Saint Martin’s University senior Shannon Porter was named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after breaking her own school record in the 1,500 meters at the Puget Sound Invitational, the first outdoor meet of the season.
The Hockinson High School graduate won the event with a time of 4 minutes, 32.30 seconds, a personal best by three seconds and a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Division II championships.
Porter’s previous school record was 4:35.32 set last season.
“Shannon is fit right now so it is no surprise on the time she ran,” SMU coach Jim Brewer told the website smusaints.com. “She is gearing up for indoor nationals and is looking forward to representing Saint Martin’s University in Kansas.”
The NCAA-II outdoor championships are Thursday through Saturday in Pittsburg, Kan.
The previous week, Porter finished third in the 3,000 meters at the SPU Final Qualifier on Feb. 27 at Seattle Pacific University.
Porter’s time of 9:38.79 broke her own school record of 9:51.99.
That result put Porter in 11th place on the NCAA-II performance list.
“Shannon ran awesome,” Brewer told smusaints.com. “We had a good plan going into today’s race and she executed perfectly. Shannon ran a smart race with a lot of heart. Three laps into the race she made a strategic move surging in the race that helped her stay in a fast rhythm. Super proud and excited for her.”
At the GNAC indoor championships Feb. 20-21 at Nampa, Idaho, Porter finished third in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:15.87 and fifth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:57.88.
Track and field
SPU’s Decker heads to NCAA-II nationals
Seattle Pacific University senior Lynelle Decker is making her fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II indoor track and field championships.
This year’s meet is Friday and Saturday in Pittsburg, Kan.
The Mountain View High School graduate, the No. 4 seed in the 800 meters, will also run the leadoff 1,200-meter leg of the Falcons’ distance medley relay, and with the SPU 1,600 relay.
It will mark Decker’s 10th NCAA-II nationals appearance, with three in cross country and three in outdoor track with her senior season still ahead.
Track and field
GCU’s Olstead wins WAC triple jump title
Grand Canyon University juinor Andrea Olstead won the women’s triple jump at the Western Athletic Conference indoor championships Feb. 26-27 at Nampa, Idaho.
The Battle Ground High School graduate leapt 40 feet, 4 inches to win the event by 15 1/2 inches. She was also fifth in the long jump with a mark of 18-2 1/4 . She scored 14 team points to help the Lopes win a third consecutive WAC team title with 253 points, 134 points ahead of runner-up Missouri-Kansas City.
Track and field
Cornell’s Tedder fourth in Ivy indoor mile
Cornell University junior Mark Tedder placed fourth in the mile run at the Ivy League Heptagonals indoor championships hosted by the Big Red on Feb. 27-28 in Ithaca, N.Y.
The Battle Ground High School graduate’s time was 4 minutes, 14.72 seconds. Columbia’s Rob Napolitano won in 4:13.83.
The program’s Twitter account @CornellTFXC posted: “9 months ago he had mono and a stress fracture. Now (Tedder) is on the podium.”
On Sunday, Tedder finished second in the 3-kilometer run at the IC4A Championships meet of the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America covering the New England and Mid-Atlantic states.
Tedder made a bold move to the front at 1,600 meters at the Boston meet, according to cornellbigred.com, finishing in 8:02.77 — good for third place on the Cornell all-time list. He ran negative splits of 2:46-2:43-2:33 for each kilomter, covering the last 400 meters in 57.7 seconds.
Softball
Aggies’ Schroeder wins complete game
Utah State freshman pitcher Katie Schroeder threw her second complete game of the season Sunday, allowing just three hits in the Aggies’ 5-1 win over Santa Clara at UC Riverside’s Highlander Classic.
The Camas High School graduate threw a collegiate career-high five strikeouts, allowing three hits and no walks with one earned run. Schroeder (2-0, 3.69 ERA) is second on the team in innings pitched this season.
Golf
Bartek helps Hornets set school record
Sacramento State junior Chloe Bartek tied for 12th place in the individual race, leading the Hornets to a seventh-place tie at the Fresno State Classic on Monday and Tuesday at San Joaquin Country Club.
The Columbia River High School graduate shot 76-72–148 as the Hornets shot a school-record 286 on Tuesday, the lowest round for any of the 14 participating teams.
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