Wednesday, April 7, 2021

THIS WEEK'S GNAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
MEN’S TRACK
Calahan Warren, Western Washington
Senior • Auburndale, Fla.

Warren continues an impressive season as he won the 1,500 meters in a time of 3:44.82 at Saturday’s WWU Invitational. He won the race by 12 seconds as he posted a time that is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier, is No. 2 in Division II this season and No. 2 on the GNAC All-Time List.

Also Nominated: Joshua Wagner (Alaska Anchorage), Hunter Hutton (Western Oregon).

MEN’S FIELD
Beau Ackerman, Montana State Billings
Senior • Glendive, Mont.

Ackerman automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships with his winning throw at Thursday’s MSUB/Rocky Meet. Ackerman uncorked a throw of 232 feet, 11 inches, which ranks No. 3 in Division II this season and No. 16 across all college divisions. It also moves Ackerman into No. 2 on the GNAC All-Time List.

Also Nominated: Ben Malquist (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Elena Cano, Alaska Anchorage
Senior • Alpine, Texas

Cano won one event and took third in three others at the WWU Invitational. Cano won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.60, ranking No. 2 in the GNAC this season. She then took third place in the 100-meter hurdles (15.02), the high jump (4-11.5) and the long jump (17-6). Cano also ran the leadoff leg of the Seawolves’ winning 4x400-meter relay team, which ran 4:07.82.

Also Nominated: Caitlin Heldt (Western Oregon), Sienna Taylor (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Karlie Hurley, Western Washington
Senior • North Bend, Wash.

Hurley won both of the horizontal jumps at Saturday’s WWU Invitational. She won the triple jump with a mark of 39 feet, 6 inches. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark leads the GNAC, is 19th in Division II this season and is No. 3 on the WWU All-Time List. Hurley also won the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 6.5 inches, ranking No. 2 in the GNAC this season and No. 6 on the GNAC All-Time List.

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Big performances in the hurdles by senior Elena Cano and freshman Joshua Wagner led Alaska Anchorage at Saturday’s WWU Invitational.

• Cano was named the GNAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after she won the 100-meter hurdles in 1:04.94 and placed third in the 400-meter hurdles in 4:07.82. Cano also ran the leadoff leg of the Seawolves’ winning 4x400-meter relay (4:07.82) and placed third in both the long jump (17-6) and high jump (4-11.5).

• Wagner finished 0.01 of a second short of a school record in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, winning in a time of 14.75 seconds. He went on to finish second in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 55.16 seconds, the seventh-best time in UAA history.

• Senior Lawson Sims won the men’s steeplechase in a time of 9:18.69 that is the ninth-fastest in school history. Sophomore Enrique Campbell scored wins in the men’s 200 meters in 22.29 seconds and the 400 meters in 50.01 seconds.

• Junior Tylantiss Atlas picked up the other win for the UAA women, winning the 800 meters in 2:19.71.

• The Seawolves also picked up third-place finishes from freshman Cole Nash in the men’s 1,500 meters (3:55.84), junior Elfin Nyamasyo in the women’s 400 meters (1:01.20), freshman Haley Bartolaba in the 400-meter hurdles (1:09.65) and senior David Sramek in the men’s pole vault (13-7.75).

• Alaska Anchorage will travel to Monmouth, Oregon, this weekend to compete in the John Knight Twilight on Friday and Saturday.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington did not compete last week. The Wildcats are back on the track on Saturday, competing at the War XII Meet in Spokane.

• Central Washington put together a pair of strong team performances at the Ed Boitano Invitational on March 27. The CWU women won the team competition with 154 points while the men took second with 140 points.

• Senior Andrew Harris was named the GNAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week on Mar. 29 after he won the hammer with a mark of 188 feet, 8 inches. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark leads the GNAC and is 19th in Division II this season.

• Junior Avery Fisk won a pair of throwing events on the women’s side, taking the shot put with a mark of 42 feet, 11 inches, and the discus with a mark of 136 feet, 11 inches. Both marks are the best in the GNAC this season.

