Thursday, March 20, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore.  –  Micah Chelimo and Karolin Anders, who led Alaska Anchorage to ninth and 13th place finishes in last week’s NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Indoor National Track and Field Championships at Salem, N.C., have been voted the Great Northwest Athletic Conference  Indoor Track and Field  Male and Female Athletes of the Year, respectively.

Chelimo (Sr., Kapkoi, Kenya), who earned the award for the second year in a row, won the 3,000-meter title in a time of 8:15.52 and finished second in the 5,000 meters in a time of 14:06.27 at the national meet.  Last year he won the 5,000 and finished fourth in the 3000 at the NCAA meet.        

Earlier this season Chelimo broke his own GNAC record in the 5,000 meters with a time of 13:47.73.  He also scored 26 points in the conference meet, winning the 5K in a meet record time of 14:50.02 and the 3,000 in a time of 8:28.35.  He also finished  third in the mile (4:13.90).

Anders (So., Berlin, Germany) finished fourth in the pentathlon at the NCAAs with a  3,775 point total.  Converted to 3,797 for track configuration, her point total ranks second in GNAC history.

At the GNAC meet, she won the pentathlon (3,640) and triple jump (36-10 ½) and also finished second in the high jump (5-3 ¾), third in the long jump (18-0 ½) and eighth in the shot put (38-4 ¾).  She had a season-best of 5-7 ¾ in the high jump, which ranks sixth in GNAC history.

Mitch Kamstra, Micah Spatz and Ali Silva of Northwest Nazarene and Joyce Kipchumba of Alaska Anchorage also won special awards.

Kamstra (Sr., Spokane Valley, WA), who finished sixth in the high jump (6-2 ¾) and fifth in the triple jump (41-9 ¾) at the conference meet, was voted the GNAC Male Newcomer of the Year, while Kipchumba (Jr., Kapsowar, Kenya), who finished sixth in both the 3,000 (9:48.80) and 5,000 (17:14.18) at the NCAA national meet, was selected the GNAC Female Newcomer of the Year.

Kipchumba, a transfer from American International, also won both the 3,000 (10:01.01) and 5,000 (17:22.40) at the conference meet.  She also had season bests of 9:33.60 in the 3K and 16:49.59 in the 5K, which rank second and sixth in GNAC history.

Spatz (Melba, Idaho), who finished second in the heptathlon in the conference meet with a score of 4,494, was voted the GNAC Male Freshman of the Year. 

Silva (Nampa, Idaho) earned GNAC Female Freshman of the Year honors.  She set a GNAC record in winning the pole vault (12-10) in the conference meet and also finished 11^th in the national meet with a vault of 12-1 ½. 

PeeWee Halsell and Michael Friess, who guided Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage, respectively, to GNAC team titles were voted the GNAC Male Team and Female Team Coaches of the Year, respectively.  

Halsell led the Vikings to their fourth GNAC Men’s Indoor team title.   It was also his fourth GNAC Indoor Coach of the Year award. Friess earned his second consecutive GNAC Indoor Coach of the Year award.  Both Halsell and Friess were also voted USTFCCCA West Region Male Team and Female Team Coaches of the Year.

For more GNAC Indoor Track and Field news, check out the GNAC Season Wrapup report. 

Outdoor Meets Set for Eugene, Portland, La Grande; Nine Teams Ranked by Computer

PORTLAND, Ore. - With the indoor season complete, GNAC teams continue their outdoor seasons at three venues this Saturday.

Four teams - Central Washington, Seattle Pacific, Western Oregon and Western Washington - will send athletes to Hayward Field to compete in the Oregon Preview in Eugene.

Saint Martin's and Western Oregon will have athletes at the Lewis & Clark Invitational in Portland.  Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene will be represented at the Eastern Oregon Team Challenge in La Grande.

Nine GNAC teams are nationally ranked in this week's USTFCCCA national computer rankings.

Alaska Anchorage, after winning GNAC Team of the Week honors last week for the exploits of its men's and women's indoor and outdoor teams, is ranked second nationally in the men's division and fifth in the women's division.

