McMINNVILLE, Ore. – At the start of the regular season, Mason Hrcek wasn't even able to compete because of an ankle injury.
 
By the end of the regular season on Saturday, the Seattle Pacific freshman was not only competing, he was picking up his first college victory.
 
Hrcek cleared an outdoor best 14 feet to win the men's pole vault, one of three Falcons W's on Saturday at the Linfield Open.
 
Joining Hrcek in first place at the Linfield Catdome were Emily Thomason in the women's pole vault and Johanna Brown in the women's 400-meter dash.
 
 

"It felt good, even despite all the rain and all that – it was pretty nasty," Hrcek said. "I wasn't able to be like my 100 percent best because I'm still recovering from the ankle injury, so there's still that to work with. But other than that, I was working through it and on keeping my mental spacer clear and to not tell myself that I can't jump.
 
"That was my main work – just telling myself that I'm doing well, that I can jump well and all that."
 
During the winter indoor season, Hrcek got off to a high-flying start. In just his second meet, the graduate of Mountlake Terrace High School in Lynnwood, just north of Seattle, set a school indoor record when he got over the bar at 15 feet, 5¾ inches at the UW Indoor Preview.
 
But at February's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in Spokane, he landed wrong on his final attempt at 14-8¼ and subsequently wound up on the sidelines for the entire month of March, missing the first five meets of the outdoor season.
 
"Basically, I came down and kind of inverted (my ankle). Because I landed with all my force on it, it was pretty bad," said Hrcek, who was on crutches and in a boot for a few weeks.
 
Hrcek returned to the runway on April 5 at the Doris Heritage Invitational in Renton. He got over four bars, finishing the day at 13-7.
 
"I was talking with our athletic trainers and with Coach Kate (Carlson), and we were looking at hopefully getting back by the Doris Heritage meet," he said. "Luckily enough, I was able to get back and jump at that meet."
 
Prior to Saturday, Hrcek's last clearance was 13-5¾ on April 20 at the Wildcat Invitational. Now, he gets to head to Ellensburg for the GNAC Championships on May 10-11 with some added confidence – and a bit of upward momentum.
 
"It definitely helps and lets me know that it' still possible to keep climbing, even despite the injury and other stuff. It shows me that I can keep working at it."

 

 Thomason made it a pole vault sweep for SPU, going 11-9 to win the women's competition. That marked the third straight a Falcon has won, following first-place finishes by Lizzy Daugherty in 2022 and 2023. Thomason's win was her first this season and her second for SPU.

 

 Brown teamed up with Marissa Crane for a 1-2 finish in the 400. Her winning time was 57.97, with Crane next at 59.64. That was the second time this season Brown has crossed the finish line ahead of everyone else. The first one was in the 800 at the season-opening Ed Boitano Invitational at Puget Sound in Tacoma, when she beat not only everyone on the track, but also an onslaught of hail.
 


AND THAT'S NOT ALL
--Freshman Paige Kessler finished second in the high jump at 4-11¾. She went the same height as Marina Carrol of George Fox, but Carrol got the higher position on the fewer-misses tiebreaker.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will head to Ellensburg next Friday and Saturday, May 10-11, for the GNAC Championships at the CWU Recreation Sports Complex. On Friday, field events start at 1:15 p.m. and track races at 2:15. All field events will be finals. All track events will be preliminaries except for the 3000-meter steeplechase and the 10,000 meters.
 
Saturday's competition begins at 11:30 a.m. in the field and 1:40 p.m. on the track. The last race is set for 5:45 p.m., followed by team and individual award ceremonies.

 
NCAA WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Linfield Open
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Linfield Catdome / McMinnville, Ore.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
400 – 1, Johanna Brown (SPU) 57.97.  Other SPU – 2, Marissa Crane 59.64.
High jump – 1, Marina Carrol (George Fox) 4-11¾ / 1.52m.  SPU – 2, Paige Kessler 4-11¾ / 1.52m (Carrol gets higher position on fewer-misses tiebreaker); Sophie Mock no height.
Pole vault – 1, Emily Thomason 11-9 / 3.58m.  Other SPU – Lizzy Daugherty no height.
Long jump – 1, Mayah Pappas (Bushnell-Oregon) 18-4¼ / 5.59m.  SPU – 10, Sophie Mock 16-8½ / 5.09m; 14, Paige Kessler 16-10½ / 4.84m.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Linfield Open
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Linfield Catdome / McMinnville, Ore.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
800 – 1, Cooper Carlson (Lewis & Clark – Idaho) 1:57.15.  SPU – 16 Jonathan Lieb 2:02.19.
1500 – 1, Kobe Wessels (Lewis & Clark) 3:56.00.  SPU – 20, Ben Sheirbon 4:28.60.
Pole vault – 1, Mason Hrcek (SPU) 14-0 / 4.27m.  Other SPU – Mikel Saxon no height.


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