• Junior Meagan Smallbeck provided a third victory in the women’s throws, capturing the hammer with a mark of 159 feet, 1 inch.

• Senior Aidan Cain took first place in the men’s discus with a GNAC-leading mark of 149 feet, 2 inches, and took second in the hammer with a mark of 176 feet, 4 inches.

• Sophomore Lauryn Chandler won the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.29 seconds. Sophomore McCall DeChenne won the 400-meter hurdles with a GNAC-leading time of 1:03.02.

• Senior Zachary Davis was the winner in the men’s 100 meters in 11.14 seconds and also placed third in the 200 meters in 22.42 seconds.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings won seven events, led by big senior day performances by Beau Ackerman and Isaiah Girard, at Thursday’s MSUB/Rocky Meet in Lockwood, Montana.

• Ackerman was named the GNAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he broke the MSUB record in the javelin. His mark of 232 feet, 11 inches automatically qualifies Ackerman for the NCAA Championships and moves him to No. 2 on the GNAC All-Time List. The performance ranks No. 3 in Division II this season and No. 16 across all college divisions.

• Girard provisionally qualified for the national meet by winning the high jump with a mark of 6 feet, 8.75 inches. The clearance leads the GNAC and is tied for 16th in Division II this season. Girard also placed third in the long jump at 22 feet, 0.75 inches.

• Freshman Bryce Olson was the third MSUB men’s winner, earning top honors in the triple jump with a mark of 43 feet, 5.75 inches.

• All four MSUB women’s victories came in the field events. Senior Brenna Beckett won the long jump with a mark of 16 feet, 9.75 inches and took second in the triple jump with a mark of 34 feet, 11.75 inches.

• Freshman Kendall Lynn won the triple jump with a mark of 35 feet, 6.75 inches and took second in the long jump at 16 feet, 9.25 inches.

• Senior Taylor Stringari won the women’s hammer with a throw of 148 feet, 8 inches, while freshman Jordan Cookman won the javelin with her mark of 123 feet, 9 inches.

• Montana State Billings will be in Rapid City, South Dakota on Saturday to compete in the Bauer Invitational.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene did not compete last weekend. The Nighthawks will be in Logan, Utah to compete in the Aggie Invitational on Saturday.

• Northwest Nazarene opened the 2021 outdoor season with four event victories at the Team 4 Titus and Team 4 Ely meets in Irvine, California on March 26 and 27.

• All four wins came in the men’s section of the meet, the Team 4 Titus meet. Senior Logan Blake led the way, winning the 400 meters in a GNAC-leading time of 48.87 seconds. Blake was also part of the Nighthawks’ winning 4x400-meter relay team, which clocked in at 3:23.77.

• Freshman Dylan Tidwell won the men’s 800 meters, clocking a GNAC-leading time of 1:53.25. Tidwell also ran in the 1,500 meters, clocking a time of 4:11.13.

• Junior Tyler Shea ran away from the field in the men’s 5,000 meters, winning by 23 seconds in a time of 14:46.82. He currently has the fourth-fastest time in the GNAC.

• Freshman Brody Monson won the men’s javelin in his collegiate debut, finishing with a throw of 177 feet, 4 inches.

• In the Team 4 Ely women’s section, senior Lauren Wuertz led the way with her third-place finish in the 400 meters in a time of 57.85 seconds. The performance is second-fastest in the GNAC this season and No. 6 on the NNU All-Time List.

• Junior Kalen Johnson placed third in the women’s 5,000 meters in a time of 18:05.76. The time is No. 2 in the GNAC this season and No. 5 on the NNU All-Time List.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s did not compete last week. The Saints will be back in competition this Saturday at the PLU Invitational in Tacoma.

• Saint Martin’s placed third in the men’s team competition and fourth in the women’s team race at the Ed Boitano Invitational in Tacoma on March 27.

• Sophomore Michael Russell won the men’s 200 meters to lead the Saints. His time of 22.10 seconds leads the conference.

