Thursday, March 5, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. - Led by top-ranked Lindsey Buttterworth of Simon Fraser, 20 Great Northwest Athletic Conference athletes will compete in 23 individual events March 13-14 at the NCAA Division II National Indoor meet at Birmingham, Ala.

Butterworth is the national leader in the women’s 800 meters with a season-best time of 2:06.56.  That time ranks second in GNAC history topped only by a time of 2:04.94 by SFU’s Helen Crofts in 2011.

Ten men and 10 women received invitations to the meet to compete in individual events.  In addition three GNAC teams will compete in the women’s distance medley relay, That means 11 additional athletes, who didn’t qualify in an individual event, will also make the trip to Birmingham.

Three athletes – Jamie Ashcroft of Alaska Anchorage, Rebecca Bassett of Simon Fraser and Katelyn Steen of Western Washington - will compete in two individual events.

Ashcroft is the seventh seed in the 200 meters (24.25) and will also run in the 60.  Bassett will run the mile and 3000 and Steen is the fifth seed in the 5,000 (16:46.92) and will double in the 3K.

In addition to Butterworth, Ashcroft and Stein, six other athletes have marks that rank in the Top 8 in their events making them favorites to earn All-America honors including SFU’s Jennifer Johnson who is seeded third in the 3,000 with a best time of 9:28.24.

Five men are also ranked in the Top 8 led by three who are No. 4 seeds - Alex Donigian of Western Washington in the 60 meters (6.72), Saint Martin’s Mikel Smith in the high jump (7-0 ½) and Peyton Lewis of Northwest Nazarene (17-0 ¾) in the pole vault.

Robert Peterson of MSU Billings is the sixth seed in the mile (4:07.50) and Cody Thomas of Alaska Anchorage is the fifth seed in the heptathlon (5338) to complete the list of favorites to score points in the national meet.

In the DMR, Simon Fraser is ranked fifth.  Alaska Anchorage is just outside the Top 8 at No. 9 and Seattle Pacific is seeded 13^th.

NCAA ACCEPTED ATHLETES AND SEEDS

Men: 60 – 4. Alex Donigian, WWU, 6.72. 800 – 12. Badane Sultessa, WOU, 1:51.22.  Mile – 6. Robert Peterson, MSUB, 4:07.50; 11. Travis Vugteveen, SFU, 4:08.20; 13. Brady Beagley, WOU, 4:08.53. 5000 – 14. Oliver Jorgensen, SFU, 14:28.15. High Jump – 4. Mikel Smith, SMU, 2.15. Pole Vault – 4. Payton Lewis, NNU, 5.20. Triple Jump – 11. Luke Plummer, CWU, 15.06. Heptathlon – 5. Cody Thomas, UAA, 5338.

Women: 60 – 16. Jamie Ashcroft, UAA, 7.60.  200 – 7. Jamie Ashcroft, UAA, 24.25. 800 – 1. Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 2:06.56; 11. Lynelle Decker, SPU, 2:11.51; 15. Paige Nock, SFU, 2:12.16. Mile – 12. Stephanie Stuckey, WOU, 4:56.18; 14. Rebecca Bassett, SFU, 4:57.47.  3000 – 3. Jennifer Johnson, SFU, 9:28.24; 9. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 9:38.92; 16. Rebecca Bassett, SFU, 9:43.20. 5000 – 5. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 16:46.92. *Distance Medley Relay – 5. Simon Fraser (Rebecca Bassett, Monique Lisek, Paige Nock, Lindsey Butterworth, Chantel Desch) 11:40.01; 9. Alaska Anchorage (Jessica Pahkala, Rosie Smith, Haleigh Lloyd, Beatrice Decker, Tamara Perez) 11:48.78; 13. Seattle Pacific (Jessica Rawlins, Becca Houk,, Lynelle Decker, Anna Patti, Jahzelle Ambus) 11:47.33. High Jump – 14. Tayler Fettig, CWU, 1.73 – 5-8.  Pentathlon – 10. Karolin Anders, UAA, 3791. *Five athletes, including 1 alternate, listed in DMR.

