Monday, May 1, 2017

NAMPA, Idaho – A veteran and a newcomer lead the way as Alaska Anchorage senior Karolin Anders and Concordia sophomore James Phillips lead the field after the first day of the 2017 GNAC Combined Event Championships at the Bohner Track.

Anders, the two-time champion in the women's haptathlon (2014 and 2015), used a first place finish in the shot put and a second place finish in the high jump to take the day one lead with 3,017 points. The senior tied for second with Seattle Pacific’s Geneva Lehnert in the high jump with a clearance of 5 feet, 3.75 inches. In the next event, the shot put, Anders won by over seven feet as she earned 696 points with her mark of 41 feet, 1 inch.

Anders opened the day with a fourth place finish in the 100-meter hurdles (15.54 seconds) and closed by placing fourth in the 200 meters (26.08 seconds).

Seattle Pacific freshman Scout Cai, who won the indoor pentathlon title in February, sits in the second place with 2,857 points. Seattle Pacific’s Brooke Benner is currently third with 2,753 points and Central Washington’s HarLee Ortega is fourth with 2,728 points.

Alaska Anchorage’s Elena Cano opened the competition with a victory in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.08 seconds. Central Washington’s Ali Anderson won the 200 meters with a time of 25.46 seconds.

The men’s decathlon, meanwhile, has a newcomer at the top of the charts. Competing in just his second career multi-event competition, Phillips finds himself on top of the table after five events with 3,642 points. The sophomore started the first day off hot, winning the 100 meters in 11.07 seconds and the long jump with a mark of 22 feet, 9 inches. Phillips went on finish third in the shot put (39-0.25), second in the high jump (6-2.25) and seventh in the 400 meters (52.68 seconds).

The two top returning finishers from last year’s decathlon sit second and third. Central Washington’s Kodiak Landis is in second place with 3,552 points while Northwest Nazarene’s Payton Lewis is third with 3,523 points. Landis won the 400 meters in a time of 49.66 seconds and was second in both the 100 meters (11.14 seconds) and the long jump (22 feet, 5.25 inches). Lewis won the shot put (42-10.75) and was third in the high jump (6-1.25).

Northwest Nazarene’s Micah Tranch was the other individual event winner, taking the high jump with a clearance of 6 feet, 7.75 inches.

Second day action will being at 9:30 a.m. (Mountain) with the decathlon 110-meter hurdles. The heptathlon commences at 10:30 a.m. with the long jump.