2017 University of Washington Invitational (Day 1)

SEATTLE – The first of what will be five days inside the University of Washington's Dempsey Indoor this season was a success for Academy of Art University track & field on Friday to start the UW Invitational. Three women, Marion Presigny, Hannah Hensley, and Folke Woch, not only competed in the first pentathlon in program history, but each also delivered NCAA provisional qualifying results. Additionally, the men's Distance Medley Relay improved upon their own provisional time with a memorable performance to end the night.

Opening the pentathlon with the 60m hurdles, Presigny (8.95) and Hensley (9.20) finished seventh and 10th respectively of 31 competitors. That duo would share fourth overall in the high jump as each offered a 5-4.5 (1.64m) height. In the shot put, Woch (36-11.5, 11.26m) and Briaunna Caver (35-5, 10.79m) took sixth and seventh respectively to become the program's new leaders in the event. Presigny and Hensley were back among the leaders in the long jump, going 18-1 (5.52m) and 17-10.75 (5.45m) for fifth and sixth respectively.

"The women competed hard today in their first pentathlon of the season," said head coach Kevin LaSure. "Having three of them provisionally qualify in their first meet is a great way to start the season and they have a lot of room to grow from here."

In the final event, the 800m, Hensley was the leader in seventh with a time of 2:24.70, followed by Woch (2:24.87) in eighth, and Presigny (2:26.45) in 12th. At the conclusion of the day, Presigny captured fifth place with a total of 3625, Hensley was eighth at 3494, and Woch wasn't far behind in ninth with a 3414. All surpassed the 3285 provisional standard by a considerable margin.

In her first 200m of 2017, Mistic Scott finished 33rd out of 92 sprinters with a time of 25.64. Additionally, the women's Distance Medley Relay squad of Beatriz Martinez Mercado, Schae Graham, Kaelyn Harbison, and Chandler Johnson posted a 12:14.42 good for second in program history and just four seconds shy of a provisional qualification.

The men's side came away with a major breakthrough in the Distance Medley Relay as Pierre Fontanarosa, Quinlan Wright, Kristian Martinez, and Gatien Airiau combined for a 10:02.75 which now serves as ART U's second NCAA DII provisional mark of the season and one that is second overall in the country currently. The time was third in program history as well.

Kaze Poitier, a freshman from the Bahamas, made his Academy of Art debut with a 22.54 effort in the men's 200m dash.

The second day of action at the UW Invitational gets underway at 9 a.m. tomorrow back at Dempsey Indoor.