Saturday, February 20, 2016

NAMPA, Idaho – Alaska Anchorage climbed back to the top of the podium Saturday, using six individual championships to win the 2016 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Jackson Track at the Ford Idaho Center.

The Seawolves finished the meet with 164 points, scoring 28 points more than defending champion Seattle Pacific. Simon Fraser finished third with 82.5 points. It is Alaska Anchorage’s third GNAC indoor title, all of which have come in the last four years.

Alaska Anchorage’s Karolin Anders was named the Women’s Outstanding Athlete of the Meet after she won two events and scored 31 points in the meet to became the GNAC’s all-time leading indoor meet point scorer with a career total of 112 points. After winning the pentathlon (3,711 points) and the long jump (18-5.75) and placing fourth in the high jump on Friday, Anders added a third place finish in the triple jump with an effort of 38 feet.

Teammate Joyce Chelimo, meanwhile, swept the individual titles in the distance events to earn 30 points for the Seawolves. After winning the 5,000 meters on Friday (17:05.65), Chelimo took the mile in a time of 5:00.28 and the 3,000 meters in 9:15.70.

The race of the day, however, was the 60-meter hurdles where the top-three finishers were separated by four-thousandths of a second. A 10-minute delay to review the finish photo crowned Central Washington’s Mariyah Vongsaveng the champion with a time of 8.713 seconds. Alaska Anchorage’s Rosie Smith was second in 8.714 seconds and Seattle Pacific’s Mailea Luquin was third in 8.717 seconds.

Seattle Pacific’s Jahzelle Ambus won both the 200 meters and 400 meters in impressive fashion. She opened the day by blowing away the GNAC record in the 400 meters in a time of 54.87 seconds, bettering the 55.54 seconds run by Central Washington’s Terran Legard in 2005. Ambus returned to edge out Alaska Anchorage’s Jamie Ashcroft for the title with a time of 24.35 seconds while also anchoring the Falcons’ second place 4x400-relay team. Ashcroft captured her third straight championship in the 60 meters, just missing her GNAC record in 7.61 seconds.

McKenzie Warren secured a sweep of both the men’s and women’s throws for Concordia. After winning the weight throw on Friday, she notched a five-foot meet record in the shot put with her winning mark of 53 feet, 7.5 inches.

Western Washington’s Jasmine McMullin set a meet record to repeat as triple jump champion with her mark of 40 feet, 1.25 inches. Addy Townsend gave Simon Fraser their fourth straight champion in the 800 meters with a time of 2:11.54. Then Clan then used a lightning fast anchor leg by Chantel Desch to win the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 3:46.41.

Other event winners from Friday’s competition include Concordia’s Tori Johnson in the high jump (5-7.25), Seattle Pacific’s Michaella Kahns in the pole vault (11-6.25) and Simon Fraser’s distance medley relay team (11:58.28).

TEAM SCORES: Alaska Anchorage 164, Seattle Pacific 136, Simon Fraser 82.5, Western Washington 64.5, Concordia 59, Central Washington 59, Northwest Nazarene 36, Western Oregon 29, Saint Martin’s 25, Montana State Billings 11.