 2-3-4 SPU combination, as Jeff Gordon was third in 11.19 and Isaiah Archer fourth in 11.31.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons head to Southern California for a pair of meets next weekend. Up first is the Mangrum Invitational in San Marcos on Friday. Then on Saturday, it's a 35-mile drive south to San Diego for the Point Loma Collegiate Invitational.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Doris Heritage Track Festival
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Renton Memorial Stadium / Renton, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
100 – 1, E'Lexis Hollis (CWU) 11.95.  SPU – 2, Aniya Green 12.61; 11, Mailyah Hicks 13.68.
200 – 1, Juliette Williams (CWU) 25.07.  SPU – 2, Aniya Green 25.36; 15, Maliyah Hicks 27.82.
400 – 1, Marissa Crane (SPU) 58.57.  Other SPU – 7, Charisma Smith 1:02.49.
800 – 1, Emmy Kroontje (WWU) 2:18.76.  SPU – 3, Johanna Brown 2:20.76; 5, Matise Mulch 2:26.61; 6, Katelyn Flolo 2:28.39; 8, Maya Ewing 2:29.50.
Mile – 1, Libby Michael (SPU) 5:08.73.  Other SPU – 3, Matise Mulch 5:17.82; 4, Maya Ewing 5:20.38; 5, Katelyn Flolo 5:23.69; 9, Nicki Yorges 5:51.90
5000 – 1, Kaylea Hartman (Northwest U) 18:05.11.  No SPU.
100 hurdles – 1, Lauryn Chandler (CWU) 14.44.  SPU – 2, Hannah Chang 14.80.
4x100 relay – 1, Central Washington 48.09.  No SPU.
4x400 relay – 1, Central Washington 4:02.57.  SPU – 2, Seattle Pacific (Marissa Crane, Matise Mulch, Maliyah Hicks, Libby Michael) 4:11.08; 3, Seattle Pacific (Aniya Green, Maya Ewing, Charisma Smith, Hannah Chang) 4:12.92.
High jump – 1, Corona Paika (Evergreen St.) 5-0 ½ / 1.54m.  No SPU.
Pole vault – 1, Lizzy Daugherty (SPU) 12-0 ¾ / 3.68m.  Other SPU – 4, Charlie Hill 10-1 ¼ / 3.08m.
Long jump – 1, Erica Cabanos (CWU) 16-10 ¾ / 5.15m.  SPU – 4, Hannah Chang 15-8 ¾ / 4.79m.
Shot put – 1, Pono Fuiava (Olympic College) 42-0 / 12.80m.  SPU – 18, Annika Esvelt 16-2 ½ / 4.94m.
Discus – 1, Pono Fuiava (Olympic College) 133-6 / 40.70m.  No SPU.
Javelin – 1, Tabitha Messineo (PLU) 115-5 / 35.19m.  SPU – 4, Hannah Chang 94-3 / 28.74m.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Doris Heritage Track Festival
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Renton Memorial Stadium / Renton, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
100 – 1, Kellen Meade (PLU) 11.04.  SPU – 2, David Njeri 11.13; 3, Jeff Gordon 11.19; 5, Isaiah Archer 11.31; 16, Nate Thomas 11.69; 18, Solomon Wittrell 11.82; 19 Brady Boun 11.87.
200 – 1, Jaden Johnson (WWU) 22.46.  SPU – 3, Isaiah Archer 22.58; 4, Jeff Gordon 22.62; 16, Solomon Wittrell 24.12.
400 – 1, Austin Albertin (CWU) 50.17.  SPU – 4, Julius Shepherd 51.29; 8, Darius Holmes 52.87; 9, Gabe Woodard 55.18.
800 – 1, Jack Pratapas (CWU) 1:57.45.  SPU – 2, Jon Owen 2:00.18; 6, Brennan LeBlanc 2:03.63; 8, Colin Boutin 2:05.51; 9, Kade Franco 2:05.79; 13, Ben Sheirbon 2:06.87; 15, Isaac Venable 2:09.50; 17, Lucas Reyes 2:11.16; 18, Nathaniel Gale 2:12.13; 19, Gabe Endresen 2:12.61.
Mile – 1, Johan Correa (CWU) 4:21.33.  SPU – 3, Jon Owen 4;32.58; 14, Ben Sheirbon 4:35.45; 16, Kade Franco 4:38.93; 18, Brennan LeBlanc 4:38.99; 20, Nathaniel Gale 4:41.40; 21, Isaac Venable 4:41.53; 22, Gabe Endresen 4:42.05; 23, Rory McClelland 4:42.50; 27, Lucas Reyes 4:45.77.
5000 – 1, Ryan Stracke (PLU) 14:44.28.  No SPU.
110 hurdles – 1, Aiden Wise (CWU) 14.77.  No SPU.
4x100 relay – 1, Central Washington 43.03.  SPU – 3, Seattle Pacific (David Njeri, Jeff Gordon, Julius Shepherd, Isaiah Archer) 43.38.
4x400 relay – 1, Central Washington 3:21.01.  SPU – 4, Seattle Pacific (Jon Owen, Ben Sheirbon, Darius Holmes, Colin Boutin) 3:41.42; 5, Seattle Pacific (Lucas Reyes, Isaiah Archer, Nathaniel Gale, Kade Franco) 3:45.34; 6, Seattle Pacific (Gabe Woodard, Nate Thomas, Isaac Venable, Brennan LeBlanc) 3:46.44.
High jump – 1, Jack Morse (Green River) 6-3 ½ / 1.92m.  No SPU.
Pole vault – 1, Braydon Maier (CWU) 15-5 ½ / 4.71m.  SPU – 3, Brad Bowman 13-11 ¾ / 4.26m; 6, Darius Holmes 12-6 / 3.81m; Kainoa Lee no height.
Long jump – 1, Isaiah Webster (CWU) 22-5 / 6.83m.  SPU – 6, Nate Thomas 19-5 ¼ / 5.92m.
Shot put – 1, Masum Real (PLU) 53-10 ¼ / 16.41m.  No SPU.
Discus – 1, Masum Real (PLU) 160-8 / 48.97m.  No SPU.
Javelin – 1, Branden Wise 180-5 / 14.99m.  No SPU.