Tuesday, February 26, 2019

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Twenty-five GNAC athletes along with five distance medley relay teams from conference schools have been selected to participate in the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships.

A total of 17 women and eight men from the GNAC, representing nine of the conference’s 10 schools, were selected to compete in the meet, which take place March 8 and 9 at the Robert W. Plaster Center on the campus of Pittsburg State University.

The field will include a pair of defending champions from the conference. Alaska Anchorage senior Danielle McCormick won the 800-meter national title last year with a time of 2:07.79. She enters this year’s meet with the No. 11 seeded time at 2:10.73.

McCormick will be joined by three other GNAC competitors in the 800 meters. Simon Fraser junior Addy Townsend had the No. 4 fastest time in the field at 2:08.70 while Western Oregon senior Olivia Woods has the No. 6 time at 2:09.35. Simon Fraser senior Sophie Dodd is No. 14 in the field at 2:10.99.

The Western Oregon men’s distance medley relay team will aim to make it three in a row. The two-time defending champions enter with the No. 11 time in the event at 9:50.69. Simon Fraser is No. 8 in the field at 9:49.97 and Alaska Anchorage is No. 10 at 9:50.19.

Alaska Anchorage’s women’s distance medley relay will be the team to beat in the event. The quartet of Ruth Cvancara, Vanessa Aniteye, McCormick and Caorline Kurgat ran a conference record of 11:23.47 at the GNAC Championships, the sixth-fastest time in Division II history. It is the fastest time in the field by three seconds. Simon Fraser enters the event No. 4 at 11:35.62.

Kurgat, meanwhile, enters as the favorite in both the women’s 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters after she set Division II all-time bests in both events earlier this season. The senior’s best of 9:07.05 in the 3,000 meters is 11 seconds better than the field while her time of 15:28.46 in the 5,000 meters eclipses the field by 51 seconds.

The conference will also be well represented in the combined events. Seattle Pacific junior Scout Cai is No. 3 in the field of 14 heptathletes with a score of 3,815 points. She is joined in the field by Central Washington senior HarLee Ortega and Concordia senior Chelsea Bone. Central Washington senior Kodiak Landis and sophomore Braydon Maier will represent the conference in the heptathlon.

Cai is one of three GNAC athletes to earn invitations to nationals in two individual events, having also been selected in the pole vault. Joining Cai and Kurgat is Central Washington senior Alexa Shindruk, who will compete in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters.

NCAA DIVISION II INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS – GNAC QUALIFIERS
MEN
Alaska Anchorage: Distance Medley Relay (Nathaniel Brunett, Drew Johnson, Felix Kemboi, Eduardo Orozco).
Central Washington: Kodiak Landis (Heptathlon), Braydon Maier (Heptathlon), Zach Whittaker (Triple Jump).
Northwest Nazarene: Jake Knight (Shot Put).
Saint Martin’s: Tyler Cronk (High Jump).|
Simon Fraser: Aaron Ahl (Mile), Pierre-Louis Detourbe (Mile), Rowan Doherty (3,000 Meters), Distance Medley Relay (Pierre-Louis Detourbe, Nate St. Romain, Carlos Vargas, Rowan Doherty).
Western Oregon: Distance Medley Relay (Justin Crosswhite, Gabe Acre-Torres, Curt Knott, Tyler Jones).

WOMEN
Alaska Anchorage: Nancy Jeptoo (Mile), Caroline Kurgat (3,000 Meters, 5,000 Meters), Danielle McCormick (800 Meters), Distance Medley Relay (Ruth Cvancara, Vanessa Aniteye, Danielle McCormick, Caroline Kurgat).
Central Washington: Halle Irvine (Pole Vault), HarLee Ortega (Pentathlon), Alexa Shindruk (3,000 Meters, 5,000 Meters), Mariyah Vongsaveng (60m Hurdles).
Concordia: Chelsea Bone (Pentathlon).
Northwest Nazarene: Lexi Tubbs (60m Hurdles).
Seattle Pacific: Scout Cai (Pentathlon, Pole Vault), Peace Igbonagwam (Long Jump), Kate Lilly (Mile).
Simon Fraser: Sophie Dodd (800 Meters), Addy Townsend (800 Meters), Distance Medley Relay (Paige Nock, Renate Bluschke, Sophie Dodd, Addy Townsend).
Western Oregon: Olivia Woods (800 Meters)
Western Washington: Anna Paradee (Pole Vault), Maddie Taylor (High Jump).