18 Take GNAC Top 10 Marks To Indoor Meet

Sixteen individuals (in 18 events) and two relays take marks to Birmingham that rank on the GNAC Top 10 all-time list.

Six are GNAC records – UAA’s Jamie Ashcroft in both the women’s 60 and 200. WWU’s Alex Donigian in the men’s 60, SMU’s Mikel Smith in the high jump and CWU’s Luke Plummer in the triple jump.

The Top 10 marks include:

WOMEN: 60 – 1. Jamie Ashcroft, UAA, 7.60.  200 – 1. Jamie Ashcroft, UAA, 24.25.  800 – 2. Lindsay Butterworth, SFU, 2:06.56.  Mile – 9. Stephanie Stuckey, WOU, 4:56.18.  3000 – 2. Jennifer Johnson, SFU, 9:28.24; 5. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 9:38.92; 6. Rebecca Bassett, SFU, 9:43.20.  5000 – 6. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 16:46.92.  DMR – 5. Simon Fraser 11:40.01; 7. Alaska Anchorage 11:44.78.  (Note: Tayler Fettig of CWU and Karolin Anders of UAA have 2014 marks that rank No. 2 all-time in the GNAC - Fettig’s 5-9 ¾ high jump and Anders’ 3,797 point total in pentathlon).

Men: 60 – 1. Alex Donigian, WWU, 6.72. 800 – 2. Badane Sultessa, WOU, 1:51.22.  Mile – 2. Robert Peterson, MSUB, 4:07.50; 4 Travis Vugteveen, SFU, 4:08.20; 5. Brady Beagley, WOU, 4:08.53. 5000 – 3. Oliver Jorgensen, SFU, 14:28.15. High Jump – 1. Mikel Smith, SMU, 2.15. Pole Vault – 2. Payton Lewis, NNU, 5.20. Triple Jump – 1. Luke Plummer, CWU, 15.06. Heptathlon – 2. Cody Thomas, UAA, 5338.

Simon Fraser Ranked 7^th By  USTFCCA Computer

Simon Fraser’s women is the only GNAC indoor team ranked in the Top 25 by the USTFCCCA computer.  The Clan is ranked seventh.

In the final West Region Team Index, Western Washington’s men and Seattle Pacific’s women are the top ranked teams.

GNAC teams dominate the regional index placing eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams in the Top 10.

Men – 1. Western Washington; 2. Alaska Anchorage; 3. Simon Fraser; 4. Azusa Pacific; 5. Academy of Art; 6. Northwest Nazarene; 7. Western Oregon; 8. Central Washington; 9. Saint Martin’s; 10. MSU Billings.

Women – 1. Seattle Pacific; 2. Alaska Anchorage; 3. Simon Fraser; 4. Azusa Pacific; 5. Academy of Art; 6. Central Washington; 7. Northwest Nazarene; 8. Western Washington; 9. Western Oregon; 10. Cal State Stanislaus.

Six Post Qualifying Marks at SPU Final Qualifier

Seven individuals and two relay teams took advantage of last Saturday’s SPU Final Qualifier to post PNQs. 

Five of those marks earned the athletes spots or improved their seeding in the national meet – WOU’s Badane Sultessa in the men’s 800, Brady Beagley in the mile and Stephanie Stuckey in the women’s 800; WWU’s Katelyn Steen in the 3000 and Seattle Pacific’s DMR relay team.

Men: 800 – Badane Sultessa, WOU, 1:51.22; Cameron Proceviat, SFU, 1:51.88. Mile – Brady Beagley, WOU, 4:08.53.  Pole Vault – Gordon Kordas, WWU, 4.78 – 15-8 ¼.  

Women: Mile – Stephanie Stuckey, WOU, 4:56.18.  3000 – Katelyn Steen, WWU, 9:38.92.  4x400 Relay – Seattle Pacific 3:49.16. DMR – Seattle Pacific 11:47.33.  Shot Put – Becki Duhamel, CWU, 14.20 – 46-7 ¼.

Indoor Out, Outdoor In

With the indoor season over for everyone except the national qualifiers, GNAC track and field athletes transition to outdoors beginning this weekend.

