Tuesday, January 31, 2017

NEW ORLEANS – For the third time this season, a GNAC indoor track and field athlete has been selected for a U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) weekly award. For the first time this season, it goes to a male performer.

Thanks to his role in breaking two school and GNAC records, Western Oregon distance standout David Ribich has been selected as the organization’s Division II Men’s Indoor Athlete of the Week.

At last weekend’s UW Invitational in Seattle, Ribich blew away his own WOU and GNAC records in the mile. The only Division II competitor in the men’s sizzling fifth section, which included former Olympian Andrew Wheating, Ribich cut three seconds off his own record with a time of 4:02.30. He finished fifth in the section, three seconds behind winner Justyn Knight of Syracuse (3:59.54) in a heat that saw three athletes break four minutes.

Later in the Friday session, Ribich was the anchor leg on Western Oregon’s distance medley relay team, which also blew away the school and conference record. Ribich combined with Dustin Nading, AJ Holmberg and Josh Dempsey to run a time of 9:45.45, which better the previous conference record of 9:50.07, set by the Wolves last year.

Both times meet automatic qualifying marks for the NCAA Championships and both are the leading marks in Division II this season.

Ribich’s honor marks the third time that a GNAC athlete has earned a USTFCCCA weekly award during the indoor season. Concordia’s McKenzie Warren earned the Division II Women’s Athlete of the Week award two consecutive times in January after coming just short of the Division II record in the women’s shot put.

Ribich and his Western Oregon teammates will compete next on Feb. 10 and 11, returning to Seattle to compete at the Husky Classic. It will be the Wolves’ last meet before the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, which take place Feb. 17 and 18 in Nampa, Idaho.