Thursday, May 26, 2016

BRADENTON, Fla. – Alaska Anchorage’s Cody Thomas positioned himself to make a run at the decathlon national title while Simon Fraser’s Marc-Antoine Rouleau and Seattle Pacific’s Lynelle Decker advanced as top qualifiers on the first day of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the IMG Academy Complex.

Thomas, who entered the meet as the No. 4 seeded athlete in the event, emerged as the leader after the first five events with a score of 4,087 points. The senior was bolstered by four top-three finishes and two lifetime bests. He won the second event, the long jump, with a lifetime best of 24 feet, 8.5 inches, a mark that ranks him No. 4 on the GNAC all-time list. He ended the day by winning the 400 meters in 47.88 seconds, which tied his lifetime best.

In between, Thomas placed second in the high jump with a clearance of 6 feet, 6.25 inches, and placed third in the opening event of the meet, the 100 meters, in 11.12 seconds. The total places Thomas 168 points ahead of second Shakiel Chattoo of Azusa Pacific, who is second with 3,919 points.

Rouleau paced three GNAC athletes advancing to Saturday’s final in the men’s 1,500 meters, winning the second with the day’s fastest time of 3:49.42. He was closely trailed by a pair of Western Oregon runners who will also compete on Saturday. Sam Naffziger placed third in the heat in 3:49.89 while David Ribich was fourth in 3:49.90. They were the third and fourth qualifiers, respectively, in the preliminary heats.

Decker was the top qualifier on the women’s side of the 1,500, winning the second heat in a time of 4:27.34. Saint Martin’s Shannon Porter finished 15th in the preliminaries in a time of 4:35.66 while Western Oregon’s Stephanie Stuckey placed 17th in 4:38.60.

The GNAC also advanced both of its athletes in the women’s steeplechase. Central Washington’s Dani Eggelston finished fourth in her heat and was seventh in the preliminaries with a time of 10:26.12. Montana State Billings’ Della Lyle was fifth in her heat and the 11th qualifier overall with a time of 10:26.88. The two women will compete on Friday at 4:30 p.m. (Pacific).

Four GNAC athletes competed in finals on Thursday. Alaska Anchorage’s Henry Cheseto placed 14th in the men’s 10,000 meters in a time of 31:53.28. The Seawolves’ Caroline Kurgat finished in 10th place in the women’s 10,000 in 36:20.05. Joyce Chelimo, who entered with the nation’s best time in the event, dropped out after 4,000 meters. Central Washington’s Armando Tafoya was the only field event competitor on the day, placing 17th in the men’s hammer with a mark of 176 feet, 7 inches.

In Thursday’s other running event preliminary rounds, Montana State Billings’ Robert Peterson just missed a spot in the men’s steeplechase final, finishing 13th in a time of 9:12.45. Western Washington’s Matthew Lutz placed 18th in a time of 9:32.10. His Vikings’ teammate, Alex Donigian, just missed qualifying in the men’s 100 meters. His 10th place time 10.49 seconds was just five-hundreths of a second out of the top-eight.

In the women’s 100 meters, Alaska Anchorage’s Jamie Ashcroft finished 14th in the preliminaries with a time of 11.97 seconds. Seattle Pacific’s Jahzelle Ambus finished 17th in the women’s 400-meter preliminaries in 55.94 seconds.

Day two of the championships begins at 9:30 a.m. (6:30 a.m. Pacific) with the second day’s events in the decathlon. In addition to the steeplechase, finals will be contested in the men’s discus, women’s triple jump, women’s discus and the men’s high jump.