PORTLAND, Ore. – Running in their last opportunities to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Round, the Gonzaga women's and men's track teams completed their regular seasons at the Portland Distance Carnival Saturday.
Ellie Armbruster broke the women's 800-meter program record at 2:10.13. The Portland native placed fifth in the race but was the second collegiate finisher.
Leighton Joy was second in the third heat with a time of 2:23.88.
Rosina Machu finished second in the women's 1,500 meters with a time of 4:21.70, which ranks third all-time at GU.
Sadie Tuckwood was sixth at 4:26.01,
Alicia Anderson was 11
th at 4:31.73, and
Caramia Mestler ran the program's eighth-fastest time in the event 4:31.84, placing 12
th.
Brittney Hansen was second in the second heat, and 14
th overall, crossing the line at 4:34.23.
In the men's 800 meters,
Riley Moore ran 3:51.74 with splits of 45.82-61.80-62.78-61.14-62.97 to finish 10
th in the event. The junior jumped out of the gate in the first and fastest heat.
Kyle Radosevich was a mere second off his personal record in the event, placing fourth in the second heat and 15
th overall at 3:53.33. Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Pat Tyson said Kyle deviated from the race plan by leading the first 800, but still stayed composed over last 800 with splits of 62.7 and 60.16.
Paul Talens had a Top-10 finish in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, placing ninth with a time of 9:19.75. The freshman was followed by
Quentin Rickey's 15
th-place finish at 9:58.58.
In the final heat of the men's 5,000 meters, four Gonzaga underclassmen earned quality experience led by
Aidan Baughan's 12
th-place finish at 14:37.98. Freshman
Ansel Tucker was right behind in 13
th with a time of 14:40.60. Nicola DiMartino and
Will Thorsett crossed the line at 14:46.95 and 14:57.82 respectively.
Sean Janecko and
Caleb Richardson ran unattached but won their heats at the meet. Janecko won the third heat of the 1,500 meters with a personal record time of 3:59.27. Richardson placed first in the second section of the 5,000 meters at 15:21.14.
For each individual event contested at each of the Preliminary Round sites, the top 48 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. The complete field of participants for the NCAA West Preliminaries will be released this coming week. The NCAA West Preliminary Round is May 24-27 in Sacramento, Calif.
