Tuesday, February 20, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – Fresh off the 2018 GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, Insider welcomed a pair of student-athletes who helped their respective squads to team titles with standout performances. Concordia senior sprinter Carlos Ortiz and Central Washington senior sprinter Ali Anderson joined the show while Saint Martin’s athletic director Bob Grisham ended the night talking SMU athletics. Insider kicks off tonight at 7 p.m., Pacific, and will be hosted by Rob Lowery.

At the conference Championships last weekend in Nampa, Idaho, Ortiz helped the Concordia men to its first GNAC title in program history after taking down the three-time defending champion, Alaska Anchorage. Ortiz dashed past his competition, winning the 60 meters in 6.85 seconds before taking the 200-meter event in a school and GNAC record time of 21.56 seconds. Ortiz holds provisional qualifying marks in both events and his times are 12th and 17th in Division II this season, respectively.

Speaking of the Indoor Track and Field Championships, what a weekend it was for Anderson. She was selected by the coaches as the Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet for her victories in the 200 meters and 400 meters as well as her efforts in the 4x400-meter relay. Anderson won the 200 in a time of 25.00 seconds and claimed the 400-meter title with a time of 55.68 seconds. She helped the Central Washington women to its first-ever GNAC title, who shared the honor with Seattle Pacific (136 points).

Grisham is in his 32nd year as athletics director of Saint Martin’s and is entering his 10th season as the head women’s golf coach. Saint Martin’s men’s basketball has excelled this year, as it has clinched a berth to the 2018 GNAC Basketball Championships for the second-straight year. Third-year head coach Alex Pribble has the Saints firing on all cylinders, as Saint Martin’s has eclipsed the 20-game win mark (20-6, 13-5 GNAC) for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign. A few SMU head coaches have also made their debut this season in women’s soccer, women’s basketball, and softball.