SEATTLE, Wash. – Western Washington University senior sprinter Daniel Jones moved into the program top 10 with a career-best time in the 100m and sophomore Bryant Welch equaled his 8th-best time in program history in the 200m to highlight the Vikings performances at the Ken Shannon Invitational on Saturday at Husky Outdoor Track.
The event concluded the Vikings 2019 regular season, with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships to be held next weekend in Monmouth, Oregon.
Jones, a senior out of Ferndale High School, finished 6th out of 11 runners in the 100m with a personal-best time of 10.84 to tie for 9th-best in WWU history. Racing in the first of two heats, Jones ran with a +3.2 tailwind, which is under the 4.0 allowed by the NCAA for qualification standards. Senior Angelo Fernandez (Kent, WA/Kentwood) placed 8th also setting a personal-best in 11.22 (+1.8 wind).
Welch (Burien, WA/Mount Rainier) finished 4th out of 13 competitors in the 200m equaling his personal-best time of 21.80 set at last year’s Ken Shannon Invitational. The mark last year was obtained with a +4.2 wind reading, so this will enter the WWU record book as 8th-fastest in program history.
Jones concluded a solid two weeks where he has set personal-best marks in the 400m Ralph Vernacchia Track & Field Meet), 200m and 100m (both on Saturday). Jones ran his first sub-11-second 100m and sub 22-second 200m of his career, placing 4th in the 200m on Saturday in 21.94, just outside of the program top-10. Sophomore Myles Smith (Puyallup, WA) finished 6th in 22.40 and Fernandez was 8th in the 200m clocking a personal-best time of 22.66 (previous best was 23.11).
Former Viking All-American and school record holder Alex Donigian placed 2nd in the 100m in 10.46.
Freshman Ryan Witters (Bothell, WA) won the 400m in 51.20 and junior Cordell Cummings (Lake Stevens, WA/Arlington) won the 400m Hurdles in 52.62.
On the women’s side, the Vikings had five javelin throwers finish in the top 10 in the 12-competitor field. Junior Raquel Pellecer (Sandy, OR) finished 3rd with a top mark of 43.60m/143-0 and sophomore Natalie Vetto (Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington) was 7th with a top throw of 42.05m/137-11. Former Viking All-American and national champion Bethany Drake, competing for Oiselle, won the women’s javelin with a top throw of 48.15m/158-0.
