Bears Capture Five UAA Titles on First Day of Conference Meet

St. Louis, Mo., April 24, 2010 – The Washington University in St. Louis men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams combined to win five conference titles on the first day of the 2010 University Athletic Association (UAA) Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, April 24, at the Bushyhead Track in St. Louis, Mo.

Washington University swept the pole vault and long jump titles on Saturday; the Bears accomplished the same feat in the pole vault in 2009. Junior Katie Hered repeated as the women’s pole vault champion, clearing a season-best height of 3.45 meters, while junior Scott Pettit captured the UAA outdoor title for the first time since 2008. In very wet and rainy conditions, Pettit set a mark of 4.50 meters.

Junior Ben Harmon repeated as the men’s long jump champion, leaping 6.94 meters on Saturday. Freshman Anne Diaz-Arrastia won the women’s title with a mark of 5.58 meters.

Senior Alden Black rounded out the Bears’ first-day conference champions, winning the final event of the day, the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Black passed New York University’s Calvin Lee during the final 200-meters of the race, sprinting to the finish for an NCAA Division III outdoor championship provisional qualifying finish of 9:18.92. His time was 3.5 seconds shy of the UAA Outdoor Championship record.

Both squads featured three other All-UAA finishes on Saturday. On the women’s side, senior Hana Damore was the runner-up in the hammer throw, recording a season-best and NCAA provisional distance of 48.19 meters. Junior Taryn Surtees finished second in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 36:50.19, a provisional performance but not her fastest of the year.

Junior Hope Rathnam came in third in the 3,000-steeplechase, finishing in 11:38.55. Rathnam crossed the finish line fourth in the 3,000-steeple, but moved up to third when Emory University’s Natalie Fenn was disqualified for placing her hands on the final hurdle of the race.

For the WUSTL men, senior Tyler Gordon placed third in the javelin with a season-best throw of 51.49 meters, Harmon was the runner-up in the pole vault, clearing 4.40 meters, and sophomore Michael Burnstein placed second in the 10,000, finishing in 31:15.14.

The women’s team will feature seven student-athletes in running finals on Sunday afternoon, with four of those runners competing in the 800-meter. Junior Kelli Blake sits first after the 800 preliminaries with a time of 2:15.35, and sophomore Liz Phillips (2:15.54), senior Molly Schlamb (2:16.15) and sophomore Erica Jackey (2:16.72) will join her in the 800 final.

Freshman Jennifer Ibe is seeded second in the 100-hurdles finals with a prelim time of 15.95, senior Allison Lee posted a mark of 1:06.02 to advance to the 400-hurdle finals, and senior Caitlin Hartsell will run in the 200 final after a prelim time of 26.82.

The Washington U. men’s team will see 10 student-athletes compete in six different track finals on Sunday. Sophomore Dan Davis will run in the 110-hurdles (15.00), the 100-meter dash (11.18) and the 400-hurdles (57.52). Sophomore Tyler Jackson will compete in the 110-hurdles (15.24) and the 400-hurdles (57.06), while graduate student Pierre Hoppenot will run in the 100 (11.24) and 200 (22.48) finals.

Junior Tom Gulyas also qualified for the final in two events, the 100 (11.37) and the 200 (22.92), and he was the heat two winner in the 200. The Bears will add a third competitor to the 110-hurdles, Harmon, who qualified with a time of 15.93.

In the 400 final will be senior Chris Malaya (50.23) and sophomore Chris LaBarge (51.22). WUSTL will have three runners in the 800 final, junior Chris Brennan (54.69), senior Tim Meahl (1:57.60) and sophomore Matt Rickard (1:57.86).

The 2010 UAA Outdoor Championships will conclude on Sunday, April 25, at the Bushyhead Track in St. Louis, Mo. Because of the threat of inclement weather on Sunday afternoon, the meet start has been moved up to Sunday morning at 9 a.m.