OREGON CITY, Ore. – Evergreen Track worked as a team this weekend to set two school relay records at Warner Pacific College’s Pacific Northwest Relays. Brian Rakestraw, Darren Woods, Tyler Luce, and Connor Abdelnoor put together a 2nd place overall performance in the men’s Distance Medley Relay, outkicking 8 other relay teams, 5 of which were from Cascade Conference Schools. Luce started it out with a 1200m leg of 3:32.0, holding on to the field by the skin of his teeth. Luce passed off to Abdelnoor, who ran crazy with a 55.1 400m leg. He just barely passed off to Woods in time, allowing him to catch and pass the pack with an exceptional 800m leg of 1:59.2. Woods then passed off to Rakestraw, who ran the anchor 1600m leg in an astounding 4:31.1, holding off five teams and catching two more in an almost superhuman kick to the finish. They set a school best with their total time of 10:58.49, narrowly grabbing the school record by one full second.
The Evergreen women established a 4x100m relay record, marking the first time ever that Evergreen has fielded a team in that event. Karissa Carlson, Emma Loftis, Evelyn Coleman, and Melissa Crumb ran a great race, and finished in a time of 1:01.14. A brief moment of panic happened at the second exchange zone as a red flag went up, signaling a disqualification in a handoff. Relief soon followed as it was revealed that Lane Community College had been DQ’ed and not Evergreen, allowing the Geoduck women to keep their record. The Women’s relay team also ran an 800m Sprint Medley Relay, marking a time of 2:08.34. Their time was just a second off the school record in that event.
Three Evergreen men ran in individual events in addition to the team relays. Nick Pace set a personal best in the 3000m with a time of 10:01.83, placing 6th overall.
Connor Abdelnoor hurdled close to his season’s best with a 16.82. An impressive feat immediately following an all-out 400m relay leg.
Jordan Turner tried his luck in the 200m, hoping to gain some strength for his jumps. He marked a time of 25.40.
Look for Evergreen to compete next at the Lewis and Clark College Invitational in Portland on April 17th.