Alaska Anchorage heads to Las Vegas for the UNLV Invitational, Western Oregon competes in the Willamette Opener and Seattle Pacific and Western Washington will have athletes in the UPS Outdoor Preview.

The Vikings will be competing without 2014 national javelin champion Bethany Drake this spring.

The Vikings announced earlier this week that Drake has a stress reaction in her lower vertebrae and will miss the season.

93 Earn USTFCCCA All-Region Honors

A total of 93 GNAC track and field athletes have earned USTFCCCA West Region all-region honors in 143 events.

The top five individuals and top three relay teams based on season-best marks earn all-region honors.

On the men’s side, 48 athletes earned 69 all-region honors.  Simon Fraser had nine athletes with 18 awards, while Western Washington had 11 athletes earn 14 awards.

On the women’s side, 45 athletes earned a total of 74 all-region awards.  Seattle Pacific had 12 in 21 events and Simon Fraser had nine in 20 events.

Two athletes – SFU’s Cameron Proceviat and UAA’s Karolin Anders were the respective men’s and women’s leaders with four each.

Following is complete list of all-region recipients.  For a list of their individual events, visit the USTFCCCA web site.

Men: Alaska Anchorage (7/8) – Joe Day, Tevin Gladden, Darrion Gray, Nathan Kipchumba, Liam Lindsay, Dominik Notz, Cody Thomas (2).   Central Washington (4/5) – Kent McKinney, Luke Plummer, Kevin Stanley (2), Armando Tafoya.  MSU Billings (1/2) – Robert Peterson (2).   Northwest Nazarene (6/8) – Rimar Christie, Andrew Galbraith, Payton Lewis (3), Zach McClanahan, John VanBeuren, Jared Webster.  Saint Martin’s (4/4) – Matt DeHan, Mikel Smith, Mitch Wilkens, Jaysen Yoro.  Simon Fraser (9/18)– Stuart Ellenwood, Oliver Jorgensen (2), Daniel Kelloway, Vladislav Moldavanov, Cameron Proceviat (4), Marc-Antoine Rouleau (3), Vladislav Tsygankov, Travis Vugteveen (2), Joel Webster (3).  Western Oregon (6/10) – Brady Beagley (2), Josh Hanna (2), Jeremy Moore, Badane Sultessa (2), Cody Warner (2), Aaron Whitaker. Western Washington (11/14) – Alex Donigian (2), Isaac Griffith, J.T. Konrad, Gordon Kordas, Ryan Macdonald, Travis Milbrandt, Logan Myers, Brandon Pless (2), Mark Seely, Nathaniel van Tuinen, Brett Watson (2). 

Women: Alaska Anchorage (8/15) – Karolin Anders (4), Jamie Ashcroft (2), Alexia Blalock, Beatrice Decker, Amy Johnston, Haleigh Lloyd, Jessica Pahkala (2), Rosie Smith (3). Central Washington (5/6) – Kelly Cronic, Becki Duhamel (2), Dani Eggleston, McKenna Emmert, Tayler Fettig.  Northwest Nazarene (4/4) – Caitlin Curtis, Chelsey Knott, Alison Silva, Taylor VanValey.  Saint Martin’s (1/1) – Kirby Neale (1/1).  Seattle Pacific (12/21) – Jahzelle Ambus (3), Tasia Baldwin (2), Kyra Brannan, Lynelle Decker (2), Becca Houk (3), Jasmine Johnson, Maliea Luquin (2) Sammi Markham, Anna Patti (3), Jessica Rawlins, Jalen Tims, Naphtali Ward.  Simon Fraser (9/20) – Rebecca Bassett (3), Ella Brown, Lindsey Butterworth (3), Chantel Desch (2), Jennifer Johnson (2), Monique Lisek (3), Alana Mussatto (2), Paige Nock (3), Peggy Noel.  Western Oregon (3/3) – Emmi Collier, Rochelle Pappel, Stephanie Stuckey.  Western Washington (3/4) – Jasmine McMullin, Anna Paradee, Katelyn Steen (2).

A Look Back at the Conference Meet

A good case could be made for calling the 2015 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships – the 11^th annual rendition – as the best in GNAC history.

