Wednesday, April 29, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. - With one conference event already in the books, GNAC athletes scatter throughout the West for the final time this spring in search of qualifying marks for the upcoming GNAC and NCAA championship meets in May.

GNAC teams will compete in six meets in  five states. Four schools – Central Washington, Seattle Pacific, Simon Fraser and Western Washington  - will join Saint Martin’s in Lacey for the Saint Martin’s Last Chance meet.

GNAC athletes will  also compete in the Montana Open in Missoula, the Oregon State High Performance Invitational in Corvallis, the Mt. Hood Track Festival in Gresham, the Idaho/Utah Border Clash in Boise, and the Stanford Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto.

Once the dust has cleared the league’s coaches will make the declarations Monday for next weekend’s conference championships in Monmouth on the campus of Western Oregon University.

After last Monday and Tuesday’s multi-events at Lacey, Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Anchorage are the early team leaders.

The Crusaders netted 13 team points in the decathlon led by freshman Payton Lewis who posted a winning score of 6,595 points, the fifth highest in GNAC history. 

Saint Martin’s scored 11 points, including eight by freshman Jaysen Yoro who scored 6,541 decathlon points.  That ranks No. 8 on the GNAC All-Time Top 10 list.  His high jump mark of 6-6 ½ was a meet record.

In the heptathlon, UAA earned 23 points as defending champion Karolin Anders repeated with an automatic national qualifying score of 5,162, bettering the AQ by a scant two points. 

Among Anders’ seven marks was a provisional national qualify leap of 5-7 in the high jump.

UAA’s Haleigh Lloyd placed second with 4,589 points, aided by a meet record time of 2:14.20 in the 800 meters.  Rosie Smith was fourth with 4,559 points.

Seattle Pacific, led by a third-place finish by Maliea Luquin, earned nine team points.

Prior to the multi-events which resulted in eight national qualifying scores (three by the men and five by the women), GNAC athletes did their best work at Bellingham, earning 11 national qualifying marks in the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational.

SMU’s Mikel Smith had one of the 11 setting a GNAC outdoor record in the high jump of 6-10 ¾.  Earlier this winter he set the indoor record leaping 7-0 ½ at Seattle.

Four of the other Vernacchia PNQ performances also made the GNAC Top 10s. 

CWU’s Kevin Stanley climbed into fifth in the hammer (191-9).  WWU’s Katelyn Steen took over fifth in the women’s 5K (16:35.53) and CWU’s McKenna Emmert pole vaulted 12-6 ¾, No. 2 on the GNAC career list.

Two steeplechase times also earned GNAC Top 10 rankings – WWU’s Haley O’Connor now ranks sixth (10:38.54) and CWU’s Erin Chinchar moved up to eighth (10:42.69).

Two performances which weren’t PNQS, made the GNAC Top 10 list -  Western Washington’s 4x100 men’s relay time of 41.52 ranks sixth and a 100 meter time of 12.05 by Seattle Pacific’s Becca Houk is the fifth quickest in GNAC history.

NATIONAL QUALIFYING MARKS (GNAC Top 10): Men: Steeplechase – Zach Holloway, WOU, 9:16.39. High Jump – 1. Mikel Smith, SMU, 2.10 – 6-10 ¾. Hammer – 5. Kevin Stanley, CWU, 58.46 – 191-9.  Javelin – Slater Hirst, WWU, 64.32 – 211-0; John Haskin, WWU, 62.77 – 205-11. Decathlon – 5. Payton Lewis, NNU, 6595; 8. Jaysen Yoro, SMU, 6541; Travis Turner, UAA, 6362. Women:  5000 – 5. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 16:35.53. Steeplechase – 6. Haley O’Conner, WWU, 10:38.54; 8. Erin Chinchar, CWU, 10:42.69.  High Jump – Karolin Anders, UAA, 1.70 – 5-7.  Pole Vault – 2. McKenna Emmert, CWU, 3.83 – 12-6 ¾; Anna Paradee, WWU, 3.68 – 12-0 ¾. Javelin – Michaela Farner, SPU, 41.47 - 136-1. Heptathlon – Karolin Anders, UAA, 5162; Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 4589; Maliea Luquin, SPU, 4584; Kaylie Greninger, WWU, 4462; Maddi Hommes, SPU, 4381.

Non-National Qualifying GNAC Top 10s: Men: 4x100 Relay – 6. Western Washington 41.52.  Women: 100 – 5. Becca Houk, SPU, 12.05.

Butterworth Stays On Top in 800, 2^nd in 1500

Lindsey Butterworth of Simon Fraser held onto her national lead in the women’s 800 (2:05.86), but fell to second in the 1500 meters (4:18.34) in the latest NCAA Division II TFRRS rankings.

GNAC athletes currently have 27 performances that rank in the Top 10 on TFRRS including two each by Butterworth, SFU’s Cameron Proceviat (800, 1500) and UAA’s Dominik Notz (5K, 10K) and Henry Cheseto (5K, 10K).

