Monday, June 6, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – Alaska Anchorage decathlete Cody Thomas and Western Washington javelin standout Bethany Drake have followed up top-level national meet performances with selection for the conference’s top honors, leading the 2016 Great Northwest Athletic Conference outdoor track and field year-end awards.

Thomas was a runaway winner in voting for the Male Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year, picking up every possible first place vote for the award (coaches could not vote for their own athletes). The senior won the Division II decathlon championship with the second best point total in conference history, scoring 7,590 points to win UAA’s four-ever national outdoor title. In the process, Thomas set Alaska Anchorage school records in the 110-meter hurdles (14.74 seconds) and the pole vault (14 feet, 9 inches). His long jump mark of 24 feet, 8.5 inches, was the best mark by a GNAC athlete season and ranks him No. 4 on the GNAC all-time list.

Leading up to nationals, Thomas won his third straight GNAC decathlon title, capturing the 2016 title with a conference meet record score of 7,201 points. He was named the GNAC Championships Male Co-Athlete of the Meet as he combined the decathlon title with a second place finish in the high jump, a fifth place finish in the 200 meters, a sixth place finish in the 110-meter hurdles and an eighth place finish in the 100 meters.

With his selection for the award, Thomas completes a sweep of the GNAC’s Track Athlete of the Year awards. He was also named the GNAC Indoor Male Athlete of the Year after his third place finish in the heptathlon at the Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Drake emerged as the Female Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year in close balloting. The junior returned from a redshirt season to pick up exactly where she left off, resetting her own GNAC record in the javelin three times over the course of the year. The season culminated in a second place finish in the event at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships where she shattered her own conference record with a mark of 177 feet, 9 inches. The performance bettered her previous record, set in late April in Bellingham, Wash., by six feet. The mark is the second best in Division II this season and the fourth best in Division II history.

Prior to nationals, Drake placed second in the javelin at the GNAC Championships to teammate Katie Reichert as the duo led a top-three sweep for the Vikings. Earlier in the season, Drake won the javelin against primarily Division I competition at the Texas State Bobcat Invitational and placed seventh at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

Alaska Anchorage’s Michael Friess was selected by his peers as the Men’s Coach of the Year and Seattle Pacific’s Karl Lerum was selected as the Women’s Coach of the Year. Friess led the Seawolves to their first GNAC outdoor track title with a score of 163.5 points, allowing UAA to complete a sweep of the 2015-16 cross country and track championships. The Seawolves were top scoring team at the Division II Championships, placing 14th with 18 points.

Lerum led the Seattle Pacific women to their second straight GNAC outdoor title and the eighth in program history. The Falcons finished the meet with 148.5 points to score a five-point victory over Central Washington. Lerum coached senior Maliea Luquin to GNAC Championships Female Athlete of the Meet honors as she tied a GNAC record by winning three individual titles, including the heptathlon. Seattle Pacific sent five athletes to the Division II Championships, led by two All-American finishes by senior distance runner Lynelle Decker.

Central Washington’s Kodiak Landis and Montana State Billings’ Della Lyle were selected as the conference’s Newcomers of the Year. Landis, who also earned the honor during the indoor season, placed third in the GNAC Championships decathlon with a score of 6,469 points. The score was a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Championships.

Lyle set MSUB school records in the steeplechase, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters and placed second in the steeplechase at the GNAC Championships to qualify for the national meet. In Florida, Lyle earned Second Team All-American honors with a ninth place finish in 10:33.17.

A pair of javelin throwers earned Freshman of the Year honors. Western Washington’s Alex Barry qualified for the NCAA Championships in his first season and placed 14th with a mark of 198 feet, 10 inches. He threw his season best of 201 feet, 8 inches, at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational in April before placing fourth at the GNAC Championships.

Northwest Nazarene’s Ellie Logan, a redshirt freshman, earned All-American honors with an eighth place finish at the NCAA Championships as she threw a Crusaders’ school record of 161 feet, 11 inches. At the GNAC Championships, Logan was the runner-up in the heptathlon, placed fifth in the javelin and 12th in the 100 meters. In addition to her track honors, Logan was a Honorable Mention All-GNAC selection in basketball.

2016 GNAC OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD END OF YEAR AWARDS
Male Athlete of the Year: Cody Thomas, Alaska Anchorage
Male Coach of the Year: Michael Friess, Alaska Anchorage
Male Newcomer of the Year: Kodiak Landis, Central Washington
Male Freshman of the Year: Alex Barry, Western Washington

Female Athlete of the Year: Bethany Drake, Western Washington
Female Coach of the Year: Karl Lerum, Seattle Pacific
Female Newcomer of the Year: Della Lyle, Montana State Billings
Female Freshman of the Year: Ellie Logan, Northwest Nazarene