Saturday, May 25, 2019

KINGSVILLE, Texas – Caroline Kurgat finished her storied collegiate career the way everyone expected, and she had quite the supporting cast along for the ride.

The Alaska Anchorage senior complete her double repeat with a win of a women’s 5,000-meter race that yielded four All-Americans for the GNAC as the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships concluded Saturday at Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Javelina Stadium.

Kurgat broke out to the front of a slow race and pushed the pace from 800 meters on. She pulled away from the field over the final three laps to claim her second title of the meet with a time of 17:10.10.

With four titles, Kurgat became the all-time winningest outdoor track and field athlete in GNAC history as she surpassed the three national titles by Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler earned from 2007 to 2010. It is Kurgat’s seventh national title overall (three indoor track and field, one cross country).

Kurgat’s GNAC compatriots made for quite a race. Simon Fraser senior Julia Howley finished fourth in a time of 17:22.23. Seattle Pacific junior Kate Lilly placed fifth in 17:23.33 and Central Washington senior Alexa Shindruk placed seventh in 17:27.20 to earn her second All-American trophy of the meet. Seattle Pacific junior Dania Holmberg finished 17th in a time of 17:54.06.

The 5,000 meters capped a day that yielded a total of 14 All-American performances for the conference. The women’s 800 meters provided three of those trophies. Alaska Anchorage senior Danielle McCormick led the way, placing fourth in 2:09.41. Simon Fraser senior Alana Mussatto was sixth in 2:11.38 and senior Sophie Dodd was eighth in 2:15.37.

Northwest Nazarene senior Ellie Logan just missed a national championship in the women’s javelin. Leading the competition from her first throw until the last attempt by Missouri Southern’s Morgan Ash, Logan finished as the national runner-up with a throw of 165 feet, 2 inches. Western Oregon sophomore Darian Wilson also earned All-American honors, placing sixth with a mark of 155 feet.

Western Washington junior Amanda Short placed 10th with a mark of 147 feet, 10 inches. Vikings’ junior Raquel Pellecer finished 15th with her mark of 144 feet, 2 inches and her freshman teammate Paige Shimkus placed 16th with a mark of 144 feet, 1 inch. Simon Fraser senior Lauren Fridman finished 22nd with her throw of 125 feet, 8 inches.

In the men’s javelin, Concordia senior Easton Christensen led the GNAC performers. His sixth-place throw of 214 feet, 5 inches earned All-American honors. Western Washington senior Alex Barry placed ninth with a throw of 200 feet, 4 inches, and Concordia freshman Dalton Rasmussen was 10th with a mark of 198 feet, 11 inches.

Like Kurgat and Shindruk, Seattle Pacific junior Scout Cai earned her second All-American trophy of the meet as she placed eighth in the women’s pole vault with a clearance of 12 feet, 8.75 inches. Central Washington junior Halle Irvine tied for 15th with a clearance of 12 feet, 0.75 inches.

Alaska Anchorage junior Chrisalyn Johnson reset her own GNAC record in the women’s triple jump to earn her first All-American trophy, finishing seventh with a mark of 41 feet, 4.25 inches. Saint Martin’s freshman Keshara Romain placed 14th with a leap of 39 feet, 10.5 inches.

Central Washington sophomore Sidney Trinidad capped a record-setting season with the third-place finish in the women's 400-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 59.49 seconds. Wildcats' senior Mariyah Vongsaveng, meanwhile, closed her college career with All-American honors in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, placing seventh in 13.87 seconds. The Alaska Anchorage 4x400-meter relay team of Vanessa Aniteye, McCormick, Marie Ries and Tylantiss Atlas finished eighth in 3:47.87 to earn All-American trophies.

In the men’s high jump, Saint Martin’s freshman Tyler Cronk tied for 10th place with a clearance of 6 feet, 8.75 inches. The women’s 1,500 meters saw Simon Fraser senior Miryam Bassett place 11th in 4:42.81 and Northwest Nazarene senior Jake Knight place 17th in the men’s shot put with a mark of 56 feet, 5.5 inches.

Alaska Anchorage’s women led all GNAC teams with a seventh-place finish and a score of 28 points. Simon Fraser placed 15th with 15 points and Central Washington was 20th with 12 points. Alaska Anchorage was the top-scoring GNAC men’s team, finishing in 27th place with 11 points.