Wednesday, April 6, 2016

THIS WEEK'S GNAC TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
MEN’S TRACK
Alex Donigian, Western Washington
Senior • Mission Viejo, Calif.

Donigian was the only Division II competitor to make the finals of the collegiate 100 meters at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, placing seventh in a time of 10.33 seconds. The time currently ranks No. 2 in NCAA Division II.

Also Nominated: Josh Dempsey (Western Oregon), Kyle McLaughlin (Northwest Nazarene), Benari Sternen (Central Washington), Paris Speidel (Concordia), Latrelle Swayne (Saint Martin’s), Turner Wiley (Seattle Pacific).

MEN’S FIELD
Josh Koch, Concordia
Sophomore • Dayton, Nev.

Koch set the meet record in the shot put at the San Francisco Distance Carnival, winning with a career best of 58 feet, 1.75 inches. The performance is No. 5 in Division II this season, is No. 2 on the GNAC all-time list and No. 4 on Concordia’s all-time list. The mark also leads the GNAC by three feet.

Also Nominated: Alex Barry (Western Washington), Nels Flanagan (Montana State Billings), Cole Hoberg (Northwest Nazarene), Mikel Smith (Saint Martin’s).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Lynelle Decker, Seattle Pacific
Senior • Vancouver, Wash.

Decker ran three Division II top-10 performances over the weekend. At the Stanford Invitational, Decker ran a Division II best time of 2:08.08 in the 800 meters and then later that day ran the second leg on the Falcons’ 4x400 relay team which ran the No. 4 fastest time in Division II at 3:43.76. On Friday, Decker ran 4:30.67 in the 1,500 meters at Stanford, currently No. 9 in Division II.

Joyce Chelimo, Alaska Anchorage
Senior • Kapsowar, Kenya

Chelimo set the GNAC record in the 10,000 meters with a time of 33:14.41 on Friday at the Stanford Invitational. The time is also the fifth fastest in Division II history.

Also Nominated: Elana Hampton (Concordia), Shannon Porter (Saint Martin’s), Shawna Troupe (Western Washington), Lexi Tubbs (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Bethany Drake, Western Washington
Junior • Sandy, Ore.

Drake performed well in two Division I meets last week. She won the javelin at the Texas State Bobcat Invitational with a season best mark of 166 feet, 9 inches, and placed seventh in the event at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays with a mark of 165 feet. She is currently No. 2 on the Division II best list.

Also Nominated: Ella Brown (Simon Fraser), Emmi Collier (Western Oregon), Taylor Fettig (Central Washington), Emma Hill (Concordia), Ellie Logan (Northwest Nazarene), Kirby Neale (Saint Martin’s).

AROUND THE GNAC
REWRITING THE DISTANCE CARNIVAL RECORD BOOK: It was a record-breaking week for the GNAC at the San Francisco Distance Carnival where six athletes set meet records and a handful of others went under meet record marks in finishing second or third in their events.

Alaska Anchorage’s Jamie Ashcroft set the meet record in the women’s 200 meters, clocking 24.39 seconds to eclipse the previous record of 24.52 seconds. SImon Fraser’s Ella Brown set the meet record in the women’s triple jump, her mark of 38 feet, 11.75 inches surpassing the previous mark of 37-9.5 set by Western Oregon’s Rebecca Laible in 2014.

Alaska Anchorage’s men’s 4x400-meter relay set the only running event meet record with their winning time of 3:17.69, bettering their time of 3:18.32 at last year’s meet. All top-three finishers in the men’s high jump were in record territory. Northwest Nazarene’s Cole Hoberg claimed the record with his clearance of 6 feet, 8.25 inches, surpassing the 6-6.25 set by UC Davis’ Shane Ryan in 2015. Two Alaska Anchorage athletes, Tevin Gladden and Chris Brake, met the old meet record at 6-6.25.

Western Oregon’s Wesley Gray won the men’s triple jump with a leap of 47 feet, 8.5 inches, tying the mark set by Keith Lester in 2015. Concordia’s Josh Koch blistered the meet record in the shot put. His mark of 58 feet, 1.75 inches bettered the mark of 54 feet, 0.5 inches set by Ryan Donnahoe in 2015.

Western Oregon’s women’s 4x400-meter relay team went under the previous meet record of 3:52.88 set in 2014. Stanislaus State re-set their own record, winning in 3:50.39. The Wolves’ Emily Wetherell also went over the previous meet record in the women’s hammer with her second place mark of 167 feet, 8 inches. San Francisco State’s Nicole Uikilifi set the new record at 170 feet, 10 inches, bettering the previous record of 156-10.

REWRITING THE GNAC RECORD BOOK: Much like she did during the indoor season, Alaska Anchorage’s Joyce Chelimo has started to work on a rewrite of the conference record book in the outdoor events.

