Thursday, April 4, 2024
by Evan O'Kelly, Assistant Commissioner For Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Three Great Northwest Athletic Conference schools are set to play host to track meets this weekend with seven different programs scheduled to compete.

Friday will make for a busy afternoon for GNAC track and field, with Western Oregon hosting the John Knight Twilight Invitational in Monmouth and Seattle Pacific welcoming teams to the Doris Heritage Track Festival in Renton, Wash. Saint Martin’s will join the Wolves in their home meet, while Western Washington is scheduled to make the trip down I5 to SPU’s home meet.

Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings will head west on Friday for the Whitworth Peace Invitational, kicking off at noon (PT) in Spokane, Wash. Simon Fraser will also host a meet this weekend, with Western Washington crossing the border for the Emilie Mondor Invitational scheduled for Saturday morning.

April 1 GNAC Track & Field Athletes of the Week

Men’s Track Athlete of the Week – Coleman Nash, Alaska Anchorage

Third-career track athlete of the week, first this season.

Nash locked up a provisional national qualifying time in the 5,000 meters on Friday at the Stanford Invitational, checking in at 13:55.71. He was the top Division II finisher in the race, and his time was the third-fastest nationally thus far in 2024. The breakout performance saw Nash achieve his goal of a sub-14 minute race and put himself onto the national stage early in the outdoor season.

“The biggest highlight is how much adversity he’s gone through over the last year,” said UAA associate head coach Chas Davis. “Not until last Friday night at Stanford was he actually back with a race he was capable of. The goal was to play it safe, get under 14 and get back to nationals. He went out right on a 14-flat pace the entire way, and was savvy and smart enough to know he could go out towards the back of that pack. There was some concern with about four laps to go, but fortunately he was able to make the right decisions at the right times to stay on that pace. Every time the pace looked like it was going to get away from him, he was able to get right back on it. He had to run no slower than 66 flat on the final lap, and he responded immediately down the back stretch and closed with a 62. He looked very strong and confident.”

Also Nominated: Josh Green, CWU; Jaycee Herbert, MSUB; Andrew Thomson, SFU; Elwood Hosking, WOU; Kevin McDermott, WWU.

Men’s Field Athlete of the Week – Drew Klein, Central Washington

Third-career field athlete of the week, third this season.

Klein constructed the third-best decathlon score in Division II this spring, racking up 6,881 points at the Texas State Bobcat Invitational over the weekend. The junior posted the seventh-highest decathlon point total in GNAC history, while hitting PRs in the 100 meters (11.38), 400 meters (50.72) and 110-meter hurdles (15.20).

“We are building his speed and power bases and technical events, and that’s where we are seeing the most improvement,” said CWU head coach Jonathan Hill. “He has committed to the process, and he is doing a really good job of staying attempt-by-attempt and event-by-event. Drew is doing a good job of holistically focusing on the process. The meet wasn’t without its fair share of adversity. He broke a pole and was a little rattled, but he cleared the bar with a smaller pole on his next attempt. He’s got real warrior ethos.”

Also Nominated: Ryan Fenley, MSUB; Jarrett Chong, SFU; Troy Roberson, WWU.

Women’s Track Athlete of the Week – Ila Davis, Western Washington

Fourth-career track athlete of the week, second this season.

Davis ran the fastest steeplechase in Division II this year, putting forth a mark of 10:11.97 at the Stanford Invitational last week. Davis finished third among a highly-competitive field of 20 runners, with only athletes from BYU and Utah State finishing ahead of her. The two-time reigning GNAC champion in the event, Davis improved her collegiate PR at the meet as well.

Also Nominated: E’lexis Hollis, CWU; Carey Berendsen, MSUB; Annika Esvelt, SPU; Megan Roxby, SFU; Olivia Flack, WOU.

Women’s Field Athlete of the Week – Ellie DeGroot, Central Washington

Second-career field athlete of the week, second this season.

DeGroot put together all the pieces at the Texas State Bobcat Invitational, totaling 4,881 points for the nation’s fourth-best heptathlon score this spring. DeGroot notched PRs in the 100-meter hurdles (14.40), shot put (32’ 3”), 200 meters (25.17) and javelin (101’ 7”), and was the top non-Division I finisher among a field of 15 competitors at the event.

“Her breakthrough was coming, and we could see in the individual events that she was going to have a good hep,” Hill said. “We didn’t know it was going to be this good, but she was in a good headspace and the conditions were good. It was great for her to see a really high level of competition. She is working hard and just like with Drew we can’t wait to do another one and improve on that total.”

Also Nominated: Grace Jones, MSUB; Kalulusno Ngaida, WOU; Mara Parks, WWU.