Huskies Soma, Hill place 16th at nationals

While the NCAA track championships take place in the same state as the Big Easy, the Huskies found that competing for a national title isn't very easy at all.

Kate Soma and Mike Hill, representing half of Washington's delegation at the championships in Baton Rouge, La., finished in 16th place in their respective events yesterday. Neither Soma nor Hill qualified for the finals.

In her first trip to the postseason, true-freshman pole vaulter Soma was able to clear the opening height of 12 feet, 3 1/2 inches. However, Soma could not surpass the 12-foot, 9 1/2-inch height, despite receiving three tries to do so.

Soma's performance is surprising, considering she qualified for the championships with a 13-foot, 1 1/2-inch mark at the April 13 Oregon Dual. That vault also set Washington's all-time outdoor vault record, surpassing a 12-foot, 11 1/2-inch mark set by Sandy Erickson in 2000.

Senior Mike Hill finished his final race as a Husky in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Hill finished the preliminary race with an 8:53.39 time, his third-best career mark. Hill won the steeplechase title in the Pac-10 championships with an 8:54.19, becoming Washington's fifth champion in the event.

The championships continue today with junior Courtney Inman competing in the preliminary heat for the 1,500-meter race. Inman brings his 4:20.58 mark to the national stage, which ranks at 18th nationally.

In the team competitions, Georgia leads for the men's title with 15 points, while the Pac-10 champion UCLA women are the front-runners, chalking up 15 points.