Wednesday, January 25, 2023

THIS WEEK'S GNAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
MEN’S TRACK
Johan Correa, Central Washington
Junior • Kennewick, Wash.

Correa broke the CWU indoor school record in the mile on Friday at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open. The top non-Division I placer, his eighth-place time of 4:16.95 bettered the previous record of 4:17.33 set by John Wojtech in 2014 and ranks fifth in the GNAC this season. Correa also placed fourth in the 600 meters in 1:20.14 and ran the third leg of the Wildcats’ fourth-place 4x400-meter relay team.

Also Nominated: Ase Ackerman (Montana State Billings).

MEN’S FIELD
Braydon Maier, Central Washington
Senior • Selah, Wash.

Maier placed second in the heptathlon with an NCAA Championships provisional qualifying score of 4,851 points. Maier tied for first in the pole vault (14-3.25) and took first in the final event, the 1,000 meters (2:49.04). Maier also had a fifth-place finish in the long jump. Maier’s score ranks 20th in Division II this season.

Also Nominated: Bryce Olson (Montana State Billings).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Elise Hopper, Central Washington
Freshman • Port Orchard, Wash.

Hopper placed fourth in the 400 meters at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open on Saturday. Her time of 57.74 seconds leads the GNAC this season.

Also Nominated: Kailee Stoppel (Montana State Billings).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Erica Cabanos, Central Washington
Senior • Puyallup, Wash.

Cabanos placed third in the triple jump at Saturday’s Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open. Her mark of 37 feet, 1.75 inches is third-best in the GNAC this season.

Also Nominated: Kendall Lynn (Montana State Billings).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage did not compete last week. The Seawolves will be in action on Friday and Saturday at the UW Invitational in Seattle.

• Hurdlers led Alaska Anchorage in its first meet of the season, The UW Indoor Preview, on Jan. 14.

• Junior Joshua Wagner earned an NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, placing fourth in a time of 8.13 seconds. The time ranks 25th in Division II this season. Wagner also placed 12th in the 60 meters, clocking 7.06 seconds.

• Sophomore Mette Van Der Meer posted an eighth-place finish in the women’s 60-meter hurdles in 9.06 seconds.

• Junior Kevin Angarita placed sixth in both the 200 meters and 400 meters. His time of 49.53 seconds in the 400 meters leads the GNAC while his 22.67 seconds in the 200 meters ranks seventh.

• Sophomore Felix Robertson led UAA in the field events, placing fourth in the triple mark with a mark of 41 feet, 5.75 inches, and in the long jump with a mark of 19 feet, 9.75 inches. Freshman Morgan Grant placed fifth in the triple jump, leaping 39 feet, 6.75 inches.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington earned all four GNAC Athlete of the Week awards thanks to performances at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open, Friday and Saturday in Moscow, Idaho.

• Junior Johan Correa was named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after he set the CWU record in the mile. His eighth-place time of 4:16.95 bettered the previous record of 4:17.33 set by John Wojtech in 2014. Correa also placed fourth in the 600 meters in 1:20.14 and ran the third leg on the Wildcats’ fourth-place 4x400-meter relay team.

• Senior Braydon Maier was named the Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after taking second in the heptathlon with a score of 4,851 points. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying score ranks 20th in Division II this season. Maier tied for first in the heptathlon pole vault (14-3.25) and was first in the final event, the 1,000 meters (2:49.04).

• Senior Erica Cabanos earned Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors after she placed third in the triple jump with a mark of 37 feet, 1.75 inches. The performance is third-best in the GNAC this season.

• Freshman Elise Hopper ran to Women’s Track Athlete of the Week honors after she placed fourth in the 400 meters with a conference-leading time of 57.74 seconds.

• Sophomore Drew Klein also earned an NCAA Championships provisional qualifying score in the heptathlon, placing fourth with 4,726 points to rank 31st in Division II. Klein’s best individual event finishes were second in the 1,000 meters (2:49.95) and third in the pole vault (11-7.25).

• Central Washington is right back in action this weekend, traveling to Seattle for the UW Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Senior Ace Ackerman’s victory in the men’s mile and sophomore Bradley Graves’ school record in the men’s 60-meter hurdles led Montana State Billings at the Bobcat Challenge, Saturday in Bozeman, Montana.

• Ackerman was a narrow winner in the mile, clocking a time of 4:19.97. After conversion to 4:10.39 for altitude and track size, the time is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier and ranks 30th in Division II this season. Ackerman also took third in the 800 meters with a time of 1:58.50.

• Graves took second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.41 seconds that bettered the previous MSUB record of 8.51 set by Austin Lindquist in 2017.

• Junior Kendall Lynn took second place in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 36 feet, 9 inches.

• Senior Kailee Stoppel added a second-place finish in the women’s 800 meters with a time of 2:25.86.

