SEATTLE – Never in the long history of Seattle Pacific indoor track and field had anyone cleared a 15-foot bar in the pole vault.
 
On Saturday morning at the University of Washington's Dempsey Indoor, two Falcons did it within just minutes of each other – and then one of them went even higher.
 
Freshman Mason Hrcek and senior Kainoa Lee both got over at exactly 15, and Hrcek followed that by soaring 15 feet, 5¾ inches to claim sole possession of the school indoor record at the UW Indoor Preview.
 
The previous indoor record was 14-11, set first by Chris Randolph in 2006, then matched twice by Ray Zoellick – once in 2011 and once in 2012. The overall school record, set outdoors, is 15-11 by Bill Spaet way back in 1973.
 
Hrcek, from Mountlake Terrace High School north of Seattle, was in just his second collegiate meet. He went 14-7¼ last month at the season-opening Spokane Invitational. His best mark coming into college was 14-4 at an all-comers meet last May.
 




"I did not see that coming," Hrcek said. "Coming into the meet, I'd had a pretty crappy practice and all that. I had a twist in my leg and had some shin issues. But I surprised myself. I was working through it today. I jumped over bars I never thought I'd get over."
 
Many vaulters often elect to pass the opening bar, but Hrcek didn't. It was set at 12-10¼, and he missed on his first try, but then got way over it the second time.
 
 

He subsequently cleared 13-10 and 14-6 on his first attempts. It moved up to 15 feet – and again, he got over it the first time. Hrcek came over for a brief moment of celebration with SPU assistant coach Kate Carlson, who works with the pole vaulters.
 
Once Lee cleared the 15-footer on his second attempt and Washington's Jami Schlueter missed on all three tries, it went up to 15-5¾. Hrcek got over that one on his first try, then half ran, half leaped toward Carlson .
 
"That was probably my best jump, and it felt really good," Hrcek said.
 
Hrcek got a couple of good looks at 15-11¾. But while he didn't make that one on Saturday, Carlson has no doubt that he will eventually.
 
"He PR'd in December and I knew as long as we keep starting higher and higher, he has so much height in him," Carlson said. "I thought he was going to clear that last height."
 




Lee has had several good looks at 15 feet during his career, most of them coming outdoors. His best is 14-10¼ in the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, and he went 14-10 at last year's GNACs. Both of those performances gave him third place. Lee's indoor best was 14-7¼ at last February's GNAC meet, and he started this season with a 14-1¼ in Spokane on Dec. 9.
 
Lee passed on the opening bar, then made 13-10 and 14-6 on his first try. He needed a second attempt at 15, but got it. He didn't get 15-5¾, but is confident he'll get there.
 
"Finally – it's so nice to have 15. I've been trying to get that since I've been here," Lee said. "The good thing is I didn't feel I was maxing out. I know I could have gone further and gotten on the next pole and gotten higher.
 
 

"I made sure to keep myself warm and keep rolling and keep attacking takeoffs. That's really where I hit it," Lee added.
 
Added Carlson, "The next pole he's been getting on is going to get over the next height. We're all working on the right things, and today was just one step on the ladder of many."
 
Hrcek and Lee both said they love having each other around, whether during practice inside Brougham Pavilion or on the competition runway.
 
"Coming in, I thought I wouldn't beat Kai, that he would vault higher than me," Hrcek said. "Now, we're going at it with each other and going back and forth,"
 
Said Lee, "I love jumping with teammates, and it's even more fun when we're going right next to each other on competition day. I think our training partnership is good."
 
 

ESVELT IS BACK ON TRACK
Annika Esvelt returned to the indoor oval for the first time since 2022 after missing last winter's season with an injury. She immediately put her name onto the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying list in the 3000 meters, clocking 9 minutes, 41.62 seconds.
 
As of Saturday evening, that ranks No. 11 nationally.
 
Esvelt's last indoor race was March 11, 2022 at the NCAA Championships when she ran to an All-American eighth-place finish in the 5000.
 