Central Washington (12th), Western Oregon (15th), Saint Martin's (21st) and Western Washington (24th) are also ranked in the men's division, while Central (12th), Western Oregon (14th) and Western Washington (18th) are ranked in the women/s division.

The rankings, which are based on actual results, are somewhat skewed by the fact that many of the top teams, and perhaps, more importantly, top individual athletes in the country have not competed in any outdoor events while finishing up the indoor season.

USTFCCCA NATIONAL OUTDOOR COMPUTER RANKINGS (as of March 18):  Men – 2. Alaska Anchorage; 12. Central Washington, 15. Western Oregon, 21. Saint Martin’s, 24.Western Washington. Women – 5. Alaska Anchorage,  12. Central Washington, 14. Western Oregon, 18. Western Washington.

USTFCCCA REGIONAL OUTDOOR COMPUTER RANKINGS (as of March 18):  Men – 1. Chico State; 2. UC San Diego; 3. Alaska Anchorage; 4. Cal Poly Pomona; 5. Central Washington, 6. CSU Stanislaus; 7. Azusa Pacific; 8. Western Oregon, 9. Cal State LA; 10. Academy of Art. Women – 1. UC San Diego; 2. Chico State; 3. CSU Stanislaus; 4. Alaska Anchorage; 5. Azusa Pacific; 6. Central Washington; 7. Fresno Pacific; 8. Cal State L.A.; 9. Western Oregon; 10. Academy of Art.

Five Marks Added to GNAC Top 10s

Alaska Anchorage had five performances last weekend that rank on the GNAC All-Time Top 10 performance and the  Seawolves also had six performances that met a NCAA Division II provisional qualifying standard.  

 The outdoor season is still in its infancy.  However, UAA has the early national leader in three events – Jamie Ashcroft in the women’s 100 (11.84) and 200 (24.27) and Isaac Kangogo in the men’s 1500 (3:49.60).  Bethany Drake of Western Washington is the national leader in the women’s javelin (156-11).

BY THE NUMBERS

GNAC ALL-TIME TOP 10 OUTDOOR PERFORMANCES (for March 10-16):  Men: 1500 – 5. Isaac Kangogo, UAA, 3:49.60.  110 Hurdles – 5. Cody Thomas, UAA, 14.81.  4x400 Relay – 1. Alaska Anchorage 3:13.70..  WOMEN: 100 Hurdles – 8. *Rosie Smith, UAA, 14.40.  4x100 Relay – 3. Alaska Anchorage 47.11   *Fullerton Ben Brown Invitational (all other performances were at Occidental).

LAST WEEK’S NCAA OUTDOOR QUALIFIERS (for March 10-16): Men: 1500 –  Isaac Kangogo, UAA, 3:49.60.  5000 – Dylan Anthony, UAA, 14:35.73.  400 Hurdles – *Elliott Bauer, UAA, 53.61.  4x400 Relay –   Alaska Anchorage 3:13.70..  WOMEN: 100 Hurdles –  *Rosie Smith, UAA, 14.40.  4x100 Relay –  Alaska Anchorage 47.11   *Ben Brown Invitational (all other performances were at Occidental).

CURRENT TOP 10 NATIONAL LEADERS (though Mar. 18): Men:  1500 – 1. Isaac Kangogo, UAA, 3:49.60.  5000 – 2. Dylan Anthony, UAA, 14:35.73.  400 Hurdles – 2. Bobo Camara, UAA, 53.14; 5. Elliott Bauer, UAA, 53.61.  4x400 Relay – 2. Alaska Anchorage 3:13.70..  Javelin – 2. Franz Burghagen, UAA, 66.10 – 216-10; 3. Shane Brooks, WOU, 64.49 – 211-7; 5. Cody Parker, UAA, 63.83 – 209-5; 6. Justin Larson, WOU, 62.91 – 206-5.  WOMEN: 100 – 1. Jamie Ashcroft, UAA, 11.84.  200 – 1. Jamie Ashcroft, UAA, 24.27. 100 Hurdles – 2. Rosie Smith, UAA, 14.40.  4x100 Relay – 4. Alaska Anchorage 47.11. Javelin – 1. Bethany Drake, WWU, 47.84 – 156-11; 2. Seabre Church, WOU, 47.48 – 155-9; 6. Katie Reichert, WWU, 42.43 – 139-2.   

