Elliott Rolls To Record, Vaulters And Jumpers Soar

SEATTLE – Cass Elliott showed the strength and endurance that made him the Pac-12 400-meter hurdles champion last spring and applied it to the 800-meters tonight, breaking the Washington indoor school record in the event as one of the big highlights from Saturday’s array of action at the UW Invitational.
 
Along with Elliott’s school record, the Huskies had eight event wins, eleven more runner-up finishes, and especially outstanding marks from the pole vault pit and the long jump runway inside the Dempsey.
 
Elliott has focused on the 800-meters indoors the past few seasons, helping the Husky distance medley relay with the 800-meter leg, then transitioning to the 400m hurdles outdoors. Early runs this year prove he has a shot as an individual NCAA qualifier indoors, as he ran a 600m Dempsey Record two weeks ago, and followed that today with a 1:47.22 to break Izaic Yorks’ 2016 indoor school record of 1:47.89. Yorks also had his mile school record broken by four of UW’s eight sub-four milers Friday night, so it was a tough weekend atop the records for the former Husky All-American.
 
Elliott is now up to No. 4 in the NCAA this season.
 
The women’s 800-meters also produced some fireworks, as Pac-12 Champ Carley Thomas ran the distance for the first time this season and won in 2:03.64, going to sixth in the NCAA rankings. Right behind Thomas was junior Marlena Preigh, who PR’d by more than a second with a time of 2:04.95 that moves her to No. 2 in UW history behind Thomas, and to No. 14 in the NCAA. Freshman Chloe Foerster also kept pace with the veterans, placing sixth in 2:06.12, now the No. 6 time in school history in her first time racing the 800m in college. Six of the top-seven women’s 800-meter times in school history are held by current Huskies.

Guys, don’t hurt him, he’s an 18-foot vaulter now! ????

Jacob Englar‘s second ???? of the day and third this season launched him to third in UW history at 18-1 1/4 with only NCAA Champions Brad Walker and Scott Roth in front of him ??

What a first two meets ??#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/42LtljyN2M

— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) January 29, 2023

 
Three transfers continued to make huge impacts…