Other athletes with two Top 10 marks include Shannon Porter of Saint Martin’s (5K, 10K), SFU’s Jennifer Johnson (1500, 5000), Western Washington Katelyn Steen (5K, steeplechase) and SMU’s Shannon Porter (5K, 10K).

In addition to Butterworth, GNAC athletes with a No. 2 ranking include Alex Donigian of Western Washington (100), Notz (10K),  UAA’s Franz Burghagen (javelin) and Steen (steeplechase).

In this week’s USTFCCCA Computer team rankings, five GNAC teams are ranked. 

UAA’s men are ranked 13th and its women are ranked 24th. Simon Fraser’s women are ranked 14th and Western Washington’s men are ranked 23rd and its women are ranked 20th.

Following is a list of GNAC athletes in this week’s TFRRS Top 10:

Men: 100 – 2. *Alex Donigian, WWU, 10.27.  800 – 5. Cameron Proceviat, SFU, 1:49.64.  1500 – 10. Cameron Proceviat, SFU, 3:47.09.  5000 – 4. Dominik Notz, UAA, 14:07.05; 8. Henry Cheseto, UAA, 14:08.86. 10,000 – 2. Dominik Notz, UAA, 29:26.29; 9. Henry Cheseto, UAA, 29:49.06.  Pole Vault – 5. Payton Lewis, NNU, 5.15 – 16-10 ¾.  Discus – 4. Ryan Macdonald, WWU, 54.07 – 177-5.   Javelin – 2. Franz Burghagen, UAA, 68.52 – 224-10; 8. Cody Parker, UAA, 64.63 – 212-0; 9. Slater Hirst, WWU, 64.32 – 211-0.  (Note: *Donigian has a best of 10.22, but since wind-speed exceed 4.0, NCAA does not recognize it for qualifying purposes).

Women: 800 – 1. Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 2:05.86; 4. Lynelle Decker, SPU, 2:08.13.  1500 – 2. Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 4:18.34; 10. Jennifer Johnson, SFU, 4:27.77.  5000 – 4. Jennifer Johnson, SFU, 16:26.59; 9. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 16:35.53; 10. Shannon Porter, SMU, 16:37.99.  10,000 – 6. Amy Johnston, UAA, 35:01.46; 8. Shannon Porter, SMU, 35:05.97.  400 Hurdles – 4. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 59.20.  Steeplechase – 2. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 10:13.01.  Pole Vault – 10. McKenna Emmert, CWU, 3.83 – 12-6 ¾.  Javelin – 3. Katie Reichert, WWU, 50.48 – 165-7; 7. Kalli Walker, SMU, 47.36 – 155-4. Heptathlon – 7. Karolin Anders, UAA, 5162.

GNAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Men's Track - Zack Holloway, Western Oregon (Jr., Brownsville, OR – Central Linn) was the top collegian and placed second overall in the steeplechase with a provisional national qualifying time of 9:16.39 at the Western Washington Ralph Vernacchia Invitational. 

Men's Field – Mikel Smith, Saint Martin’s (Jr., Muskogee, OK) broke the GNAC record in winning the high jump at the Vernacchia with a leap of 6-10 ¾.  That mark ranks 11th this spring in NCAA Division II.

Women's Track - Becca Houk, Seattle Pacific (Fr., Oregon City, OR) ran the fifth fastest 100 meter time in GNAC history placing 10th in the UC San Diego Triton Invitational in a time of 12.05.  She was fourth among collegians, finishing in back of three San Diego State athletes.  She also led the Falcons to a fourth place finish in the 4x100 relay in a time of 47.31.  Finishing ahead of SPU were teams from Brazil, University of Minnesota and University of New Mexico. 

Women's Field – McKenna Emmert, Central Washington (So., Kelso, WA) pole vaulted 12-6 ¾, which is the second best vault in GNAC history.  It also ranks 10th this spring in NCAA Division II.

LAST WEEK’S GNAC OUTDOOR T&F RESULTS

Titan Twilight (April 23 at Eugene): Men (Top 3):  400 – 2. Aaron Whitaker, WOU, 50.26.  800 – 1. Badane Sultessa, WOU, 1:51.67; 2. Josh Hanna, WOU, 1:52.29; 3. Josh Dempsey, WOU, 1:52.79.  1500 – 1. David Ribich, WOU, 3:53.19.  110 Hurdles – 1. Kaleb Dobson, WOU, 15.16. 400 Hurdles – 3. Kaleb Dobson, WOU, 56.53.  4x100 – 3. Western Oregon 43.23.  4x400 Relay – 1. Western Oregon 3:23.75. Discus – 2. Kenny Klippel, WOU, 42.99 – 141-0. Women (Top 3): 200 – 3. Laura Patrick, WOU, 26.60.  800 – 3. Bailey Beeson, WOU, 2:15.45. 400 Hurdles – 3. Audrey Hellesto, WOU, 1:05.61.  4x100 Relay – 2. Western Oregon 49.63. Pole Vault – 3. Kylie Reinholdt, WOU, 5.23 – 17-1 ¾.  Triple Jump – 1. Rebecca Laible, WOU, 11.37 – 37-3 1/2.  Hammer – 3. Emily Wetherell, WOU, 43.63 – 143-1. Javelin – 3. Sheila Lima De La Cruz, WOU, 40.65 – 133-4.

