Saturday, February 16, 2019

NAMPA, Idaho – Four individual championships, including second-day titles for Kyler Sager in the 800 meters and Cordell Cummings in the 60-meter hurdles, led Western Washington to the team title at the GNAC Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships, which concluded Saturday at the Jacksons Indoor Center.

The Vikings won their first championship since 2014 with a score of 138.5 points. They finished well ahead of second-place Alaska Anchorage, who scored 114.5 points, and third-place Central Washington and its 97 points. It is the fifth team title for Western Washington, which won back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006 and again in 2013 and 2014.

Sager pulled away from a competitive field in the 800 meters to pick up Western Washington’s first title in the event since 2008 with a time of 1:53.29, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of second-place Curt Knott of Western Oregon. Cummings edged out Northwest Nazarene’s Elijah Castro is a very close 60-meter hurdles competition, clocking a time of 8.33 seconds.

The individual victories added to titles won on Friday by J.T. Konrad in the pole vault and Seren Dances in the long jump.

Simon Fraser’s Rowan Doherty was selected as the Track Athlete of the Meet. He concluded the meet with his second-consecutive title in the 3,000 meters in a time of 8:31.30. Doherty also ran the anchor leg of the Clan’s distance medley relay on Friday night, which won in a championships record time of 9:58.18.

Central Washington’s Kodiak Landis was named the Field Athlete of the Meet. Competing in a total of six events at the championships, Landis collected his second title in three years in the heptathlon with a score of 5,228 points. During the competition, Landis captured individual wins in the 60 meters and the long jump, in which he tied the conference meet heptathlon title at 22 feet, 9.75 inches. The senior also finished in second place in the long jump and in fifth place in the pole vault.

Saint Martin’s freshman Tyler Cronk received the Performance of the Meet award for his winning effort in the high jump, clearing 7 feet, 0.5 inches. He joined Saints’ alumnus Mikel Smith as the only athletes in GNAC history to surpass seven feet in the event at the conference championships.

Cronk was one of three champions for Saint Martin’s in the meet, Kauanoe Vanderpoel won the men’s weight throw on Friday while Jackson Hand took the 200 meters on Saturday in a time of 21.93 seconds.

In addition to Landis’ title in the heptathlon, Zach Whittaker earned the fifth title in six years for the Wildcats in the triple jump with his winning effort of 48 feet, 8.75 inches. The Central Washington 4x400-meter relay team of Daniel Calderon, Trevaughn Scott, Doc Porter and Landis held off Western Washington for the win in 3:19.67.

Concordia’s Josh Koch won his third shot put title in four years by nearly a foot, winning on his third attempt of the day at 56 feet, 7.5 inches. Koch was joined by Adam Brown, who earned the championship in the 400 meters in a time of 49.03 seconds.

Justin Crosswhite provided Western Oregon its second-straight championship in the men’s mile, separating himself with 400 meters to go to win in a time 4:13.86. The Wolves’ Cody Warner was the champion in the 60 meters with a time of 7.01 seconds.