Wednesday, September 24, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. -  Alaska Anchorage’s men are ranked eighth and Simon Fraser’s women are ranked ninth in the inaugural NCAA Division II national polls of the regular-season conducted by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The Seawolf men were also ranked eighth in the pre-season poll.  Simon Fraser moved up seven positions from the pre-season poll.

Western Washington is the only other GNAC team ranked in the first national poll.  The Viking women are 19th (the same as in the pre-season poll) and the Viking men are 20th (down two slots from the pre-season poll).

In the first regional polls released Tuesday, nine GNAC teams are ranked.

Alaska Anchorage is second and Western Washington is fourth in the men’s poll followed by Simon Fraser (7th) and Montana State Billings (10th).

In the women’s poll, Simon Fraser is ranked second, followed by Western Washington (5th), Central Washington (6th), Seattle Pacific (7th) and defending regional champion Alaska Anchorage (8th).

MSUB will host the NCAA West Regional meet Nov. 22 at Amend Park in Billings.  That meet will qualify six men’s teams and six women’s teams for the NCAA national meet two weeks later in Louisville, Kent.

Five of the GNAC’s 10 teams are in action Saturday.  Western Washington will join host Saint Martin’s in Lacey for the Saint Martin’s Invitational. 

Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser, meanwhile, are in California to compete in the Stanford Invitational.  MSUB travels to Minneapolis for the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational.

Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Fairbanks, Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon are all idle.

Clan Earn Pair of Seconds at Sundodger

Simon Fraser earned a pair of second place finishes last Saturday in the University of Washington Sundodger at Lincoln Park in Seattle.

The Clan finished in back of University of British Columbia in both divisions as Oliver Jorgensen and Rebecca Bassett led SFU with third place finishes, respectively.

Jorgensen covered the 8,000-meter course in a time of 24:39 to earn GNAC Athlete of the Week honors.

Bassett posted a 6,000-meter time of 21:36.

The best time by a GNAC athlete in the women’s meet was a time of 21:12 by Katelyn Steen of Western Washington in the invitational division.

Elsewhere last Saturday, MSUB’s men finished first in the non-Division I division of the Montana State Invitational.  Claiming his second individual win of the season in two races was the Yellowjackets’ Robert Peterson in a time of 25:57.93.

MSUB’s women finished second, just three points back of Carroll College as Nicona Frame finished first for the Yellowjackets in a time of 18:13.32.

At Spokane, Northwest Nazarene finished fifth and Saint Martin’s placed seventh in the men’s division of the Eric Anderson Invitational.  NNU freshman Isaac Mitchell placed sixth in a 8,000-meter time of 26:33.21.

In the women’s division, the Crusaders were fifth and the Saints placed eighth.  The top GNAC finisher was NNU’s Susanna Fleming, who finished 15th in a time of 20:12.60.

LAST WEEK’S SUMMARIES

Montana State Invitational (Sept. 20 at Bozeman): Men (Non-Division I) – MSU Billings 36, Carroll 39, Gillette 68, Great Falls 88, Rocky Mountain 154.  Individuals (8,000 Meter) – 1. Robert Peterson, MSUB, 25:57.93; 4. Jamon Rodrigues, MSUB, 26:24.02.  Women – Carroll 28, MSU Billings 31, Gillette 80, Great Falls 103.  Individuals (6,000 Meters) – 1. Nicona Frame, MSUB, 18:13.32; 5. Renae Hepfner, MSUB, 18:31.94.

UW Sundodger (Sept. 20 at Lincoln Park): Men’s Open – British Columbia 33, Simon Fraser 54, Whitman 158, Western Oregon 163, Puget Sound 186, Seattle RC 233, Lewis & Clark 235, Everett CC 239, Central Washington 240, Alaska 260 (13. Seattle Pacific 288).  Individuals (8,000 Meters) – 1. Jack Williams, UBC, 24:34; 3. Oliver Jorgensen, SFU, 24:39; 6. Zach Holloway, WOU, 25:01; 9. Turner Wiley, SPU, 25:10; 13. Marc-Anto Rouleau, SFU, 25:23; 14. Travis Vugteveen, SFU, 25:25.   Women’s Open – British Columbia 34, Simon Fraser 45, Central Washington 96, Seattle Pacific 151, Whitman 167, Puget Sound 181, Whitworth 184, Western Oregon 232, MacEwan 254, Lewis & Clark 286 (13. Alaska 350).  Individuals (6,000 Meters) – 1. Maria Bernard, UBC, 20:37; 3. Rebecca Bassett, SFU, 21:36; 5. Dano Eggleston, CWU, 21:58; 7. Jennifer Johnson, SFU, 22:04; 15. Megan Rogers, CWU, 22:37.  Women’s Invitational – 1. Maddie Meyers, UW, 20:21; 8. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 21:12.

Eric Anderson (Sept. 20 at Spokane): Men – Lewis-Clark State 47, Gonzaga 49, Gonzaga Club (unat). 96, Black Hill State 106, Northwest Nazarene 120, Spokane CC 134, Saint Martin’s 149, Whitman  234.  Individuals (8,000 Meters) – 1. Willie Milam, unat.-GU, 25:00.12; 6. Isaac Mitchell, NNU, 26:33.21; 7. Frank Krause, SMU, 26:33.89; 19. Kaleb Fleenor, NNU, 27:05.73.  Women – Lewis-Clark State 20, Gonzaga 46, Spokane CC 86, Black Hills State 123, Northwest Nazarene 134, Whitman 162, Whitworth 196, Saint Martin’s 207.  Individuals (6,000 Meters) – 1. Jessica Mildes, unat.-GU, 18:33.98; 15. Susanna Fleming, NNU, 20:12.60.