Sunday, February 19, 2012

Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific and Maurus Hope of Northwest Nazarene were voted the Outstanding Female and Male Performers Saturday in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field championship meet at Jackson's Track in Nampa, Idaho.

Worthen scored 38 individual points in the meet to lead the Falcons to their ninth consecutive team title with a total of 182 points as SPU easily outdistanced second-place Western Washington, which finished with 97 1/2 points.

Western Oregon won the men's team title, its fifth straight and its sixth in the nine-year history of the conference. The Wolves finished with 142 1/2 points. Central Washington was second with 122 points.

Hope won two events in two of the quickest times in GNAC history and also finished second in a third event Saturday to earn his Outstanding Performer award.

Worthen's 60 hurdles win in a time of 8.75 (the No. 2 all-time mark in conference history) was her second of the meet and the sixth of her career tying the GNAC record for individual victories currently shared by Krissy Tandle of Central Washington (2005-07, 2009) and Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific (2007-10).

She also finished second in the high jump (5-7 1/4), third in the 200 meters (25.51) and fifth in the triple jump (37-7 1/4) to earn 38 total points increasing her career total to 110.

In addition she anchored Seattle Pacific's win in the 4x400 relay in a time of 3:53.59 which enabled her to tie the record for most total wins in a single meet, including relays.

The Falcon 4x400 team also included Emily Quatier, Kishia Mitchell who also won the 60 in the third-best time in GNAC history (7.80) and Myisha Valentine.

Worthen is the first athlete - female or male - to produce 100 or more career points in the GNAC indoor championships.

NNU's Joy Warrington and Hope joined Worthen as two-event winners. Warrington won the shot put and weight throw (on Friday) and Hope swept the men's 200 and 400 in times of 21.91 and 48.85. His 400 time ranks second all-time in the GNAC and his 200 time ranks third.

Hope's 400 time was also one of six meet records set Saturday. He also placed second in the 60 hurdles in a time of 8.52.

Also setting meet records were NNU's Barak Watson in the men's 5,000 (14:51.07), Nate Johnson of Seattle Pacific in the men's heptathlon 4,860 points), Ashley Potter of Western Oregon in the women's triple jump (39-7) and Katie Pelchar of WOU in the high jump (5-7 1/4).

Potter matched her own No. 2 GNAC all-time mark in the triple jump and Pelchar's performance ranks fifth all-time in GNAC history.

Western Oregon's 4x400 men's relay team also set a meet record putting an exclamation point on its team victory in a time of 3:18.60. The Wolves also got a No. 2 all-time GNAC performance from Madison McClung who won the women's 200 in a time of 25.16.

Eleanor Siler of Western Washington and Nate Seely of Seattle Pacific each became three-time winners in their events. Siler added a 400 meter title to the ones she won in 2009 and 2010, while Seely won his third straight men's 800 title.

Five athletes won their second titles in the same event - Bryan Mack of Central Washington in the 60 (2009), Hope in the 400 (2009), Johnson in the heptathlon (2011), Potter in the triple jump (2010) and Warrington in the shot put (2010).