Thursday, May 22, 2014

BY MARK MOSCHETTI

ALLENDALE, Mich. –   Maybe Katelyn Steen was born to be a steeplechaser. The Western Washington junior certainly has looked like it recently, winning the GNAC title on May 9 in Oregon, and on Thursday, running her way to the top seed in the finals of that grueling, 3,000-meter race at the NCAAs in Michigan.
 
"My dad steepled when he went to Western," Steen said after posting the top time of 10:39.10 in upper 70-degree temperatures. "I kind of wanted to be like my dad.
 
"I followed him here," she said with a grin, "so I might as well do what he does."
 
Steen came in as the No. 5 seed off of her PR time of 10:34.40 at GNACs. But that left her well behind top-seeded Alicia Nelson of Adams State, who had an entry time of 9:59.83, but finished second behind Steen in the second of the two preliminary heats in 10:41.44.
 
"I totally doubted that I could do that, but my coaches were like, 'You totally can,'" Steen said. "Then it really happened and I'm kind of excited and haven't totally digested it yet."
 
She'll come back on Friday night and race for the title – her first time doing two steeples back-to-back. This time, the clock won't be her primary concern.
 
"It's definitely about place, because I'm not going to be in control of the race," she said. "There's going to be (11) other girls in it controlling it with me."
 
DONIGIAN IS READY TO GO RIGHT NOW

Unlike Vikings teammate Steen, Western Washington sophomore Alex Donigian has until Saturday before he has to return to the starting line for the 100-meter finals – and that's fine with him.
 
But if the finals has been Thursday night right after the prelims, that would have been fine with him, too.
 
"I'm good to race whenever – it could be in an hour, and I would be ready," Donigian said after his personal-best time of 10.46 gave him second place in the third of the three preliminary heats, an automatic spot in the finals, and the No. 9 seed for those finals. "I was born ready. I can do this."
 
That second-place finish was important. The top two in each of the three heats were guaranteed spots in the finals, followed by the next three fastest times. One runner had a better time (10.44), but was not among the top two in his heat, and was not among the next three fastest overall.
 
That opened the door for Donigian.
 
"There's room for improvement, but it was really good," he said of his performance. "Let's just say I'll bring it on Saturday."

LOST MARK DOESN'T SLOW DOWN ANDERS

For all the preparation that athletes put into it, the quirkiest things still happen at national track and field meets.
 
The top contenders just don't let those quirky things bother them.
 
Take Karolin Anders, for instance, the Alaska Anchorage sophomore from Berlin who is very much in the hunt for the women's heptathlon championship at the NCAA Division Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

After Thursday's first four events of the two-day, seven-event test, she is in third place with 3,236 points.
 
That's just 48 points off the lead. That's just 48 points off the lead as she set personal-best marks in all four events – the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200-meter dash – at Grand Valley Track & Field Stadium.
 
"That was amazing – I didn't know what to expect," Anders said. "We did a lot of work the last couple weeks. Ryan (McWilliams, UAA's multi-events coach) always tries to (slow) me down because I always want to try all seven events every day."
 
It was in the high jump where the unexpected happened to Anders.
 
"I stepped on my own mark, and it took off," Anders said of the indicator every athlete puts onto the ground to indicate where they want to start their run-up to the bar. "I didn't  even realize it, then one of the other competitors said, 'Karolin, I think your mark took off."
 
Anders twice walked off the distance (she said she doesn't use a measuring tape), put another mark down, and got back at it, and tied for the highest clearance of the day at 5-8, good for 891 points.
 
"I was worried for a little bit," she said. "But I'm like, 'No, that's not going to affect me at all. I'm not going to freak out because my mark blew away. I'm going to find it.'"
 
Clearly, she wasn't rattled. In addition to the high jump, her other places (all with PRs) were 13th in the 100 hurdles (14.89), third in the shot put (39-4), and ninth in the 200 (25.64).
 
 "The hurdles PR was big for me because I've never broken 15. I know the wind was really nice, but it was really exciting for me."
 
SHOT PUT GIVES THOMAS A DECATHLON BOOST

He's not a natural thrower. But on Thursday, the shot put became a big event for Cody Thomas.
 
The Alaska Anchorage sophomore used his final attempt of the day to set a personal record of 39 feet, 8 inches, took the momentum from that to set a PR in the high jump, then finished the day with a PR in the 400 meters to put himself solidly into third place in the men's decathlon with 3,949 points.
 
"I'm kind of a sprinter / jumper – throws kind of kill me a little bit," Thomas said. "I didn't throw very well until my last one, and that's when I found a meter and half, and that's what I needed to stay level with these club guys."
 
The throw made up for what Thomas felt were sub-par performances in the 100-meter dash (11.02) and long jump (22-7).
 
"I needed a pick-me-up somehow," he said. "But that's the way multis are."
 
Thomas is well ahead of his first-day total from last year's NCAA meet (3,515), this year's GNAC title-winning performance (3,722), and the 3,818 he scored in Sacramento earlier this season on the way to his career-best mark of 6,940.
 
On Friday, the pole vault – an event he didn't take up until arriving at Anchorage – figures to be crucial in his bid to finish at least in the top three. Thomas said there's no fear factor with it, but it's an event that he's still learning.
 
"It's not bad being up high and stuff. It's just an unnatural thing being 14 feet in the air, upside down, and looking back down at the runway," he said. It's a new sensation, I would say."
 
CHRISTIE ISN'T DONE YET

Although Rimar Christie barely missed making the 100-meter dash finals, the Northwest Nazarene star still has plenty of racing in his future – and soon.
 
"I have the national championships back in my home country," the Barbados native said on Thursday after posting a college PR of 10.46 in the preliminaries. "I'm looking to do well there (in the 100 and 200), and hopefully travel with the national team."
 
Christie isn't finished with the Crusasders, either. He just picked up his degree in biology two weeks ago, but still has one year of athletic eligibility remaining. So he'll return to compete and pursue a minor in psychology, with an eye toward grad school in sports psychology.
 
He'll take a lot of lessons from this season into his final year in NNU colors.
 
"I just learned how important the right mentality is in track and field," Christie said. "You can be 100 percent fit, but if your mind is not there, it doesn't really matter.
 
"My goal going into this race (tonight) was to shut off my mind completely. My body already knows what to do, so just shut off my mind and run. That's what I did and got a got a (college) PR. Not a lifetime PR, but it was a good way to end the season."