Men's 55-Hurdle and Mile Records Fall at Rose-Hulman Engineer Invitational

RESULTS

Terre Haute, Ind., January 29, 2011 — The Washington University in St. Louis men’s 55-meter hurdle and mile records fell as the men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams were in competition at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Engineer Invitational on Saturday afternoon in Terre Haute, Ind.

The Washington U. men’s and women’s teams each finished second overall in the team standings out of 12 schools entered in the competition. The WUSTL women’s team tallied 116 points while the men’s squad totaled 121. Monmouth College (Ill.) swept won the men’s and women’s team titles.

Washington University junior hurdlers Dan Davis and Tyler Jackson continued their assault on the WUSTL record book with stellar performances in the 55-hurdles at the Engineer Invite.

Davis posted a time of 7.50 in the finals, which set a new Washington University record, eclipsing the old mark of 7.53, while also automatically qualifying him for the 2011 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. Jackson’s time in the 55-hurdles was also impressive, he finished a mere 0.12 seconds behind Davis to finish second in the event and meet provisional qualifying standards for the NCAA Championships.

Senior Dave Spandorfer had perhaps the most impressive performance of the day because of his finishes in two races. Spandorfer placed third in the mile with a time of 4:15.20, which stands as a provisional time for the NCAA meet in March and also set a new Washington University record. He also finished second in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:48.49, with teammate Michael Burnstein claiming the top spot in that race with a time of 8:47.75.

The WUSTL women’s team saw three competitors claim first-place finishes on Saturday. Sophomore Anne Diaz-Arrastia won the triple jump with a distance of 10.86 meters, and was also the runner-up in the long jump, leaping 5.16 meters.

Freshman Anna Etherington won the pole vault by clearing 3.20 meters and senior Sangeeta Hardy ran a season-best time of 2:19.53 in the 800-meter to finish in first.

Rounding out the top Engineer Invitational performances for the women’s team, junior Liz Phillips came in second in the 3,000 (10:42.11), senior Jessica Londeree was the runner-up in the mile (5:13.92) and junior Erica Jackey finished just 0.22 behind Hardy in the 800-meter to grab the second position.

Senior Ben Harmon won the long jump in the men’s competition with a distance of 6.92 meters, senior Chris Brennan finished second in the 800 (1:59.78) and senior Chris Malaya was third in the 400 (50.81).

The Washington U. men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams return to action next weekend for a two-day competition at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill. The Bob Keck Pentathlon takes place Friday, Feb. 4, starting at 4 p.m., while the Invitational follows on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m.