Washington’s top-ranked pole vault program stole the show on Day 2 of the NCAA West regional track and field prelims in Fayetteville, Arkansas. After three Huskies – freshmen Hana and Amanda Moll and senior Nastassja Campbell – swept the podium at the Pac-12 championship meet, all three advanced to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon in early June.
They proved to be the Huskies’ only national qualifiers of the day, although several women also advanced to the final rounds on the track.
The pole vault competition was fierce in Fayetteville, with 16 women vying for 12 spots as the bar was raised to 14-1 1/4. Junior Sara Borton, who was No. 5 at the Pac-12 meet, joined the trio in that top 16. She started with clearances of 12-11 1/2, 13-5 1/4, and 13-9 1/4 but faltered on what ended up being the qualifying bar and finished No. 16.
Amanda Moll didn’t enter the competition until 13-5 1/4, needing all three attempts to clear the height. But the freshman got better as the bar got higher, clearing 13-9 1/4 on her second attempt and breezing over the 14-1 1/4 bar on her first try to qualify easily.
Hana, Amanda’s twin sister, waited until 13-9 1/4 to come into the competition, clearing it on her first try. The NCAA Indoor champion took an extra try to get over the 14-1 1/4 mark, but safely qualified in only three jumps all day.
Campbell also joined in at 13-9 1/4, clearing it on her final attempt. Like Hana, she needed two attempts to get over the 14-1 1/4 bar, but any clearance at that height was good enough for qualification. 12 women remained clear after the mark, exactly the number set to advance to nationals.
In the throws, Kaia Tupu-South tossed a season-best 55-5 1/2 in the shot put, but finished five inches outside the top 12 and settled for a season-ending No. 15. Hammer thrower Beatrice Asomaning finished No. 30 with a throw of 184-11. Both will return on Saturday to throw the discus.
Javelin thrower Natalie Holmer needed a personal best in the final round at the Pac-12 meet to qualify for this meet. She tapped into that magic again on Thursday, launching a 159-7 throw that bettered her Pac-12 mark by a foot. It was her last throw as a Husky, as she finished No. 21, but moved her to No. 8 in school history in the event.
400m hurdler Kapiolani Coleman (No. 36), 10,000 meter runner Haley Herberg (No. 16), 800 meter runner Marlena Preigh (No. 32), and 1500 meter runner India Weir (No. 33) also missed the cutoff for advancement. Coleman could not find the stride that led to a 58.53 PR at the Pac-12 Championships and finished in 1:00.12.
Herberg failed to advance to her third straight outdoor 10,000 meter final, but finishes her Husky career with the indoor school record in the 5,000 meter and the second-fastest 10,000 meter time in Washington history. Preigh finished No. 6 in her heat in 2:08.28, and Weir finished No. 8 in hers with a time of 4:26.15.
Four Huskies did advance to the final rounds of regionals, held on Saturday. Pac-12 champion Chloe Foerster won her heat in 4:19.05 to automatically qualify at No. 9 overall in the 1500m. Sophie O’Sullivan joined her with an auto qualifying No. 2 finish in her heat, running the No. 17 fastest time at 4:20.35, a season best that could have been better because O’Sullivan eased up at the finish knowing she was through to the next round.
In the 800 meters, Wilma Nielsen and Samantha Friborg hit the top three in their respective heats, auto qualifying for the final rounds on Saturday. Friborg ran the No. 5 fastest time of the day, winning her heat in 2:04.09. Nielsen was the slowest qualifier of the day, but finished third in her heat to secure a spot in Saturday’s final heats nonetheless, running a 2:07.54 despite some early physicality as runners jostled for position.
Washington is now up to seven bids and counting for June’s NCAA Championships. Decathlete Jami Schlueter was joined by three Husky men on Wednesday. The events in Fayetteville continue Friday and Saturday with final heats on the track and selected field events.
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