TACOMA – Northwest had seven top 10 finishes Saturday at the Pacific Lutheran Open.
 
"We had a great start to our outdoor season," said NU Head Coach Mark Mandi. "I thought our team had an incredible attitude the whole day and the weather, for the most part, was amazing. I was really proud of the effort that our team put out. We had a number of student-athletes competing for the first time this year, and through the nerves they were able to start their season off well."
 
For the NU men, Dawson Andrews was second in the 5000 at 15:15, followed by Craig Lambert in fifth at 15:14.78.
 
Kasey Koehn placed third in the javelin at 51.55 meters.
 
Also for the Eagles, Jack Kopatich placed 23^rd (2:06.56) and Scott Baisden 32^nd (2:16.15) in the 800 meters.
 
"Dawson Andrews ran a big PR in the 5k, dropping 12 seconds off his old time while spending most of the race leading. Kacey Koehn had the best season opener in the javelin of his career which is a great sign considering he barely missed a national qualifying mark last year and looks poised to get it this season," said Mandi. "Jack Kopatich had a big improvement from his last race to this race while setting a new PR in the 800m of 2:06.56."
 
Emily Calquhoun was fifth in the women's 1500 meters at 5:04.28, followed by Samantha Goedde in eighth at 5:13.38 and Grace Gerardi in 10^th at 5:13.57.
 
Elizabeth Behnke took 10^th in the 200 meters at 27.74. 
 
The 4x400 relay team of Calquhoun, Gretchen Stottlemyre, Gerardi and Goedde was sixth at 4:38.56.
 
Felicia Franco placed 12^th in the shot put at 7.55 meters and 14^th in the discus at 25.95 meters.
 
"Gretchen Stottlemyre and Felicia Franco made their NU track and field debuts. It's always nice to get the first one out of the way but their competitiveness and positive attitude will be great for the team in the years to come. Lizzy Behnke made her outdoor debut, improving on the 200m time she race a few weeks back during indoors," said Mandi. 
 
NU gets back to action next Saturday in the Doris Heritage Distance Festival, hosted by Seattle Pacific.