Saturday, May 10, 2014

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Alaska Anchorage edged Northwest Nazarene and Western Washington by just four team points and the Vikings' Katelyn Steen was selected the Outstanding Female Performer Saturday in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Track and Field Championships at McArthur Stadium.

The Seawolves finished with 137 team points,  NNU and WWU had 133 points each and Seattle Pacific ended up with 121.  The win was the second in a row for UAA which won the title last year scoring 175 points.

UAA's margin of victory was the second fewest in GNAC history and its winning point total was the fewest ever in the conference meet.  Western Oregon edged Seattle Pacific by three points (210 1/2 - 207 1/2) in the 2003 GNAC meet. 

Western Oregon had the previous lowest winning point total when it scored 166 1/2 points in 2008 in finishing 9 1/2 points ahead of Alaska Anchorage.

Steen was one of three athletes to finish the meet with 28 points along with Tayler Fettig of Central Washington and Karolin Anders of Alaska Anchorage.

Steen won the steeplechase Friday in a time of 10:34.40.  She added a win in the 5,000 (17:03.91) and a second-place finish in the 1500 (4:30.98) Saturday.

Fettig earned points in four events, winning the high jump (5-8 1/2), finishing second in both the long jump (18-10) and heptathlon (4604) and placing seventh in the 100 hurdles (15.13).

Anders finished first in the heptathlon (4997), tied for second in the high jump (5-3 3/4), third in the long jump (18-9 3/4) and fourth in the triple jump (36-8 1/4). 

Four athletes including Steen won two events.  UAA's Jamie Ashcroft swept the 100 (11.99) and 200 meters (24.62).  Seattle Pacific's McKayla Fricker won both the 800 (2:09.15) and 1500 (4:28.19).  Meanwhile, Tanya  Bjornsson of Western Washington won both the 100 hurdles (14.21) and long jump (18-11 3/4).

Fricker's 800 win was her third straight.  Western Washington hammer thrower Lindsay Wells also had a three-peat winning her specialty with a throw of 173-7.

Vessie Umu of Northwest Nazarene repeated in the shot put winning the event with a throw of 44-3 1/2.

Kishia Mitchell of Seattle Pacific won the 400 for the first time, but had her third victory overall after sweeping the 100 and 200 meters in 2011.

Two meet records  were set in the women's division.  On Friday, UAA's Joyce Kipchumba set a meet record in winning the 10,000 in a time of 35:43.38.

UAA's foursome of Mackenzie Harsch, Rosie Smith, Sasha Halfyard and Ashcroft set a record Saturday in winning the 4x100 relay in a time of 46.68.

Team Scores - Alaska Anchorage 137, Northwest Nazarene 133, Western Washington 133, Seattle Pacific 121, Central Washington 92, Simon Fraser 77, Western Oregon 63, Saint Martin's 47, MSU Billings 16.