Saturday, May 28, 2016

BRADENTON, Fla. – Western Washington’s Bethany Drake and Alaska Anchorage’s Cody Parker both turned in second place finishes in the javelin while Central Washington’s Tayler Fettig tied for second in the women’s high jump as field event competitors ruled the day for the GNAC on day three of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the IMG Academy Field.

Drake smashed her own GNAC record to notch her second place finish, popping a throw of 177 feet, 9 inches on her second throw of the competition. That was over six feet better than her own previous GNAC record of 171 feet, 7 inches, which she set at the Ralph Vernacchia Inviational in April. Alison Updike of Azusa Pacific won the title as she threw 183 feet, 10 inches, on her first attempt of the day.

Drake’s teammate, Katie Reichert, also surpassed the old GNAC record to finish third as she threw 177 feet, 3 inches, on her final throw of the afternoon. The Vikings’ duo was joined on the podium by Northwesrt Nazarene’s Ellie Logan, who became the Crusaders’ first women’s outdoor track All-American since 2009 by placing eighth with a mark of 166 feet, 11 inches.

The GNAC had six competitors in the women’s javelin. Western Washington’s Anosi Laupola placed 12th with a mark of 150 feet, 9 inches and teammate Mariah Horton placed 13th with a mark of 147 feet, 5 inches. Saint Martin’s Deanna Avalos finished in 19th place with her mark of 135 feet, 4 inches.

Thomas, meanwhile, secured his second place finish and his second All-American trophy of his career on his third attempt with a throw of 228 feet, 11 inches. Thomas was the leader under the fifth round when Caleb Nieves Valez of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras pulled out a throw of 249 feet, 7 inches, which won the competition.

Western Washington’s John Haskin also earned All-America honors, placing fifth with his throw of 211 feet, 6 inches. Western Oregon’s Justin Larson placed 13th with a mark of 199 feet, 6 inches, and Western Washington’s Alex Barry placed 14th with a mark of 198 feet, 10 inches.

Fettig, meanwhile, managed to tie for second place to earn All-American honors in the women’s high jump. Her clearance of 5 feet, 8 inches, allowed her to tie with Natalie O’Keefe of Southwest Baptist to pick up her first All-American trophy. Seattle Pacific’s Geneva Lehnert just missed the podium as a freshman, placing ninth with a clearance of 5 feet, 5.75 inches.

Northwest Nazarene’s Payton Lewis picked up his second outdoor All-American trophy of his career as a sophomore, placing third in the men’s pole vault with a clearance of 17 feet. Lewis tied in the competition with Cole Phillips of Central Missouri and Jaggen Gran of Sioux Falls, with Lewis placing third on number of misses.

Seattle Pacific’s Lynelle Decker led the GNAC track athletes as she earned All-American honors in two events. She opened the day with a sixth place finish in the women’s 1,500 meters with a time of 4:25.02, and then turned around a little over an hour later to place fifth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:09.08.

Western Oregon’s David Ribich led three GNAC All-Americans in the men’s 1,500 meters. Ribich placed fifth in a time of 3:50.76 while Simon Fraser’s Marc-Antoine Rouleau placed sixth in 3:50.78. The Wolves’ Sam Naffziger placed eighth in a time of 3:52.37.

Alaska Anchorage’s Caroline Kurgat was the league’s final All-American of the meet, placing sixth in the women’s 5,000 meters in a time of 16:44.84. Teammate Joyce Chelimo just missed the podium, placing 10th in a time of 16:55.28. Simon Fraser’s Rebecca Bassett placed 16th in 17:02.98, Saint Martin’s Shannon Porter was 18th in 17:41.18 and Western Washington’s Brittany Grant placed 21st in 18:36.54.

Alaska Anchorage led the team scoring for the GNAC in the men’s competition, tying for 14th place with a score of 18 points. Saint Martin’s tied for 25th with 10 points, Northwest Nazarene tied for 37th with six points and Western Oregon tied for 41st with five points. Western Washington tied for 47th place with four points and Simon Fraser tied for 57th place with three points.

Western Washington led the GNAC in the women’s team scores, tying for 20th place with 14 points. Central Washington tied for 31st place with 31 points, Seattle Pacific tied for 37th place with seven points and Alaska Anchorage tied for 51st with three points. Northwest Nazarene tied for 59th with one point.