April 30, 2003

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

by Butch Kamena

Ashlee Vincent, the top distance runner on the Western Washington University women's track and field team, hears it all the time - "You're just a sophomore, you've got two more years left."

But they're wrong. Vincent's time as a Viking concludes this spring, most likely with a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II National Championships. After that, she'll transfer to the University of Portland to pursue and engineering degree not available at Western.

Vincent, the 2001 state Class 3A state champion in the 1,600 meters as a senior at Bellingham's Squalicum High School, knew from the beginning she wouldn't be completing her education at Western, but with the agreement of Western coach Pee Wee Halsell, decided at least to start out there.

"I wasn't quite ready to leave Bellingham, I wanted to stay a little bit longer," said Vincent. I talked to Pee Wee about it and we knew it would be for either two or three years."

She made an impact from the start. In two years of cross country, she was Western's top finisher in every race she ran, and won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference individual title both seasons.

In track, Vincent had provisional qualifying marks for the national meet in the 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 meters as a freshman, eventually competing in the 3,000 but not reaching the finals. She's hit the qualifying standard again in all three this year, although her focus for the national meet will be the 5,000.

"We knew from the beginning she wanted to be an engineer and would be leaving," said Halsell, who helped Vincent find a good place to transfer. "It saddens me she's going, not just because she's a great athlete, but because she's a classy person. I really admire her - she's humble and she brings out the best in other people. You don't want to lose that."

Vincent will continue to compete at Portland, an NCAA I program, but even so there's a sense of finality about this season.

"It's my last year at the Division II level, and I think that's made me work harder to achieve things," she said. "I want to go back to nationals again, and although championship races are so tactical it's hard to run great times, I'd like to finish in the top five in the 5,000, even a little higher."