Sisters grad nears Gonzaga mile record

In his first outing at a collegiate runner, Brandon Pollard entered the record books for Gonzaga University when he ran 4:10.6 in the indoor mile to become the fastest frosh of all-time for the Bulldogs. His time was the second-fastest ever for a Bulldog miler indoors.

Running in the University of Washington Preview Meet in Seattle, Pollard surprised even himself with how good he felt as the race progressed.

"I just kind of hung on with the lead pack of my heat and with a lap to go (300 meters) I felt really good and went into second place and kept a fast kick to make 4:10," he said.

Two other runners well-known to Pollard, Brett Willyard of Seaside High School and Travis Neuman of Summit High, sophomores who both now compete for the University of Oregon, ran in a different heat and ran 4:10.06 and 4:10.89 respectively.

"It felt good to know I ran up there with those guys and now I have a new goal to get down to 4:05-4:06 so that I can own the overall school record," Pollard said. "I have set a high bar for myself for the rest of the season, so I just hope to stay consistent and keep running good times."

Pollard is no stranger at meeting high standards. He is the school record holder at Sisters High School for 800 and 1,500 meters and won the state title in the 800 and placed second in the 1,500 at the 4A state meet last May.

Pollard is one of four former Outlaws competing collegiately in track this season. Taylor Steele is a senior at Whitworth College, Hayley Palmer is a senior at Pacific University, and Zoe Falk is a freshman at Northern Arizona University.