Carroll College Invitational (April 25 at Helena): Men – Carroll 109, MSU Billings 30, Great Falls 3.  Individuals (MSUB Winners):  100 – Tyler DiGiovanna, MSUB, 11.41. Discus – Nels Flanagan, MSUB, 42.88 – 140-8. Women – Carroll 103, MSU Billings 35, Great Falls 17, Rocky Mountain 7.  Individuals (MSUB Winners):  100 – Brianna Gray, MSUB, 12.83. 100 Hurdles – Hope Reid, MSUB, 15.36.  High Jump – Hope Reid, MSUB, 1.55 – 5-1. Pole Vault – Amanda Nichols, MSUB, 3.40 – 11-1 ¾.

EOU Invitational (April 24 at Hermiston): Men – Eastern Oregon 153, Treasure Valley 120, College of Idaho 111, Lewis-Clark State 76, Northwest Nazarene 76, Warner Pacific 41, Multnomah 14. Individual (NNU winners): 110 Hurdles – Kyle McLaughlin, NNU, 15.38. High Jump – Cole Hoberg, NNU, 2.00 – 6-6 ¾.   Pole Vault – Zach McClanahan, NNU, 4.40 – 14-5 ¼. Discus – John VanBeuren, NNU, 43.99 – 144-4.  Women – Northwest Nazarene 196, College of Idaho 183, Eastern Oregon 135, Treasure Valley 59, Warner Pacific 31, Lewis-Clark State 29.  Individual (NNU winners): Steeplechase – Susanna Fleming, NNU, 11:19.81.  4x100 Relay – Northwest Nazarene 50.84. Long Jump – Carli Shaul, NNU, 4.57 – 15-0.   Discus – Caitlin Curtis, NNU, 41.77 – 137-0.  Hammer – Caitlin Curtis, NNU 48.95 – 16-7.  Javelin – AnnaMarie Forza, NNU, 37.87 – 124-3.

 WWU Vernacchia (April 25 at Bellingham): Men: 800 – Frank Krause, SMU, 1:54.32.  3,000 – Isaac Griffith, WWU, 8:40.0.  5,000 – Tabor Reedy, WWU, 14:50.71.  10,000 – Juan Castillo, WWU, 32:30.65. 4 x 400 Relay – Western Washington 41.52.  110 Hurdles – Travis Milbrandt, WWU, 14.41. Long Jump – Brett Watson, WWU, 7.00 – 22-11 ¾. Triple Jump – Luke Plummer, CWU, 14.37 – 47-1 ¾.  Shot Put – Kevin Stanley, CWU, 15.03 – 49-3 ¾.  Discus – Ryan Macdonald, WWU, 51.33 – 168-5.  Hammer – Kevin Stanley, CWU, 58.46 – 191-9. Javelin – Slater Hirst, WWU, 64.32 – 211-0. Women:  200 – Tianna Banfro, CWU, 25.91.  400 – Ali Anderson, CWU, 59.01.  800 – Chynna Phan, SPU, 2:16.78.  1500 – Shannon Porter, SMU, 4:35.56.  5,000 – Katelyn Steen, WWU, 16:35.53.  3000 – Shannon Porter, SMU, 10:03.58.  10,000 – Maddie Jalbert, WWU, 39:19.83.  4x400 Relay – Western Washington 4:00.29.  High Jump – Miranda Osadchey, WWU, 1.65 – 5-5. Shot Put – Emmi Collier, WOU, 13.35 – 43-9 ¾. Discus – Megan Mortensen, WWU, 46.08 – 151-2.  Hammer – Kahili Novikoff, SMU, 58.93 – 193-4. Javelin – Katie Reichert, WWU, 47.96 – 157-4.

UC San Diego Triton Invitational (April 25 at San Diego): Women: 100 – 10. Becca Houk, SPU, 12.05; 24. Tasia Baldwin, SPU, 12.32; 26. Kelsey Chase, SPU, 12.35; 28. Kyra Brannan, SPU, 12.37.  200 – 20. Tasia Baldwin, SPU, 25.72; 22. Cheryl Hong, SPU, 25.89; 25. Kyra Brannan, SPU, 26.18; 37. Kelsey Chase, SPU, 26.58.  400 – 18. Jahzelle Ambus, SPU, 57.36; 19. Jasmine  Johnson, SPU, 57.39; 29. Cheryl Hong, SPU, 58.89; 37. Lynelle Decker, SPU, 1:00.13.  4x400 Relay – 4. Seattle Pacific (Houk, Ambus, Brannan, Baldwin) 47.31.  Long Jump – 18. Kyra Brannan, SPU, 5.30 – 17-4 ½; 26. Tasia Baldwin, SPU, 5.07 – 16-7 ½.

GNAC Track Weekly