LAST WEEK:

GNAC RED LION ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

MEN: Track - Elliott Bauer, Alaska Anchorage (Jr., Anchorage, AK – South Anchorage) posted  a provisional national qualifying time in the 400 hurdles at the Ben Brown Invitational at Fullerton, Calif.  Bauer was clocked in a time of 53.61.  He also ran the lead leg as the Seawolves won the 4x400 relay at the Occidental Distance Relays in a GNAC record-time of 3:13.70.  Field – Troy Martin, Central Washington (Fr., Port Angeles, WA) finished second in the shot put (50-2 ½) and third in the discus (159-5) posting GNAC season-best marks in both events at the Dusty Lane Open in Spokane.  Both marks automatically qualify Martin for the GNAC meet in May.

HONORABLE MENTION: Kody Rhodes, Western Oregon (Sr., Wilsonville, OR) won the 110-meter hurdles and 400 hurdles at the Lane Preview posting GNAC automatic qualifying times of 14.96 and 54.69.  He has a best of 14.93 in the shorter event this spring, which ranks second on the GNAC performance list.  His 400-hurdle time ranks fourth in the conference .... Micah Spatz, Northwest Nazarene (Fr., Melba, ID), competing in his first collegiate decathlon, scored 5,758 points to finish second at the NNU Multi-Events and take the early GNAC lead in the event.

WOMEN: Track – Rosie Smith, Alaska Anchorage (So., Anchorage, AK - Bartlett) finished second in the 100 hurdles at the Occidental Distance Carnival Friday in a time of 14.52, then posted a provisional national qualifying time of 14.40 in finishing fifth in the same event at the Fullerton State Ben Brown Invitational Saturday.  Her 100 hurdles time ranks eighth in GNAC history.  She also was a member of UAA’s 4x100 relay team at Occidental than finished first in the third fastest time in GNAC history (47.11).  Field – Becki Duhamel, Central Washington (Sr., Wenatchee, WA) posted GNAC automatic qualifying marks in both the discus (131-3) and shot put (41-5 ¼) at the Dusty Lane Open. She finished fourth in both events.  Her marks rank  first and second, respectively, so far this spring in the GNAC.

HONORABLE MENTION: Rochelle Pappel, Western Oregon (So., Veneta, OR -  Churchill)  won the 100 hurdles at the Lane Preview in a time of 15.07, finishing more than a full second ahead of the field.  She also finished second in the 100 meters in a time of 12.91 ... Janessa Dyk, Northwest Nazarene (Fr., Portland, OR – David Douglas), made her collegiate debut, winning the heptathlon at the NNU Multi-Events with a score of 3,774 points.

Dusty Lane Open (March 15 at Spokane): Men (GNAC Winner):  400  Hurdles – Bernari Sternen, CWU, 54.10.  4x100 Relay – Central Washington 42.34.  4x400 Relay – Central Washington 3:20.09.   Triple Jump – Luke Plummer, CWU, 13.52 – 46-3 ¼.  Women (GNAC Winners): 100 – Chelsea Genther, CWU, 12.79. Steeplechase – Erin Chinchar, CWU,  12:11.31.  4x100 – Central Washington 49.87.  4x400 Relay – Central Washington 4:07.74.

Lane Preview (March 14-15 at Eugene): Men (Top 3):  200 – 2. Tyrell Williams, WOU, 22.36.  1500 – 1. Brady Beagley, WOU, 3:56.58; 2. Ryan Hansen, WOU, 3:57.20; 3. Drew Larson, WOU, 3:58.16.  110 Hurdles – 1. Kody Rhodes, WOU, 14.96; 3. Brett Campbell, WOU, 15.54.  400 Hurdles – 1. Kody Rhodes, WOU, 54.69.  4x400 Relay – 3. Western Oregon 3:26.39.  Discus – 3. Carraig Colahan, WOU, 39.51 – 129-7.  Javelin – 1. Neil Gravatt, WOU, 52.34 – 171-9.   Women (Top 3):  100 – 2. Rochelle Pappel, WOU, 12.91.  3000 – 3. Rachel Crawford, WOU, 10:49.36.  100 Hurdles – 1. Rochelle Pappel, WOU, 15.07.  400 Hurdles – 2. Audrey Hellesto, WOU, 1:05.63.  4x400 Relay – 2. Western Oregon 4:01.81.   Hammer – 2. Emmi Collier, WOU, 41.05 – 134-8.  Shot Put – 2. Emmi Collier, WOU, 12.61 – 41-4 ½. 