There's a very good chance that Esvelt will get a shot at the 5K in the UW Invitational on Friday, Jan. 26.
 




AND THAT'S NOT ALL
-- Emily Thomason and Lizzy Daugherty went 8-9 in the women's pole vault. Thomason got over at 11-7¾; Daugherty cleared 10-11¾.
-- Hannah Chang was ninth in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking 9.11.
-- Brennan LeBlanc and Isaac Venable both broke the 9-minute mark in the men's 3000 meters. LeBlanc clocked 8:49.82; Venable got to the finish line in 8:54.58. LeBlanc was well below his PR of 9:11.37, that from 2022. Venable ran that distance for the first time.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will return to Dempsey Indoor on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27, for the UW Invitational. The Friday schedule begins at 3:00 p.m. both on the track and in the field. The Saturday program gets going at 9:00 a.m. for both track and field.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
UW Indoor Preview
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
200 – 1, Jadyn Mays (Oregon) 23.60.  SPU – 32, Marissa Crane 26.70; 37, Aniya Green 27.01; T42, Charisma Smith 27.27; 45, Hannah Change 27.34.
400 – 1, Roisin Willis (Stanford) 53.36.  SPU – 9, Marissa Crane 59.16; 11, Johanna Brown 1:00.45; 14, Aniya Green 1:00.70; 19, Charisma Smith 1:02.04; 26, Anika Segall 1:06.69.
3000 – 1, Allie Buchalski (Brooks Beasts) 8:55.46.  SPU – 31, Annia Esvelt 9:41.62; 69, Matise Mulch 11:03.06.
60 hurdles – 1, Aaliya McCormick (Oregon) 8.26.  SPU – 9, Hannah Chang 9.11; 20, Sophie Mock 9.69.
4x400 relay – 1, Oregon 3:40.43.  SPU – 8, Seattle Pacific (Charisma Smith, Johanna Brown, Marissa Crane, Hannah Chang) 4:03.36.
High jump – 1, JaiCie Gero-Holt (Unattached) 6-1 ¼ / 1.86m.  SPU – 15, Paige Kessler 4-9 / 1.45m.
Pole vault – 1, Nastassja Campbell (UW) 13-11 ¼ / 4.25m. SPU – 8, Emily Thomason 11-7 ¾ / 3.55m; 9, Lizzy Daugherty 10-11 ¾ / 3.35m; Charlie Hill no height.
Long jump – 1, Mikyla Harkley (New Mexico) 18-10 ¾ / 5.76m.  SPU – 13, Sophie Mock 16-7 ¼ / 5.06m; 15, Hannah Chang 16-6 / 5.03m; 26, Paige Kessler 15-1 ¼ / 4.60m.
 

NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
UW Indoor Preview
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.

SPU EVENTS ONLY 
60-meter dash – 1, Emmanu Wells Jr. (Glf) 6.63.  SPU – 39, Brady Boun 7.45.
200 – 1, MacGregor TeSelle (Cal Poly) 21.52.  SPU – 18, Evan Carpenter 23.46.
400 --  1, Daniel Gaik (UW) 47.46.  SPU – 15, Evan Carpenter 52.60.
Mile – 1, Brannon Kidder (Brooks Beasts) 3:58.31.  SPU – 58, Jonathan Lieb 4:35.69.
3000 – 1, Luke Houser (UW) 7:40.40.  SPU – 70, Brennan LeBlanc 8:49.82; 73, Isaac Venable 8:54.58; 83, Silas Demmert 9:14.96.
Pole vault – 1, Mathis Bresko (UW) 17-5 ½ / 5.32m.  SPU – 8, Mason Hrcek 15-5 ¾ / 4.72m (school record; breaks old record of 14-11 set by Chris Randolph in 2006 and tied by Ray Zoellick in 2011 and 2012); 9, Kainoa Lee 15-0 / 4.57m (breaks old school record of 14-11); Mikel Saxon no height.
Long jump – 1, Prestin Artis (UW) 25-10 / 7.87m.  SPU – 25, Brady Boun 18-11 ¼ / 5.77m.


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