Tuesday, April 30, 2019

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington senior HarLee Ortega maintained her lead for the championship in the heptathlon while Concordia senior Giovanni Brown surged in the final day to win the decathlon as the GNAC Combined Event Championships concluded Tuesday at the CWU Recreation Sports Complex.

Ortega, who led after day one with a score of 3,118 points, had top-five finishes in each of the final three events to win with a heptathlon lifetime-best score of 5,212 points. The score not only automatically qualifies for the NCAA Division II Championships, but also moves Ortega to No. 5 on the GNAC All-Time List and is the fourth-best score in Division II this season.

Seattle Pacific junior Scout Cai was second with a lifetime best score of 5,034 points that improved her No. 8 spot on the GNAC All-Time List. The total improves Cai to No. 6 in Division II. Concordia senior Chelsea Bone was third with a score of 4,982 points.

Brown, meanwhile, won three of the five events on day two to move up from second place and win the decathlon with a score of 7,007 points. Also a lifetime best score, Brown improved to No. 4 on the GNAC All-Time List and moves up to No. 9 in Division II this season.

Central Washington Braydon Maier, last year’s decathlon champion, was second with a score of 6,811 points. Wildcats’ senior Michael Forster placed third with a score 6,548 points.

Ortega posted solid performances in all three second-day events to preserve the win. She placed second in the long jump at 18 feet, 1.75 inches, was third in the javelin at 115 feet, 4 inches and finished fifth in the 800 meters in 2:20.98. Cai also had top-three finishes in the three events, placing fifth in the long jump (17-4.75), second in the javelin (123-11) and third in the 800 meters (2:20.21).

Seattle Pacific junior Renick Meyer opened the day by winning the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 3.25 inches. Bone won the javelin by 15 feet with a mark of 123 feet, 11 inches. Central Washington sophomore Sidney Trinidad won her third individual event of the competition, the 800 meters, in 2:14.39.

Brown moved into the lead by winning the first two events of the day, taking the 110-meter hurdles in 15.08 seconds and the discus with a throw of 148 feet, 4 inches. After placing fourth in the pole vault with a clearance of 13 feet, 5.25 inches and finishing 10th in the javelin, Brown secured the victory by winning the 1,500 meters in a time of 4:19.01 for his first GNAC championship.

Alaska Anchorage sophomore David Sramek was the winner of the pole vault, clearing 15 feet, 1 inch, while Western Oregon junior Mitch Kruse won the javelin with a mark of 174 feet.

Points earned from the GNAC Combined Event Championships will carry over to the GNAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which take place May 10 and 11 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon.