Tuesday, March 29, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – A banner season for the Alaska Anchorage indoor track and field teams was further recognized by the conference’s coaches as the Seawolves picked up half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s indoor track and field end of year awards.

Alaska Anchorage picked up both Athlete of the Year awards. Senior multi-event specialist Cody Thomas repeated as the Men’s Athlete of the Year while senior distance runner Joyce Chelimo was selected as the Female Athlete of the Year. Michael Friess was selected by his peers as both the Men’s & Women’s Coach of the Year.

Central Washington multi-eventer Kodiak Landis was selected as the Male Newcomer of the Year while Montana State Billings’ distance runner Della Lyle was named the Female Newcomer of the Year. Western Washington sprinter Daniel Jones was named the Male Freshman of the Year and Simon Fraser 800-meter champion Addy Townsend was selected as the Female Freshman of the Year.

Thomas was the highest placing male athlete for the GNAC at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. The All-American placed third in the heptathlon with a GNAC record score of 5,538 points, the fourth best score in Division II this season. At February’s GNAC Indoor Championships, Thomas placed third in both the 100 meters and 200 meters. His time of 21.99 seconds in the 200 ranks him No. 10 on the GNAC all-time list.

Chelimo became just the second athlete in GNAC Indoor Championships history to win all three distance events, the mile, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. She repeated as champion in both the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters, events she won in 2014 before sitting out the 2014-15 campaign. A two-time All-American, Chelimo was the national runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 5,000 meters and placed sixth in the 3,000 meters. In the process, Chelimo set GNAC records in both the 3,000 meters (9:17.97) and 5,000 meters (16:10.32). Her season best in the 3,000 meters is the fourth fastest in Division II history under all conditions.

In addition to her conference honors, Chelimo was selected by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as their West Region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year.

In sweeping the Coach of the Year awards, Friess received his second and third conference coaching award of the season (he won the Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year award in the fall). Friess was also named by the USTFCCCA as their Women’s West Region Coach of the Year. He led the Seawolves to the first ever sweep of the men’s and women’s team titles at the GNAC Indoor Championships, with both teams scoring 164 points while producing nine individual event champions. Friess coached a school record 14 athletes to Division II Indoor Championships invitations and returned home with a school record 11 All-American trophies.

Landis proved a contender for the Wildcats after transferring to Central Washington from Everett (Wash.) Community College. He earned All-GNAC honors with his third place finish in the heptathlon at the GNAC Championships. His season best of 4,741 points was fourth best in the league this season and seventh best in GNAC history.

Lyle, a transfer from Division III Redlands, placed fourth at the GNAC Championships in the 5,000 meters and eighth in the 3,000 meters. In the process of the season, Lyle established new Montana State Billings records with her season bests of 10:19.90 in the 3,000 meters and 17:41.12 in the 5,000 meters.

Jones was a point-scorer for Western Washington in his freshman season, placing sixth at the GNAC Championships in the 200 meters and ran a leg on the Vikings’ fourth place 4x400 relay team. He finished the indoor campaign with season bests of 22.46 seconds in the 200 meters and 51.56 in the 400 meters.

Townsend continued a string of four straight champions for Simon Fraser in the women’s 800 meters, winning the 2016 title with a time of 2:11.54, which ranked 17th in Division II. She went on to place 14th in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships and was the only freshman in the race’s field. Townsend was also a member of the Clan’s GNAC championship distance medley relay team, which finished seventh at the NCAA Championships.