Friday, March 10, 2017

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Saint Martin’s Mikel Smith earned his second national championship, Western Oregon’s men’s distance medley relay made a national best time stand up and both reached the podium in record fashion to lead the GNAC on day two of the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

The Wolves proved the story of the day for the league. The national leaders in the DMR coming into the meet, the Wolves reeled in Adams State over David Ribich’s final leg to barely catch the Division II power at the tape. The Wolves won the race 9:40.144 to Adams State’s 4:40.145 and, in the process, set a new Division II record in the event. The quartet of Dustin Nading, AJ Holmberg, Josh Dempsey and Ribich bettered the previous record of 9:40.55, which was set by Abilene Christian in 2005.

Smith, meanwhile, earned a long-awaited indoor national championship in the men’s high jump to match the outdoor title he won last year. The runner-up in last year’s meet, Smith made a gutsy move to pass at his attempts at 7 feet, 2.25 inches with theee competitors left in the competition. Wingate’s Isaiah Kyle made his attempt at the height and it came down to the third and final attempt at 7 feet, 3.25 inches. The risk paid off as Smith cleared it to capture the title.

The performance not only reset his own GNAC record of 7 feet, 3 inches, set at the GNAC Championships, but tied Smith for the 15th best performance in Division II history.

The two efforts capped a day that saw the GNAC added six more All-American trophies to it’s haul, bring the league’s total to eight so far at the meet.

The women’s pole vault yielded two All-Americans and a tie for the GNAC record. Central Washington’s McKenna Emmert and Western Washington’s Anna Paradee both cleared 12 feet, 10.25 inches, which bettered the previous record of 12 feet, 10 inches, set by Northwest Nazarene’s Alison Silva in 2014. Emmert was awarded fourth place based on fewer missed in a four-way tie at the height with Paradee claiming seventh.

Central Washington’s Kodiak Landis posted a solid second day to earn All-American honors with a third place finish in the men’s heptathlon. Landis scored 5,382 points, improving his No. 3 spot on the GNAC all-time list in the multi-event competition. His best individual effort on the second day came in the pole vault, where he cleared 15 feet, 3 inches.

Alaska Anchorage’s Travis Turner earned Second Team All-American honors, placing ninth with a score of 5,119 points. His best individual performance was in the 60-meter hurdles where he placed fourth in 8.37 seconds.

The other two All-Americans came in the women’s distance medley relay. Simon Fraser’s team of Addy Townsend, Chantel Desch, Alana Mussatto and Paige Nock finished sixth in a time of 11:33.62, the sixth fastest time in GNAC history. Seattle Pacific’s quartet of Sarah Macdonald, Lani Taylor, Chynna Phan and Mary Charleson placed eighth in 11:36.02, the seventh fastest time in conference history.

Alaska Anchorage’s DMR team of Danielle McCormick, Mary Kathleen Cross, Hayley Bezanson and Caroline Kurgat garned Second Team All-American honors as the Seawolves finished ninth in 11:36.55.

Northwest Nazarene’s Cole Hoberg earned Second Team All-American honors in the men’s high jump. After being entered at the last minute thanks to a medical scratch, Hoberg managed to place 10th with a clearance of 6 feet, 9.5 inches. Central Washington’s Luke Plummer was 13th in the GNAC’s other final of the day, the men’s triple jump, with a beat mark of 48 feet, 9.5 inches.

In running preliminaries held on Friday, Alaska Anchorage’s Jamie Ashcroft earned a spot in Saturday’s final with the sixth fastest qualifying time in the 200 meters, clocking 24.15 seconds. Simon Fraser’s Valda Kabia and Katherine Lucas missed spots in the finals with Kabia placing 13th in 24.45 seconds and Lucas placing 17th in 24.62 seconds.

Central Washington’s Mariyah Vongsaveng just missed a spot in the women’s 60-meter hurdles final by two-hundreths of a second. She finished 10th in the preliminaries in 8.57 seconds, with the eighth spot in the finals going to Benedict’s Karel Ziketh in 8.55 seconds.

The final day of competition will begin at 11:30 a.m. (Pacific). The first event involving GNAC athletes, the men’s pole vault, will commence at 12:30 p.m. (Pacific).