Mancl Runs 1,500 in 4:32.12, Moves into 14th in NCAA Division III

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Olivia Mancl (So./Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) set a personal record and moved into 14th place on the NCAA Division III performance list with a time of 4:32.12 in the women's 1,500-meter run at the Gregory Invitational on Friday, May 14. The last chance meet was hosted by North Central College.

Mancl finished third in the 1,500 at the Gregory Invitational, while moving up to fourth on Willamette's all-time list. She entered the race ranked 28th in Division III, but advanced 14 spots by dropping her top time by 2.52 seconds.

Her previous personal record of 4:34.64, which was fifth all-time at Willamette, was set at the OSU High Performance Meet on May 1.

The winner of the women's 1,500 in Friday's competition was Jessica Parker from Marquette University (Wisc.) of NCAA Division I. Parker's time was 4:30.01. Brianna Hickey from University of Chicago was second at 4:31.08, followed by Mancl in third and Erin Kiekhaefer from Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) in fourth at 4:32.28.

Hannah Swanson (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette was ninth out of 31 runners in the 1,500 with a time of 4:44.78.

As with Mancl, Hickey and Kiekhaefer made significant jumps on the NCAA performance list. Hickey advanced from 22nd up to 10th. Kiekhaefer moved to 15th while lowering her top time by more than three seconds from 4:35.54.

In the men's 1,500-meter run at the Gregory Invitational, Willamette's Daniel Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) placed 10th in 3:58.82. A total of 39 runners competed in the event.

Hannah Bressler (Jr., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) of Willamette registered a time of 11:23.72 and placed eighth in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.

On Sunday (May 17), selections will be announced for the 2015 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The top 22 athletes in each women's event and the top 20 athletes in each men's event will be given the chance to participate. This year's NCAA Championships will be hosted by St. Lawrence University in upstate New York from May 21-23.