Feb. 22, 2013
Results
SEATTLE - Washington State junior Drew Jordan scored a stunning win in the men's 5000m and Stephan Scott-Ellis repeated as the men's long jump champion Friday at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle.
Jordan, from Medford, Ore., won the 5k with a personal-best time of 13 minutes 54.35 seconds which ranks in the top 25 nationally based on times coming into this weekend of conference championships. When the field of 21 men reached the halfway point of the race, Jordan moved forward with the front pack of seven which included a trio of Stanford distance specialists. Jordan made his move on the final lap, sprinting to the front of the pack and not looking back, winning by a solid margin. Stanford's Erik Olson finished second in a time of 13:55.66. WSU's Andrew Kimpel finished ninth with a time of 14:14.51.
"This was a huge race and a great job by Drew," Cougar Head Coach Tim Riley has done a great job of bringing that distance corps along and ready to compete at this level."
Scott-Ellis, a senior from Tacoma, leaped a season-best distance of 25-feet 4 3/4 inches (7.74m) on his third attempt which held for the win. The mark was only 1/2 inch off his lifetime-best mark. Scott-Ellis won the MPSF long jump title in 2012 and went on to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Meet. He will triple jump Saturday. Trevor Rogers, a senior from Richmond, Calif., finished seventh in the long jump with a season-best leap of 23-11 (7.28m).
"Stephan commanded the competition and did a great job, nearly reaching his lifetime-best," Sloan said. "And Trevor did a good job with his best mark this season. He barely fouled on his later attempts and was jumping in the mid-24-foot range. That is encouraging for us going forward."
Kristine Felix, a freshman from Wailuku, Hawai'i, was the runner-up in the women's pole vault after clearing an indoor lifetime-best height of 12-feet, 11 inches (3.94m). Felix's vault ranks sixth-best in WSU women's all-time history.
Cindy Robinson, a senior from Norwalk, Calif., finished seventh in the women's 200m race with a time of 24.42 seconds. Dominique Keel was ninth (24.47) and Shawna Fermin took 10th (24.49). A trio of Cougar women ran PR times in the 200m: Bria'una Watley's time was 24.96 (15th), Holly DeHart's time was 25.01 (18th), and Christiana Ekelem's time was 25.25 (25th).
A pair of WSU freshmen scored in the men's 200m with Andre McBride (San Leandro, Calif.) taking fifth in a time of 21.66 and Byron Howell (Seattle) seventh in a PR time of 21.70. Other Cougars in the race were Brett Blanshan (21.80-10th), Dana Wells (22.03-15th), and Terrance Chambers (22.05-16th).
Shaquana Logan ran a season-best 60m hurdles time of 8.56, seventh-fastest of the prelims and will race in the final. Logan, a senior from Tacoma, left the track and went to the infield where she scored a point for the Cougs with an eighth-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 18-6 (5.64m).
It was not a good evening for WSU weight throwers Travis Pickett, who finished 13th (51-3 3/4/15.64m) and Chris Baltazar, who took 16th (47-9/14.55m).
In other women's preliminary action, Robinson's 60m dash time of 7.55 was seventh-fastest of the prelims and Keel's PR time of 7.62 was ninth, just missing the final by 7/100s second. Holly DeHart also ran a 60m dash PR time of 7.78 (25th).
In men's preliminary heats, Ramsey Hopkins ran the 60m hurdles in a season-best time of 8.17 which was fourth-fastest on the day and he advanced to the final. Aric Walden's time of 8.21 was ninth, just 2/100s second off the last qualifying time. Garret Gerling (8.45) and Josiah Sims, who fell at the first hurdle, did not advance to the hurdles final. McBride's 60m dash PR time of 6.83 was ninth overall, just missing the final by less than 1/100s second. Greg Hornsby ran a prelim time of 6.84 (10th) and Rogers ran a time of 6.90 (17th).
After the first day of the men's heptathlon, Sean Harris is in eighth place with a first-day total of 2,789 points, and Spencer Wordell is 12th with a four-event total of 2,669 points. Harris, a senior from Kent, Wash., ran a season-best 60m dash time of 7.36, long jumped 20-6 1/2 (6.26m), high jumped 6-0 3/4 (1.85m), threw the shot put 40-9 1/2 (12.43m), and high jumped 6-5 1/2 (1.97m). Wordell, a junior from Spokane, ran a PR time in the 60m dash of 7.09, long jumped 20-9 1/4 (6.33m), threw the shot put a PR distance of 38-4 1/4 (11.69m), and high jumped 5-9 1/4 (1.76m). Donovan Toban from Northridge is the heptathlon leader with 3,295 points.
After six events in the men's team standings, Arizona State is in first place with 55.5 points with California second with 32 points. Washington State is third with 28 points followed by Stanford (26.5). In the women's team standings, after seven scored events, UCLA leads with 45.5 points with Arizona State second with 41 points and Stanford third with 34. WSU has 11 points for 11th.
"Our men's and women's sprinters really got it going," Sloan said. "Cindy Robinson did a great job in the 60m and the 200m. The heptathletes are going good and we'll get out and get after it tomorrow and get some points."
"I think the Cougars were noticeable in two ways at this championship meet," Sloan said. "One, with our beautiful new uniforms and by the way we competed. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and more of the same."
The MPSF Championship action continues Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. Streaming video and live results are available online through the schedule page at www.wsucougars.com.
