Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Directions to Jacksons Indoor Complex
NAMPA, Idaho - Seattle Pacific will be seeking its 10th consecutive GNAC Indoor Women’s Track and Field team title this Friday and Saturday at the Jacksons Indoor Complex.
Last year the Falcons cruised to a 84 ½ point victory finishing well-ahead of second-place Western Washington 182 ½ to 97 ½.
The Falcons figure to be in a tight three-way battle this year with the Vikings and Alaska Anchorage which is competing in the indoor meet for the first time. Simon Fraser could also contend.
Western Oregon is the five-time defending champion in the men’s meet but has just two No. 1 seeds.
Either Alaska Anchorage, which has seven No. 1 seeds or Western Washington which has four, could possibly dethrone the Wolves.
Women
Ali Worthen, the GNAC’s all-time indoor point scorer with 110 points including 38 last year, isn’t back, but Seattle Pacific does return three defending champions in Katie Gross in the pentathlon, Kishia Mitchell in the 60 meters and McKayla Fricker in the 800 meters.
Gross will be seeking her third consecutive title in her event. Eight previous times a female athlete has won the same event at least three times.
Mitchell is the top seed in both the 60 meters and 200 meters with season-best times of 7.73 and 25.66, respectively.
Fricker, meanwhile, has the nation’s third best time in the 800 (2:11.11) but just the second in the GNAC. Simon Fraser’s Helen Crofts is the national leader in the event with a time of 2:07.34.
The GNAC could dominate that event at the national meet as it has five of the top nine ranked 800-meter athletes including Crofts, Fricker and SFU’s Lindsay Butterworth (5th, 2:11.89), Michaela Kane (6th, 2:12.12) and Sarah Sawatzky (9th, 2:12.29).
Two other 2012 women’s champions return.
Butterworth is back to defend her title in the mile and Western Oregon’s Madison McClung is the defending champion in the 200.
Butterworth and Susan Tanui of Alaska Anchorage share the top seed with mile times of 4:58.17. McClung, however, comes in with only the ninth best time in the 200 (26.22).
Tanui is also the top seed in the 3,000 meters (9:38.71) and 5,000 meters (16:29.48) and will attempt to pull off a “triple”.
Her mile time is tied with Butterworth for ninth all-time in GNAC history, while her 3,000 and 5,000 times rank second and third all-time in GNAC history and fourth and second on the current NCAA performance list.
Her teammate Ruth Keino has the nation’s third best time in the 5,000 (16:31.87). That time ranks fourth in GNAC history.
Other former champions in the field include Crofts in the 400, Western Washington’s Tanya Bjornsson in the 60 hurdles and Emily Warman of Western Washington in the long jump.
Crofts set a meet record in the 400 (55.90) in 2011 but will skip that event to concentrate on the 800.
Bjornsson won the hurdles event in 2011 and comes in as the No. 2 seed (8.94) in back of Rosie Smith of Alaska Anchorage (8.89).
Warman won the long jump in 2010 and is the top seed with a mark of 18-5.
Warman currently ranks 12th in GNAC history for most career points in the meet and could move as high as third on the career list with strong performances in the long jump and triple jump where she is the No. 3 seed with a best of 36-1 ½.
In addition to Tanui (mile, 3000, 5000) and Mitchell (60, 200), Becki Duhamel of Central Washington is the No. 1 seed in two events – the shot put (44-3 ½) and weight throw (53-11 ¾).
Men
Seven athletes including Nate Johnson of Seattle Pacific in the heptathlon, return to defend their 2012 titles.
Johnson, who is the No. 2 seed (4,591 points) in back of Cody Thomas of Alaska Anchorage (4,648 points), will attempt to join six other male athletes that have won three titles in the same event, including Western Washington pole vaulter Ryan Brown who won four consecutive titles between 2008 and 2011.
Also back to defend are Sam Washington of Saint Martin’s in the weight throw, Tanner Rottrup of Montana State Billings in the shot put, Scott Hunter of Central Washington in the pole vault, Seth Pierson of Seattle Pacific in the mile, Brett Campbell of Western Oregon in the 60 hurdles and WOU’s Matson Hardie in the triple jump.
Washington (55-8 ½), Rottrup (53-5) and Hunter (15-5) are all the No. 1 seeds in their events though Quinton Agosta of Central Washington has a mark matching Washington, who currently ranks 15th on the GNAC all-time meet point scoring list with 42.
Pierson is just the fourth seed in the mile (4:14.87) as UAA’s Alfred Kangogo is the leader (4:10.52) in that event.
In the hurdles, Campbell is the seventh seed (8.68). Freshman Peter Maguire of Western Washington is the leader with a best of 8.37.
Hardie is the No. 1 seed in both the triple jump (47-9 1/4) and long jump (22-10).
Hardie, who ranks 16th on the GNAC career point list with 41 ½, also won the long jump title in 2010 setting a conference and meet record with a leap of 23-8.
He and Micah Chelimo of Alaska Anchorage are the lone male athletes seeded No. 1 in two events.
Chelimo is the No. 1 seed in both the 3,000 (8:14.15) and 5,000 (13:51.19). Both times are GNAC records. His 5,000 time currently leads the nation and is 3,000 time ranks eighth.