Thursday, May 31, 2012

University of Alaska Anchorage distance runner Micah Chelimo has been voted the GNAC Outdoor Track-and-Field Male Athlete-of-the-Year.

Chelimo (Jr., Kapkoi, Kenya) was a unanimous selection receiving all nine first-place votes from the league's coaches.

Brittany Aanstad of Seattle Pacific and Susan Tanui of Alaska Anchorage tied in the balloting for the GNAC Female Athlete-of-the-Year award each receiving four first-place votes.

Tanui (So., Eldoret, Kenya) was also voted the GNAC Female Newcomer-of-the-Year also earning all nine first-place votes. Also earning special awards were UAA's Cody Parker and Grace Morgan and Landon Burningham of Western Oregon.

Parker (Fr., Comox, BC) and Morgan (Fr., Salt Spring Island, BC) were voted the GNAC Male and Female Freshman of the Year , respectively, while Burningham (Sr., Sandy, UT) was selected the GNAC Male Newcomer-of-the-Year.

Chelimo and Parker accounted for 24 of UAA's 28 points as the Seawolves finished a program best ninth in last weekend's NCAA Division II national meet at Pueblo, Colo. Chelimo won the men's 5,000 in a time of 15:15.85 and finished second in the steeplechase in a time of 9:02.75.

He previously was selected the Most Outstanding Performer in the conference meet in winning the 1500 (3:50.09) and 5000 (14:43.44) and placing second in the steeplechase (8:56.20).

Parker set GNAC records in both the national and conference meet. He finished third at nationals in the javelin with a conference-record throw of 232-5 after winning the javelin in the conference meet with a meet-record toss of 215-0.

Both Aanstad (Sr., Lake Stevens, WA) and Tanui set conference records with All-American performances at Pueblo. Aanstad won the javelin with a GNAC-record toss of 168-1.

Tanui had two All-American performances at Pueblo – finishing second in the steeplechase in a time of 10:28.26 and eighth in the 5,000 meters (18:00.06).

Her steeple time converts to 10:13.33 for altitude, which is a GNAC record, breaking her own mark of 10:15.47 she set earlier this season at Stanford.

Morgan swept both the 100 and 200 meter women's titles at the GNAC meet in meet-record times of 11.91 and 24.61. She also led the Seawolves to second-place finishes in both the 4x100 (47.67) and 4x400 relays (3:52.47). Burningham finished second in the 400 meters at the conference meet in a time of 48.50.

Kelven “Pee Wee” Halsell and Karl Lerum, who guided Western Washington and Seattle Pacific to GNAC outdoor team titles, were voted the GNAC Male Team and Female Team Coaches-of-the-Year, respectively.

Halsell, a 1981 graduate of Wayland Baptist, earned his 10th GNAC Coach-of-the-Year award.

He also previously won for men's outdoor track and field in 2005 and 2010; women's outdoor in 2009; men's indoor in 2005 and 2006 and men's cross country in 2006, 2006, 2007 and 2009. Halsell completed his 25th season at WWU and has coached 118 All-Americans during that stretch.

Lerum, a 1998 graduate of Pacific Lutheran, has now won 11 GNAC Coach-of-the-Year awards, also winning for women's indoor in each of the past six seasons. This is his fifth outdoor Coach-of-the-Year award. He also won in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011.