Northwest Nazarene Combined (March 14-15 at Nampa): Decathlon – 1. Andrew Galbraith, unat, 5922; 2. Micah Spatz, NNU, 5758; 3. Luke Conklin, NNU, 4744; 4. Christian Li, College of Idaho, 4395.  Heptathlon -  1. Janessa Dyk, NNU, 3774; 2. Tiana Thomas, College of Idaho, 3575; 3.Johanna Mori, College of Idaho, 2279. 

Occidental Distance Carnival (March 14 at Eagle Rock, CA): Men (Top 3): 1500 – 3. Isaac Kangogo, UAA, 3:49.60.   110 Hurdles – 1. Cody Thomas, UAA, 14.81; 3. Travis Wilson, UAA, 15.92.  4x400 Relay – 1. Alaska Anchorage (Elliott Bauer. Adam Commandeur, Bobo Camara, Ethan Hewitt) 3:13.70.   Women (Top 3):  100 – 2. Jamie Ashcroft, UAA, 12.17. 100 Hurdles – 2. Rosie Smith, UAA, 14.52; 3. Alexia Blalock, UAA, 15.99. 4x100 Relay – 1. Alaska Anchorage (Makenzie Harsch, Rosie Smith, Sasha Halfyard, Jamie Ashcroft) 47.11. 

Ben Brown Invitational (March 15 at Fullerton, CA): Men (Top 10): 400 -  5. Ethan Hewitt,  UAA, 48.43.  800 – 10. Isaac Kangogo, UAA, 1:54.83.   110 Hurdles – 6. Bobo Camara, UAA, 15.09; 7. Cody Thomas, UAA, 15.23.  400 Hurdles – 4. Bobo Camara, UAA, 53.29; 6. Elliott Bauer, UAA, 53.61. Long Jump – 10. Tevin Gladden, UAA, 6.67 – 21-10 ¾.   Javelin – 3. Franz Burghagen, UAA, 65.93 – 216-4.  Women (Top 10): 100 – 4. Jamie Ashcroft, UAA, 12.11. 100 Hurdles – 5. Rosie Smith, UAA, 14.40. 4x100 Relay – 2. Alaska Anchorage (Makenzie Harsch, Rosie Smith, Sasha Halfyard, Jamie Ashcroft) 47.41.   Triple Jump – 6. Alexia Blalock, UAA, 11.08 – 36-4 ¼.   Shot Put – 6. Gaynor Johansen, UAA, 11.52 – 37-9 ½.  Discus – 6. Gaynor Johansen, UAA, 36.26 – 118-11.

Hub City Open (March 15 at Centralia): Men (SMU results): Discus – 5. Mitch Wilkens, SMU, 36.90 – 121-0. Hammer – 3. Vince Faulefau, SMU, 44.43 – 145-9; 5. Mitch Wilkens, SMU, 40.44 – 132-8. Shot – 1. Mitch Wilkens, SMU, 14.51 – 47-7 ¼.  Women (SMU Results): Discus – Kirby Neale, SMU, 31.26 – 102-6.  Hammer – 1. Angel Rodgers, SMU, 45.95 – 150-9; 2. Ali Wick, SMU, 45.06 – 147-10; 3. Ami Wick, SMU, 43.52 – 142-9. Shot Put – 1. Kirby Neale, SMU, 11.68 – 38-3 3/4; 3. Ami Wick, SMU, 11.44 – 37-6 ¼.

For more GNAC Outdoor Track highlights, click on the weekly report.