Friday, May 10, 2024
by Evan O'Kelly, Assistant Commissioner For Communications

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Champions were crowned and finals fields were solidified on Day 1 of the 2024 GNAC Track & Field Championships on a sunny Friday afternoon at the Recreation Sports Complex at Central Washington University.

Western Washington dominated both steeple chase finals on Friday, with the women finishing 1-through-5 and the men finishing 1-through-4 to rack up a shipload of points for the Vikings. Ila Davis became the second woman in GNAC history to win three consecutive titles in the event, joining Kelly Fullerton of Seattle University (2003-05) on that exclusive list. Davis cruised home in 10:41.15, before turning to watch four of her Viking teammates cross the finish line behind her. In second place with a time of 11:04.29 was Ashley Reeck, and Elie Bassett also got onto the podium with a time of 11:14.23. Laura Halsell followed in fourth place with a time of 11:21.49, and Evelyn Collins-Winn completed the stretch of dominance with a time of 11:24.46.

Directly after the Viking women’s success, Jeret Gillingham led the WWU men in similar fashion with a monster PR of 8:45.40. That was the fifth-fastest NCAA Division II time, and broke the GNAC all-time record of 8:45.63 which was previously held by UAA’s Micah Chelimo (2012). Gillingham also became the first man in GNAC history to win three steeple chase titles, first claiming the gold in 2021 and following in 2023. WWU’s Jared Alderfer crossed the line 24 seconds behind his teammate in 9:09.19 for the silver medal, Ian Eifert took bronze with a time of 9:13.61 and Jalen Javurek gave the Vikings the top-four finishers with a time of 9:26.72.

Alaska Anchorage freshman phenom Joshua Caleb took down a pair of meet records on Friday, running 10.41 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.04 seconds in the 200 meters. The GNAC indoor champion in both the 60 meters and 200 meters, Caleb appeared as the favorite to take home the two sprints titles during Saturday’s finals.

WWU’s Meaera Nystrom defended her 10,000 meters title, cruising home in 37:01.22 minutes for a comfortable victory. She is the fourth woman in GNAC history to win back-to-back titles in the event, and the first Viking to do so. Western Oregon’s Caitlin Heldt took home the silver medal with a time of 37:26.66, and WWU’s Emma Smith clocked in at 37:34.95 to claim the bronze medal.

On the men’s side, Brody Kemble took home the final gold medal of Friday with a victory in the 10,000 meters. The Nighthawk harrier ran 30:46.90 for a nearly 20-second victory, becoming just the second man in NNU history to win the event (Kevin Lambert, 2008). A pair of Vikings followed Kemble across the line, with Andrew Oslin placing second in 31:04.70 and Ryan Clough following in third with a time of 31:16.14.

Ujunwa Nwokoma successfully defended her long jump title, clearing 19-2.00 feet (5.84 meters) on her second attempt. The 2024 GNAC Indoor champion in the event became just the second woman in GNAC history to win consecutive outdoor long jump titles as she joined Alaska Anchorage’s Kim Brady (2007-08). CWU’s Emy Ntekpere cleared 18-11.75 feet (5.78 meters) on her third attempt to grab the silver medal, and UAA’s Vivien Liessfeld claimed bronze with a leap of 18-1.0 feet (5.51 meters) on her fifth attempt.

Jarrett Chong unleashed a javelin throw of 210-09 feet (64.25 meters) on his first attempt on Friday, a mark that held up for the gold medal in the event. Chong is the first SFU men’s athlete to win a GNAC javelin title, and the event was won by a different school for the fifth consecutive year. Silver medalist Laurenz Waldbauer of Northwest Nazarene also hit his best throw on his first attempt, clearing 210-1.0 feet (64.04 meters). WWU’s Andrew Nelson picked up the bronze medal on his final attempt, clearing 198-08 feet (60.55 meters).

Katie Potts put an exclamation point on her stellar spring season with a PR in the shot put to claim her first outdoor gold medal in the event. Potts hit 46-4.75 feet (14.14 meters) on her fourth attempt to move her name to the top of the leaderboard. Reigning champion Destany Herbert of Northwest Nazarene earned the silver medal with a toss of 45-11.25 feet (14.0 meters), while WWU’s Mara Parks placed third after hitting 44-2.0 feet (13.46 meters) on her first attempt.

Herbert also claimed a gold medal on Friday, with a hammer throw of 162-07 feet (49.57 meters) on her second attempt. Herbert is just the second Nighthawk to win a GNAC title in the event, joining 2015 winner Caitlin Curtis. Payton Elenbaas of Central Washington placed second with a throw of 161-09 feet (49.31), and Montana State Billings’ Jaida Green hit a PR 157-11 feet (48.13 meters) to pick up the bronze medal in the hammer.

Teammates Isaiah Webster and Drew Klein each made the podium in the men’s long jump, with Webster claiming the title and Klein placing third. Webster cleared 23-11.50 feet (7.30 meters) on his fourth attempt, picking up his first outdoor long jump title. He also became the fourth Wildcat to win the event, and the first since Bryan Mack in 2013. UAA’s Marc Mercier earned the silver medal on his final attempt, clearing 23-2.0 feet (7.06 meters) to reach the podium. Klein improved steadily throughout his progression, landing a personal-best 23-0.50 feet (7.02 meters) on his fifth attempt to pick up the bronze medal.

Kaylee Wright of Western Oregon became the first woman to win three consecutive javelin titles, with a heave of 153-3.0 feet (46.71 meters) on her third attempt on Thursday. Wright was just over five feet shy of her personal best of 158-8 feet (48.37 meters), as she gave the Wolves their seventh title in the event overall. Madeline Gebers of Northwest Nazarene, who was an all-conference selection during the 2023-24 women’s basketball season, claimed the silver medal at her first GNAC Track & Field Championships with a PR throw of 148-0.0 feet (45.12 meters) on her final attempt. Her teammate Emily Powers picked up the bronze medal, hitting 135-11.0 feet (41.44 meters) on her fifth throw.

Western Washington freshman Liam Wall unleashed a PR discus throw of 167-2.0 feet (50.95 meters) on his fourth attempt, earning him the gold medal. He is the first Viking since Ryan MacDonald’s back-to-back titles in 2014-15 and the fifth in program history to win the event. The CWU duo of Wyatt Franklin and Wes Kriete finished in second and third, respectively at their home facility. Franklin’s top throw of 157-3.0 feet (47.95 meters) came on his initial attempt, while Kriete made the podium on his final throw of the day which traveled 141-9.0 feet (43.21 meters).

SPU’s Lizzy Daugherty claimed her first GNAC outdoor pole vault title, and teammate Emily Thomason took home the silver with both Falcons clearing a bar set at 12-4.5 feet (3.77 meters). Daugherty joined a long list of Falcon champions in the event, becoming the seventh all-time and first since Scout Cai’s back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2021. Western Washington’s Annie Tran also made the podium, as she and fourth-place teammate Sydney Mohlman each cleared 12-0.5 feet (3.67 meters).

Jonah Groce of Northwest Nazarene capped Friday’s field events with a title in the men’s high jump, as he cleared 6-6.0 feet (1.98 meters) for the gold medal. Groce made it three straight years with a men’s high jump title for NNU, after Steven Schmidt claimed the crown in both 2022 and 2023. Groce is the third Nighthawk overall to win the event at the GNAC Outdoor Championships, with Cole Hoberg being the first in 2016. Also making the podium were runner-up Justin Conklin of Western Oregon, who cleared 6-4.75 feet (1.95 meters) and CWU’s Webster who took home his second medal of the day by clearing 6-3.5 feet (1.92 meters).