March 15, 2003

Complete Results

TACOMA, Wash. - The debut may have been a belated one, but it was a good one nonetheless as Western Washington University won the overall championship and both the men's and women's division crowns at the 31st annual Pacific Lutheran University Salzman Invitational Track and Field meet Saturday.

The Vikings had been scheduled to open last week at the Central Washington University Invitational, but the meet was canceled because of weather considerations.

"We went in there and competed," said Western coach Pee Wee Halsell. "The exciting thing was that it wasn't just a few events, but across the board. It really shows the depth of both squads."

Ashlee Vincent (So., Bellingham/Squalicum) led Western as she won the women's 5,000-meters with a provisional national qualifying time of 17:42.85. Pacing the men was Zach Boteilho (Sr., Camas), who used a strong finishing kick to win the men's 5,000 in 15:17.06.

Western scored 164-1/2 points in the 11-team women's division. Seattle Pacific was second with 133, Central Washington third (118-1/2) and Pacific Lutheran fourth (102-1/3).

Dania Swosinski (Jr., Tacoma/Wilson) ran legs on the winning women's 4x100 (48.92) and 4x400 (4:05.40) relay teams. She also placed second in both the 200 (25.94) and 400 (59.43).

Amy Kruckeberg (Fr., Lake Stevens) took the women's high jump (5-1 3/4), and Melissa Behrens (Jr., Redmond/Eastlake) anchored the 4x100 relay and placed second in the 100 (12.57).

Stacey Hopkins (Jr., Sammamish/Eastlake) was second in the javelin (125-7) as was Jessica Telleria (Fr., Boise, ID) in the discus (127-11), and Kim Radke (Fr., East Wenatchee/Eastmont) finished third in the hammer throw (116-5).

In the 13-team men's division, Western had 192-1/2 points, 78 ahead of runner-up Highline CC (114-1/2). Central Washington was third (113), Pacific Lutheran fourth (90-1/2) and Seattle Pacific fifth (64).

The Vikings' Adam Cleveland (Fr., Spokane/West Valley) led a 1-2-3 sweep in the pole vault, clearing 14-11 1/2. Hunter Verner (So., Nashville, TN) was second and Scott Romney (So., Gig Harbor) third.

Chris McClung (Jr., Vancouver/Skyline) and Jacob Petz (Fr., Pullman) ran legs on a victorious 4x100 relay (42.73) and on a 4x400 relay that placed third (3:27.53). McClung was third in the 200 (22.81) as was Petz in the 100 (11.19).

Paul Danforth (Fr., Kent/Kennedy) was second in both the long jump (21-2) and triple jump (41-3), and Peter Allan (So., Bellevue/Interlake) was runner-up in the high jump (6-4).

T.J. Garlatz (Sr., Redmond/Inglemoor) placed third in the 1500 (4:05.93).

The University of Washington, which had won the last four team titles, did not compete in the meet. The previous 11 meet championships were won by Pacific Lutheran.

Next Saturday (10 a.m.), Western competes in the University of Washington Preview meet at Seattle.