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May 21, 2009

SAN ANGELO, Texas - Western Washington University's Sarah Porter (So., Hockinson) placed fifth in the women's 10,000 meters Thursday night in opening-day action at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships being held at the LeGrand Sports Complex.

Porter, who was timed in 36:02.72, was an automatic qualifier in the event, being ranked fifth nationally entering the meet.

It was the second national outdoor appearance for Porter, who also has gone twice in cross country and indoor track. The finish earned her All-America recognition as she completed a sweep of earning that honor in all three sports during the 2008-09 academic year.

"Sarah led or was near the lead for the first half of the race," said Western coach Pee Wee Halsell. "She had a solid race, but she just couldn't run that pace today in the second half."

The Vikings' Lauren Breihof (So., Vancouver/Mountain View) finished 14th in that event with a time of 37:32.45.

Western's Jordan Welling (So., Burlington/Burlington-Edison) placed 12th in the men's 10,000, being clocked in 31:24.50.

Three other Vikings advanced to finals in preliminary events, with two of them setting school records.

Ellie Siler (Fr., Spokane/Lewis & Clark) set a school record in the women's 400 with a time of 54.59, 1.19 seconds better than her previous best. She won her heat and had the third best time of the prelims.

Heidi Dimmitt (Sr., Wenatchee), making her third outdoor national appearance, set a school record in the women's 400 hurdles. Her time of 1:00.31 was 1.26 seconds better than her previous best.

Dimmitt, who entered with the 12th-best time in NCAA II on the season, was second in her heat and had the fifth-best semifinal time overall. She placed fourth at nationals last year.

Both previous school records were set in 1994 by Brandi (Stevenson) Petz, now a Western assistant coach.

"They (Dimmitt and Siler) were really on today and this is where you want them to do that," Halsell said.

The Vikings' Anthony Tomsich (Jr., Fairbanks, AK/West Valley) advanced in the men's 1,500 by placing fifth in his semifinal heat with a time of 3:52.96, a mark that was 11th overall.

Tomsich was an All-American in 2007, finishing fourth, before missing the 2008 season because of Achilles' tendinitis.

"To have Porter earn All-America honors for the third time this year and to have three athletes qualify for finals was great," said Halsell.

On Friday, Western's Christy Miller (Sr., Boise, Id./Bishop Kelly) competes in the women's pole vault. Taking part in preliminary races will be Rachael Johnson (So., Yakima/West Valley) in the women's 800, Porter in the women's 5,000 and Welling in the men's 5,000.

On Saturday, the Vikings' Clara Cook (Sr., Wenatchee) competes in the women's high jump as will Tomsich in the 1,500 final, Siler in the 400 final, Dimmitt in the 400 hurdles final.

Finals in the men's and women's 5,000 and women's 800 are also that day.

Western's nine-person contingent is the largest to attend either an indoor or outdoor nationals since the school joined the NCAA in 1999.