A total 13 meet records were set or tied (8 by the men and 5 by the women) and that doesn’t even count the five that were set in multi individual events.  Three of the records were set twice – once in the prelims and then again in the finals.

Four of the meet records were also all-time GNAC records including a 49-5 triple jump by Central Washington’s Luke Plummer, a 8.08 60 hurdles mark by Travis Milbrandt of Western Washington and times of 7.65 and 24.25 by Jamie Ashcroft of Alaska Anchorage in the women’s 60 and 200.

The meet also featured 54 national qualifying performances – 12 by Alaska Anchorage (5 men, 7 women) and 11 by Seattle Pacific’s women’s team.  That helped earn UAA and SPU GNAC Co-Team of the Week honors.

Forty-five of the performances also earned GNAC All-Time Top 10 listings.

Four athletes earned Outstanding Performer honors in the meet, including UAA’s Cody Thomas in the men’s division.

Becki Duhamel of Central Washington, Lindsey Butterworth of Simon Fraser  and Karolin Anders all won two events and shared the women’s Outstanding Performer award.

2014-15 GNAC INDOOR TRACK & FIELD RESULTS

GNAC Championships (Feb. 20-21 at Nampa):  Men - Alaska Anchorage 142, Western Washington 136, Simon Fraser 95, Northwest Nazarene 86 ½, Central Washington 65, Western Oregon 61, Saint Martin’s 42 ½, MSU Billings 23, Seattle Pacific 12. Outstanding Performer – Cody Thomas, Alaska Anchorage.  Women  - Seattle Pacific 146, Alaska Anchorage 134, Simon Fraser 104, Central Washington 87, Northwest Nazarene 69, Western Washington 44, Saint Martin’s 32, Western Oregon 32, MSU Billings 14.  Outstanding Performer – Karolyn Anders, Alaska Anchorage; Lindsey Butterworth, Simon Fraser; Becki Duhamel, Central Washington.

SPU Final  Qualifier (Feb. 28 at Seattle): Men (GNAC Winners): 60 – Kaleb Dobson, WOU, 7.21.  800 – Badane Sultessa, WOU, 1:51.22.  Mile – Brady Beagley, WOU, 4:08.53.  Weight Throw – Kegan Allen, WOU, 14.00 – 45-11.  Women (GNAC Winners): 400 – Chantel Desch, SFU, 56.91.  800 – Lynelle Decker, SPU, 2:11.51. Mile – Stephanie Stuckey, WOU, 4:56.18. 3000 – Katelyn Steen, WWU, 9:38.92.  60 Hurdles – Rochelle Pappel, WOU, 8.91.  4x400 Relay – Seattle Pacific 3:49.16.  Distance Medley – Seattle Pacific 11:47..33.   Shot Put – Becki Duhamel, CWU, 14.20 – 46-7 ¼ .  Weight Throw – Becki Duhamel, CWU, 17.46 – 57-3 ¼.

GNAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

MEN: Track – Badane Sultessa, Western Oregon (Jr., Portland, OR – Centennial/Clackamas CC) ran the second fastest time in GNAC history in the 800 Saturday at the Seattle Pacific Qualifier.  Sultessa was clocked in a time of 1:51.22. That time ranks 14^th in NCAA Division and makes him a probable qualifier for the NCAA Indoor national meet next week.  Field – Gordon Kordas, Western Washington (So., Blaine, OR) pole vaulted 15-8 ¼ at the SPU Qualifier at the Dempsey Indoor.  That performance ranks ninth in GNAC history.

WOMEN: Track – Lynelle Decker, Seattle Pacific (Jr., Vancouver, WA – Mountain View) came up big in two races at the SPU Final Qualifier, running a 2:13 800-meter split in the distance medley relay (a two-second improvement over her time in her last DMR race) to put the Falcons in 13^th place nationally and on the cusp of getting into the NCAAs.  An hour later, she  delivered a career-best time of 2:11.51, moving into 12^th place on the national list assuring her of a third straight trip to indoor nationals.  Field – Becki Duhamel, Central Washington (Sr., Wenatchee, WA) added 7 ½ inches to her career best mark, now at 46-7 ¼, in the shot put.  That is the second best put in GNAC history.