SEATTLE – Now she has two.
 
Annika Esvelt of Seattle Pacific posted her second NCAA Division II indoor track and field provisional qualifying time of the season on Friday, clocking 16 minutes, 59.72 seconds in the 5000 meters at the UW Invitational.
 
Esvelt placed 12th in the invitational heat  at Dempsey Indoor on the University of Washington campus. She was one of just four Division II runners in that heat, which was filled primarily with D1 competitors.
 
The qualifying standard is 17:17.41. The qualifying cutoff likely will be sub-16:40, and additional opportunities will be available during the next few weeks for her to get into that range. Her personal best is 16:31.12.
 
Along with the 5K, the Falcons junior is on the national qualifying list in the 3000 meters, thanks to the 9:41.62 that she posted in the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 13.
 
MAKE MINE A MILE
Of the 13 Falcons who raced in the inaugural Mile City event on Saturday, 11 posted personal-bests– and the other two were racing that distance for the first time.
 
On the women's side, Matise Mulch took a drop of five-plus seconds to 5:21.14 (5:26.40 was her previous best). Maya Ewing shaved off eight-plus seconds to 5:27.80 (5:36.05). Katelyn Flolo had a four-second PB at 5:32.51 (5:36.90).

All three are sophomores.
 
The women's winner was Jenn Randall in 4:32.17. Altogether, there were 199 finishers spread across 15 heats.
 
For the men, freshman Jonathan Lieb and junior Kade Franco both bettered their previous indoor bests: 4:35.62 for Lieb (4:35.69) and 4:39.11 for Franco (4:48.30).
 
Senior Brennan LeBlanc, sophomore Isaac Venable, and junior Gabe Endresen hadn't clocked a mile indoors, but had done it outdoors. (It is rarely offered at an outdoor meet because it is not an NCAA event; it is an official NCAA indoor event.) LeBlanc was significantly speedier, coming across the line in 4:24.55. His outdoor best was 4:38.99 at last year's Doris Heritage Invitational.
 
Venable went 4:28.54 (4:41.53) and Endresen logged a 4:41.98 (4:48.05).
 
In their first collegiate miles, freshman Silas Demmert went the distance in 4:33.76, and sophomore Nathaniel Gale finished in 4:45.96.
 
Taking the top spot among the two heats of elite racers was University of Washington star Luke Houser in 3:51.73. That was both a school record and a Dempsey facility record. The previous standards had been set exactly one year ago by UW's Joe Waskom at 3:51.90.
 
Altogether, the top 15 times broke the four-minute mark, including all eight finishers in the second heat. The range was from Houser's 3:51.79 to 3:59.38.

Across 22 heats, 322 runners got to the finish line.

FASTER THAN EVER
Of the four Falcons who ran the 400-meter dash on Saturday, three of them set indoor personal bests.
 
Leading the way was sophomore Marissa Crane, who came across the finish line in 58.56 seconds, good for 11th place. Her previous best was 58.77. Johanna Brown, a junior, clocked 59.13, beating her low of 59.78. Senior Charisma Smith went 1:01.48, topping the 1:02.04 that she ran two weeks ago on the same Dempsey track.
 
Those three plus senior Aniya Green teamed up on the 4-by-400 relay to place seventh in 3:59.51. SPU's only previous 4-by-400 time this season was 4:03.36 at the UW Indoor Preview two seeks ago.
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
--Senior Kainoa Lee placed 12th in the men's pole vault with a clearance of 14 feet, 10 inches. Freshman Mason Hrcek was 14th at 14-2.
--Senior Lizzy Daugherty tied her season best in the women's pole vault at 11-3 ¾. That gave her a tie for seventh place. Junior Emily Thomason went that same height, tying for 11th based on the fewer-misses tiebreaker.
--Sophomore Hannah Chang came through with her second sub-9 in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking 8,99 seconds for 11th place. Her best is 8.96 at the Spokane Invitational on Dec. 9.
 
UP NEXT
SPU will head to Oregon for two meets next weekend. On Saturday, field eventers and 60-meter sprinters / hurdlers will compete in Newberg at the George Fox Indoor on that school's campus.
 
All of the other track events will be on Sunday at the Portland Indoor at the Chiles Center on the University of Portland campus.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
UW Invitational / Mile City
Friday-Saturday, Jan. 26-27, 2024
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
400 – 1, Madelyn Knight (E. Washington) 56.30.  SPU – 11, Marissa Crane 58.56; 14, Johanna Brown 59.13; 23, Aniya Green 1:00.42; 29, Charisma Smith 1:01.48.
Mile – 1, Jenn Randall (Unattached) 4:32.17.  SPU – 127, Matise Mulch 5:21.14; 141, Maya Ewing 5:27.80; 146, Katelyn Flolo 5:32.51.
5000– 1, Danielle Barrett (UC Davis) 16:23.58.  SPU – 12, Annika Esvelt 16:59.72#.
4x400 relay – 1, Washington 3:47.69.  SPU – 7, Seattle Pacific (Aniya Green, Johanna Brown, Charisma Smith, Marissa Crane) 3:59.51.
60 hurdles – 1, Micaela De Mello (WSU) 8.32.  SPU – 11, Hannah Chang 8.99; 37, Sophie Mock 9.95.
High jump – 1, Elizabeth Tarczy (Fresno State) 5-8 ¾ / 1.75m.  SPU – 24, Paige Kessler 4-11 / 1.50m.
Pole vault – 1, Helen Hoadley (Hawaii) 12-5 ½ / 3.80m.  SPU – T7, Lizzy Daugherty 11-3 ¾ / 3.45m; T11, Emily Thomason 11-3 ¾ / 3.45m.
 
# NCAA provisional qualifying
 
 
NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
UW Invitational
Friday-Saturday, Jan. 26-27, 2024
Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
60-meter dash – 1, TBD.  SPU – 34, Brady Boun 7.40.
Mile – 1, Luke Houser (UW) 3:51.73 (school and facility record; breaks old record of 3:51.90 set in 2023 by Joe Waskom of UW).  SPU – 154, Brennan LeBlanc 4:24.55; 166, Isaac Venable 4:28.54; 193, Silas Demmert 4:33.76; 200, Jonathan Lieb 4:35.62; 209, Kade Franco 4:39.11; 222, Gabe Endresen 4:41.98; 234, Nathaniel Gale 4:45.96.
Pole vault – 1, Jorge Luna-Estes (Unattached) 18-1¼ / 5.52m.  SPU – 12, Kainoa Lee 14-10 / 4.52m; 14, Mason Hrcek 14-2 / 4.32m.

 
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