• Freshman Jack Farrell won two distances. He opened the day by winning the 1,500 meters in 4:01.22 and closed with a victory in the 5,000 meters in a time of 15:47.40.

• The Saints also took top honors in the men’s 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:25.88. Saint Martin’s also won the women’s 4x100-meter relay with a time of 50.28 seconds.

• Freshman Cassidy Walchak-Sloan was the Saints’ top women’s finisher, placing second in the 1,500 meters in a time of 4:54.25.

• Freshman Jocelyn Saribay added a second-place finish in the women’s shot put with a mark of 38 feet, 11 inches. The mark is the fifth-best in the GNAC this season.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• A pair of victories by sophomore Jenna Bouyer and junior Renick Meyer led Seattle Pacific’s performances at the WWU Invitational in Bellingham, Washington.

• Bouyer posted a 1.5-second personal best in the women’s 400 meters, winning in a time of 57.89 seconds. Teammate Grace Bley was close behind in 58.04 seconds. The times rank No. 3 and No. 4 in the GNAC this season.

• Meyer was the winner in the women’s 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.86 seconds. She also posted a fourth-place finish in the high jump with a clearance of 4 feet, 9.5 inches.

• Bouyer, Meyer and Bley combined with Julia Stepper to win the women’s 4x100-meter relay in a GNAC-best time of 47.05 seconds.

• Senior Scout Cai added yet another victory in the women’s pole vault, surpassing 12 feet for the second time this season with her winning clearance of 12 feet, 0.5 inches.

• Freshman Julius Shepherd led the SPU men as he placed fourth in the 200 meters in 23.10 seconds and fifth in the 400 meters in 51.78 seconds. Freshman Kainoa Lee was fourth in the men’s pole vault, clearing 13 feet, 1.75 inches.

• Seattle Pacific is right back in action this weekend, competing in the PLU Invitational on Saturday in Tacoma.

SIMON FRASER
• Due to the closure of the U.S./Canada border due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Simon Fraser’s track and field season is on hold.

WESTERN OREGON
• Junior Hunter Hutton led a limited Western Oregon contingent that competed at the NW Distance Jamboree on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon.

• Hutton placed fourth in the men’s 1,500 meters, just missing the NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark with a time of 3:50.68. He was the first non-Division I or open competitor to cross the line.

• Senior Justin Crosswhite was also entered in the men’s 1,500, placing sixth in 3:53.14. Senior Trey Reed was fifth in the men’s 800 meters in a time of 1:58.23.

• Junior Caitlin Heldt was the lone female competitor for Western Oregon, placing 18th in the 1,500 meters in a time of 4:52.75.

• Western Oregon’s full squad will be back in action at home this Friday and Saturday as the Wolves host the John Knight Twilight.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington posted 17 event victories and four NCAA Championships provisional qualifying marks as the Vikings hosted the WWU Invitational on Saturday in Bellingham.

• Senior Calahan Warren was named the GNAC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week for the third straight week after he broke the WWU record in the 1,500 meters. His time of 3:44.82 ranks him No. 3 on the GNAC All-Time List and is No. 2 in Division II this season. Warren is now provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

• Senior Karlie Hurley was named the GNAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week after she won both horizontal jumps and provisionally qualified for nationals in the triple jump. Her winning leap of 39 feet, 6 inches ranks 19th in Division II. Hurley had a two-inch win in the long jump at 18 feet, 6.5 inches.

• In the women’s javelin, senior Hannah Nienaber improved her provisional mark for nationals with her winning throw of 154 feet, 5 inches. That ranks No. 2 in Division II this season. Junior Natalie Vetto placed second with a mark of 138 feet that is also a provisional qualifier.

• Senior Cordell Cummings continued his strong season, winning the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.96 seconds. He also took second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.85 seconds.

• Sophomore Ethan Sterkel won a pair of events, capturing the men’s high jump with a mark of 6 feet, 3.25 inches, and the long jump with a mark of 21 feet, 4 inches.

• Western Washington will split its squad for two meets, competing at the John Knight Twilight on Friday and Saturday and at the PLU Invitational on Saturday.