Friday, May 10, 2019

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Northwest Nazarene senior Jake Knight added another record to his resume Friday to lead efforts on day one of the 2019 GNAC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, presented by Under Armour, at Western Oregon University’s McArthur Field.

Knight, who owns the conference record in the discus, added the meet record in the event and a pair of championships to his resume. He won the discus with a mark of 182 feet, 10 inches, easily surpassing the meet record of 176 feet, 6.5 inches, set by Concordia’s Caleb Bridge in 2017. Bridge finished second on the day with a mark of 169 feet, 7 inches.

Knight was also a winner in the shot put by almost three feet, claiming the conference title with a mark of 59 feet, 1.25 inches.

Western Washington finished the opening day with the team lead with a score of 63 points. The Vikings claimed 16 points in the 10,000 meters, 15 points in the high jump and 14 points in the long jump to build the lead. Concordia is second with 48 points while Alaska Anchorage is third with 39 points.

The Vikings were led by sophomore Seren Dances, who won the championship in the long jump with the final mark of the competition at 23 feet, 7.5 inches. The last effort was enough to beat Northwest Nazarene sophomore Elijah Castro by seven inches. Western Washington also claimed the final five scoring spots in the high jump, led by senior Tupre Wickliff’s fourth-place finish at 6 feet, 6.75 inches.

Montana State Billings junior Isaiah Girard emerged as the winner of the high jump. Girard, Saint Martin’s freshman Tyler Cronk and Alaska Anchorage junior Chris Brake all cleared 6 feet, 8.75 inches, but Girard claimed the win as he was the only one of the three to clear 6 feet, 6.75 inches on his first attempt.

Alaska Anchorage won both running event finals contested Friday. Junior Wesley Kirui opened the meet by winning the steeplechase. Last year’s Division I East Regional champion in the event for Hampton, Kirui ran 9:03.95 in what was his first race in the event this season. Senior Edwin Kangogo closed Friday’s session with a win in the 10,000 meters in a time of 31:56.62.

Montana State Billings’ senior Sam Zook was the top qualifier in both the 100 meters and 200 meters. Zook clocked in with a time of 10.62 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.85 seconds in the 200 meters. Concordia sophomore Adam Brown was the top qualifier in the 400 meters in a time of 48.73 seconds while Alaska Anchorage freshman Drew Johnson led the field in the 800 meters at 1:53.37.

Western Washington freshman Koby Okezie was the top qualifier in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.11 seconds, finishing just ahead of teammate Cordell Cummings’ time of 15.12 seconds. Simon Fraser freshman Nate St Romain was the top qualifier in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 53.40 seconds.

The final day of the GNAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships begins Saturday at 2:25 p.m. with the triple jump. Running events begin at 4:50 p.m. with the 4x100-meter relay.