VANCOUVER, B.C. – Getting back up to full speed has been a slow, steady journey for Issac Venable.
 
But the Seattle Pacific junior just continues getting faster and faster.
 
Venable kept that trend going on Saturday when he posted a career-best mark of 15 minutes, 22.34 seconds in the 5000 meters at the UBC Open.
 
 

Altogether, that makes five personal-best marks during the current academic year: one in cross country, two for indoor track and now two outdoors. On the stopwatch,  those five add up to 54.23 seconds of improvement from his five previous PBs.

Venable's time at the Rashpal Dhillon Track & Field Oval was 12-plus seconds quicker than his previous best outdoor 5K time of 15:34.97 set last April 27 at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational in Bellingham. Saturday's performance gave him sixth place in the second of two heats and 20th overall.
 
That was Venable's second sizable personal best mark this spring. At the season-opening Ed Boitano Invitational on Feb. 28 in Tacoma, he clocked 32:04.76 in the 10,000, a drop of 22-plus seconds from his previous best of 32:27.17.
 
A health matter kept Venable sidelined for most of last fall's cross country season. He was able to get back on the course in time for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships last October, and in fact ran his fastest-ever cross country 8K that day. He went the distance in 26:28.4, an eight-second improvement from his previous best.
 
During the winter indoor track season, Venable ran his speediest mile, 4:24.79 at the UW Invitational on Feb. 1, a drop of nearly four seconds from his old PB of 4:28.54. Then at the GNAC Indoor Championships on Feb. 17 in Spokane, he went 15:28.24 in the 5000, good for 10th place. His previous indoor best was 15:34.48.
 
ROWLAND RACKS UP TWO MORE
Freshman sprinter Evey Rowland won two more heat races on Friday, pushing her season total to four.
 
 

Rowland was first to the finish line in her section of the 400-meter dash and later in the 200 dash. Her 400 time of 58.95 was not only a personal best, it was her first sub one-minute effort outdoors. Her previous best was 1:00.25. She broke the one-minute mark once indoors with a 59.73 at the GNAC meet, giving her eighth place and one team point.
 
Rowland finished fourth overall in Saturday's 400, her highest-ever individual placing. She was ninth overall in the 200 with her time of 26.37.
 
This was the second meet in which Rowland has won two heats. She took her sections of the 100 and 200 at the PLU Open on March 8.
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
-- After a pair of All-American seventh-place finishes in the 3000 and 5000 at NCAA indoors two weeks ago, Annika Esvelt ran her first outdoor race of the season, placing third in the 1500 in 4:35.05. That was just shy of her personal-best 4:34.73 at last year's Ralph Vernacchia Invite.
-- Freshman Andew Bell ran a personal-best 58.97 in the men's 400 hurdles (previous best 59.32) and won his heat of the 100 dash in 11.59.
-- Freshman Robert Joshua won his heat of he men's 400 in 51.08, dropping more than a full second from his previous best of 52.22. He was ninth overall. Fellow freshman Justin Brooks was fourth overall in 49.24.
-- Isaac Venable wasn't the only Falcon taking a big time drop in the 5000. In the women's race, junior Katelyn Flolo finished in 18:21.22. That was 21.5 seconds faster than her previous best of 18:42.72 in 2023.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons have an unusual tripleheader this coming week.
 
Most of the team will be in Spokane for the Whitworth Peace Meet on Friday at the Pine Bowl. Competition begins at noon.. A select group of distance runners will race at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic in San Francisco. The 10,000 meters is on Thursday;  other events are on Friday. A time schedule has not yet been released.
 
The other meet is the prestigious Stanford Invitational at Cobb Track. Annika Esvelt will run in the 5000 meters (Friday, 6:55 or 8:11 p.m.); Maya Ewing is in the 3000 steeplechase (Friday, 5:06 p.m.).
 

NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
UBC Open
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Rashpal Dhillon Track & Field Oval / Vancouver, B.C.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
100 – 1, Emma Cannan (Simon) 11.94.  SPU – 10, Johanna Brown 12.85; 11, Jada Sarrys 12.87; 29, Kaitlyn Askay 14.86.
200 – 1, Jaylah Dennis (Coquitlam Cheetahs) 25.22.  SPU – 7, Jada Sarrys 26.15; 8, Johanna Brown 26.19; 9, Evey Rowland 26.37; 17, Sophie Hanay 27.54; 21, Maliyah Hicks 28.62.
400 – 1, Hanna Sobkowich (UBC) 55.91.  SPU – 4, Evey Rowland 58.95; 10, Sophie Hanay 1:01.11.
800 – 1, Alexa Dow (Prairie Inn Harriers) 2:10.50.  SPU – 10, Lucia Templeton 2:24.43.
1500 – 1, Danielle Rawlinson (Performance Elite) 4:31.93.  SPU – 3 Annika Esvelt 4:35.05; 8, Maya Ewing 4:41.34; 16, Madelyn Buckley 4:53.25; 17, Anna Prussian 4:54.57; 25, Alexa Gossett 4:59.52; 27, Matise Mulch 5:01.47.
5000 – 1, Holly McGillivray (UBC) 16:04.85.  SPU – 9, Katelyn Flolo 18:21.22; 11, Ella Milanovich 19:22.89.
100 hurdles – 1, Tanya Dhanoa (UBC) 14.80.  SPU – 3, Sophie Mock 17.54.
400 hurdles – 1, Mia Cameron (UBC) 1:03.31.  SPU – 4, Sophie Mock 1:14.68.
Long jump – 1, Amelia Cha (*UBC) 18-11½ / 5.78m.  SPU – 6, Sophie Hanay 16-1¼ / 4.91m; 7, Sophie Mock 16-0½ / 4.89m; 12, Maliyah Hicks 13-11¼ / 4/23m.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
UBC Open
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Rashpal Dhillon Track & Field Oval / Vancouver, B.C.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
100 – 1, Jacob Hall (Simon) 10.70.  SPU – 13, Andrew Bell 11.59; 34, Mikel Saxon 12.87.
200 – 1, Nathan George (Coquitlam Cheetahs) 21.34.  SPU – 7, Robert Joshua 22.37; 27,  Mason Hrcek 25.29.
400 – 1, Logan Peterson (UBC) 48.23.  SPU – 4, Justin Brooks 49.24; 9, Robert Joshua 51.08; 22, Mason Hrcek 57.93.
800 – 1, Spencer Hardy (UBC) 1:53.34.  SPU – 17, Ethan Erickson 2:00.94'; 22, Nathan Korth 2:04.97.
5000 – 1, Thomas Broatch (Vancouver Thunderbirds) 14:12.26.  SPU – 20, Isaac Venable 15:22.34; 32, Nathaniel Gale 16:17.95; 33, Gabe Endresen 16:26.97
400 hurdles – 1, Hayden Hall (Simon) 55.55.  SPU – 3, Andrew Bell 58.97.
 
 
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