The senior set the GNAC record in the 10,000 meters on Friday night at the Stanford Invitational. Her time of 33:14.41. That eclipsed the former record of 33:17.39 set by Western Washington’s Sarah Porter in 2011. In addition, Chelimo ran the fifth best time in the event in Division II history, taking the spot formerly held by Porter. Of the top-six spots on the list, three are held by GNAC schools (Seattle Pacific’s Bente Moe ran 33:05.8 in 1987, 14 years before the formation of the conference).

The record is the third record that Chelimo has broken this season. During the indoor campaign, Chelimo claimed the GNAC record in both the 3,000 meters (9:17.97) and the 5,000 meters (16:10.32). She is already a four-time GNAC champion this season, claiming the mile, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters during the indoor season as well as the cross country individual title in the fall.

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS: A handful of GNAC traveled down to the big meets in Texas over the weekend and came home with some solid results.

Western Washington’s Bethany Drake took part in not one, but two meets. She opened on Thursday throwing the javelin at the Texas State Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas, and won the event with a throw of 166 feet, 9 inches. She then came back the next day and placed seventh at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays with a mark of 165 feet. The pair of high-caliber performances earned Drake selection as the GNAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week. Her teammate, Katie Reichert, placed thirdin the event with a mark of 138 feet, 5 inches.

At the Texas Relays, Alaska Anchorage’s Cody Thomas put together a sixth place finish in the decathlon that should all but assure him a spot at the NCAA Championships. Thomas scored 7,079 points, 110 points off of his personal best, but currently is fourth best in Division II. During the competition, Thomas placed second in the 100 meters (10.77) and the 400 meters (47.90, NCAA provisional qualifying mark), was fourth in the long jump (23-0.75) and fifth in the 1,500 meters (4:44.64).

His teammate, Cody Parker, placed third in the javelin at the Texas Relays with a Division II leading throw of 234 feet, 7 inches, that automatically qualifies him for the NCAA Division II Championships.

Western Washington’s Alex Donigian was the only Division II competitor to advance to the finals of the 100 meters at the Texas Relays, placing seventh with a time of 10.33, the second best in the GNAC this season.

TWO-LAP THUNDER: The GNAC picked up five provisional qualifiers for the men’s 800 meters over the weekend in the Bay Area, all of which come with marks currently ranking in Division II’s top-15.

The San Francisco State Distance Carnival yielded four of those times on Friday. Alaska Anchorage’s Nathan Kipchumba won the race with a time of 1:49.67. Western Oregon’s Josh Dempsey was second in 1:49.84 while the Wolves’ Josh Hanna finished third in 1:50.11. The three performances and third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in Division II this season. The Seawolves’ Joe Day was seventh in a time of 1:51.42, registering the 11th best time in Division II this season.

Down the peninsula at the Stanford Invitational on Saturday, Simon Fraser’s Cameron Proceviat was the top non-Division I or open finisher in the 800 meters. His 11th place time of 1:50.85 is eighth best in Division II. Both Dempsey and Hanna ran in that race for Western Oregon, but ran slower times than they had on Friday.

ADD NATIONALS QUALIFIERS: Over the weekend, the GNAC added or improved a total of 41 automatic or provisional qualifying marks for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which take place May 26-28 in Bradenton, Fla. Male athletes accounted for 17 of those marks while the women established or improved 24 marks. Among those marks are three new automstic qualifiers. Alaska Anchorage’s Cody Parker automatically qualified for the men’s javelin during the decathlon at the Texas Relays along with teammates Joyce Chelimo and Caroline Kurgat automatically qualifying in the women’s 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational. Western Washington’s Bethany Drake improved her automatic qualifying mark with her throw of 166-9 at the Texas State Bobcat Invitational.

AN IMPRESSIVE TRIPLE: It was quite the weekend for Seattle Pacific senior Lynelle Decker, who played a role in establishing three NCAA Division II top-10 marks at the Stanford Invitational. She opened her weekend by running 4:30.67 in the 1,500 meters on Friday. She finished sixth in the sixth heat of the race (almost all laden with Division I talent), but the time ranks as the ninth fastest in Division II. On Saturday, Decker turned around and ran the fastest time in Division II thus far and the eighth fastest in GNAC history in the 800 meters with a time of 2:08.08. Later that afternoon, Decker ran the second leg on the Falcons’ 4x400-meter relay. The team finished in a time of 3:43.76, ranking them No. 4 in Division II this season and No. 4 on the GNAC all-time list. The impressive trio of performances earned Decker her third selection of the season as GNAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week, her first of the outdoor season.

IN THE NATIONAL POLLS: After having four teams ranked in the USTFCCCA Division II Men’s Computer Rankings for the first two weeks of the season, the GNAC is down to only one. After dropping out of the top-25 last week, Alaska Anchorage popped back up to No. 5 thanks to their impressive performances in California and Texas. Western Washington, who was 21st last week, dropped out of the top-25. In the women’s rankings, meanwhile, there are three GNAC teams in the top-15. Alaska Anchorage climbed 11 spots to No. 10 while Seattle Pacific made their appearance of the season at No. 13. Western Washington is one spot behind at No. 14, dropping six spots from No. 8 last week.