Monday, May 3, 2021

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Championship competitions are supposed to be close. In that regard, the first day of the 2021 GNAC Combined Event Championships did not disappoint.

Alaska Anchorage senior Elena Cano holds a three-point lead in the heptathlon while Central Washington freshman Ryan Thoma owns a 45-point lead in the decathlon after the first day of the championships at CWU’s Recreation Sports Complex.

Cano finished as the day one leader in the heptathlon with a score of 2,841 points but enters day two with two athletes within easy striking distance. Seattle Pacific junior Renick Meyer, the 2018 champion, is just three points behind with 2,838 points. Western Oregon freshman Jenelle Hurley is 57 points off of the pace, sitting in third with 2,784 points.

Meyer opened the day with a narrow win in the 100-meter hurdles, winning in 14.25 seconds to Cano’s 14.44 seconds. Cano took advantage of the big-point events to solidify her first-day lead, tying Hurley for first in the high jump at 5 feet, 4.25 inches, to earn 771 points and placing fourth in the 200 meters at 26.45 seconds to earn 758 points.

Meyer, meanwhile, bounced back from a seventh-place finish in the high jump to place second in both the shot put and 200 meters. Meyer finished with a mark of 32 feet, 5.75 inches in the shot put to score 523 points and finished with a time of 25.90 seconds in the 200, scoring 806 points to come within shouting distance of Cano.

Seattle Pacific junior Kellie May was the other individual event winner, taking the shot put with a mark of 34 feet, 8.25 inches.

Thoma leads the decathlon with a score of 3,448 points and sits just 45 points ahead of teammate Braydon Maier, who finished with 3,403 points. Western Oregon junior JJ Walker is a close third with 3,374 points while Alaska Anchorage senior David Sramek is at 3,350 points.

Thoma opened the decathlon strong, taking third place in the 100 meters in 11.40 seconds before winning the long jump with a mark of 22 feet, 7.75 inches. He finished no worse than sixth on the day, taking second in the shot put (37-4), fifth in the high jump (5-10.75) and sixth in the 400 meters (52.84).

Maier also finished no worse than sixth in the day one events, winning the shot put at 37 feet, 5.75 inches, and tying for first with Northwest Nazarene freshman Matt Mitchell in the high jump at 6 feet, 1.75 inches.

Western Oregon junior Deshaun Stevens was the other event winner, closing the day by taking the 400 meters in 51.16 seconds.

Day two of the GNAC Combined Events Championships will commence with the decathlon 110-meter hurdles at 10 a.m., followed by the heptathlon long jump at 11 a.m.