The Dempsey Indoor Facility is rich as music blares over the loudspeakers and athletes prepare for their events. The facility is filled with an abundance of cheers and murmurs, but with one blow of a whistle, silence. The athletes take position behind the blocks, the words “take your marks” echo in the room, then with a loud *BANG*, they’re off.

This weekend, the Seattle University men’s and women’s indoor track teams competed in the UW Invitational, their second to last regular season meet in the program’s history. It was announced Nov. 14, 2024, that after the 2024-25 season, Seattle U will be discontinuing the indoor track program, along with men’s tennis. With this being the last indoor season, the Redhawks are looking to go out with a bang and prepare for the upcoming outdoor season in the spring. Jordana LeSavage took over as head coach of the cross country/track and field program just months ago in August 2024.

“We’re still in a phase where we’re getting a lot of quality training… We’re still about four weeks out from the indoor conference championships held in Spokane at the end of February, and then we have a full outdoor season. So, it’s working with everybody and playing the long game,” LeSavage said.

Though LeSavage took the helm not too long ago, she has been a member of the program as an assistant coach for multiple years, beginning in 2022. During her time with the program, the Redhawks have won two Western Athletic Conference (WAC) titles in the distance medley relay, along with nine All-WAC honors and 16 school records. LeSavage also pointed out that multiple athletes set personal bests, with some even entering the top 10 all-time list in their respective events during the UW Invitational, adding to the lists of accolades achieved with her leadership. 

One of the individuals who set a personal best during the invitational was Matthew Fiso. The freshman sprinter/jumper came out the gate hot, jumping 6.65 m (21.10 ft) in his first attempt in the long jump event. Fiso was also part of the men’s 4×400 relay, along with Alex Jensen, Seku Sanders and Alexzander Osorio, which put up the eighth-fastest time in program history, 3:24.49.

“We got a lot of sprints; a lot of block starts. We get a lot of recovery… our warmup does the most justice for our bodies… I think that’s the main part of everything,” Fiso commented on the team’s preparation for meets. 

Yet another individual who had a good showing this meet was JR Zamora. The sophomore achieved a personal best in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.07, putting him tied for eighth all-time in Seattle U history. At the Jan. 17 meet, Zamora was just .01 meters off the Seattle U record for the long jump event, jumping 6.66 meters (21.85 feet).

“I’m feeling pretty great…today I had a really great reaction time, I was getting out the blocks, and like people were still behind me,” Zamora commented on his performance.

One newcomer to the women’s team that has been making her impact on the program is graduate student transfer, Alisha Saucedo. Saucedo is joining the Redhawks this year from Saint Martin’s University, where she holds the school record for both the indoor and outdoor 800 meter event along with earning All-conference Great Northwest Athletic Conference honors twice. For the Redhawks, Saucedo has the eighth fastest time in the women’s mile event (Jan. 18) and was a member of the distance medley relay along with McKenna White, Annabelle Clapp and Diana Camargo Solis, who achieved the third fastest time in Seattle U history this weekend, 12:00.45. Saucedo expressed lots of praise for Seattle U as they have welcomed her to the program.

“It’s been awesome. Jordana has been the most amazing coach. She’s so intentional about all the little things, about making sure we’re okay, not just physically, but also mentally… The team has been awesome… I just really have felt at home, which is really nice,” Saucedo said. 

The Redhawks will head back up to the Dempsey Indoor Facility Feb. 14 for the final regular season indoor track and field meet in the program’s history. The team will then head over to Spokane Feb. 28 for the WAC Indoor Championships. With this being the final stretch for the Redhawks indoor track and field program, the team is looking to finish off strong and lead themselves into a successful outdoor season.