• Montana State Billings travels to Pocatello, Idaho this weekend to take part in the Stacy Dragila Invitational on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene did not compete last week. The Nighthawks return to competition on Saturday at the Inland Northwest Invitational in Spokane.

• Senior Destany Herbert’s NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark in the women’s shot put led Northwest Nazarene’s performances at the Spokane Indoor Challenge on Jan. 13 and 14. Herbert placed second in the women’s shot put with her mark of 44 feet. 9 inches. The lifetime best ranks 25th in Division II this season.

• Sophomore Steven Schmidt recorded his second individual victory of the season in the men’s high jump, clearing 6 feet, 8.75 inches. He had his season-best mark of 6 feet, 11 inches at the BYU December Invite, which is tied for ninth in Division II this season and is No. 3 on the GNAC all-time list.

• Senior Dylan Hendry recorded a sixth-place finish in the men’s weight throw. His mark of 52 feet, 5.5 inches is second in the GNAC this season. Freshman Jacob Kiesman added a seventh-place finish in the men’s shot put with a mark of 47 feet, 10 inches.

• Sophomore Kinsey Yenor placed ninth in the women’s pole vault with a clearance of 11 feet, 10.5 inches. Yenor has a best of 12 feet, 3.5 inches this season, achieved at the BYU December Invite, which is tied for 20th in Division II this season.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s will compete for the first time in nearly two months this Friday and Saturday at the UW Invitational in Seattle.

• Saint Martin’s opened the indoor season by participating in the Wyoming Power Meet on Dec. 9 and the UCCS Pre-Holiday Meet on Dec. 10.

• Sophomore Alisha Saucedo opened the season with a win in the women’s 400 meters at the Wyoming Power meet in 1:02.40. Junior Cree Bell and sophomore Madison Vu finished first and second, respectively, in the women’s 200 meters. Bell won in 26.85 seconds and Vu clocked 27.53 seconds.

• Senior Jack Farrell led a top-three sweep for the Saints in Wyoming in the men’s 400 meters. Farrell won in 54.37 seconds with junior Rudu Wani second in 55.79 seconds and junior Noah Boyd third in 56.59 seconds. Junior Zach Franco added a win in the men’s 200 meters in 24.04 seconds.

• At the UCCS Pre-Holiday Open, Farrell added a sixth-place finish in the men’s mile in 4:42.02.

• In the field events in Wyoming, freshman Ryan Doidge won the men’s pole vault with a mark of 13 feet, 11.25 inches.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific did not compete last week. The Falcons return to action close to home at the UW Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

• Another solid effort for senior Vanessa Aniteye in the women’s 800 meters led Seattle Pacific’s efforts at the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 14. Aniteye placed ninth overall and first in her heat, knocking two seconds off of her season best with a time of 2:10.83. She continues to lead Division II in the event.

• Senior David Njeri placed second in the men’s triple jump with a 14-inch season best, finishing with a leap of 48 feet, 5.5 inches. That improved his NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark and ranks 19th in Division II this season.

• Freshman Kayla Tassara was the top SPU women’s finisher in the field events, placing seventh in the pole vault with her mark of 11 feet, 9 inches. Junior Kainoa Lee placed sixth in the men’s pole vault with his mark of 13 feet, 11.25 inches.

• Junior Julius Shepherd notched a fifth-place finish in the men’s 200 meters, finishing in 22.64 seconds. The men’s 4x400-meter relay team of Isaiah Archer, Shepherd, Darius Holmes and David Garcia placed fifth in a time of 3:26.15.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser did not compete last week. The Red Leafs will split their squad this week, traveling to both the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston and the UW Invitational in Seattle.

• Sophomore Marie-Éloïse Leclair’s record run in the women’s 60 meters headlined Simon Fraser’s performances at the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 14. Leclair broke the conference record twice, running 7.49 seconds in the preliminaries before winning the finals in a time of 7.45 seconds. Both times eclipsed the previous record of 7.52 seconds set by Paige Johnson of Concordia in 2020. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark ranks eighth in Division II this season.

• Junior Jordan Schmidt finished second in the 800 meters in a time of 1:52.06. The leading time in the conference and an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier, Schmidt’s mark is No. 14 in Division II this season.

• Sophomore Scott Arndt ran an NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark in the men’s 3,000 meters. Arndt placed 21st in a time of 8:17.20, which ranks No. 9 in Division II this season.

• Sophomore Jesaiah Penson-McCoy picked up a fifth-place finish in the men’s 60 meters, clocking a time of 6.92 seconds. He was one of just two Division II runners to advance to the final. Sophomore Jeremy Belcher placed seventh in the men’s 200 meters with a time of 22.89 seconds.

• Freshman Emma Cannan added an eighth-place finish in the women’s 200 meters in her SFU debut with a time of 26.29 seconds. In the field events, freshman Olivia Windbiel was eighth in the triple jump with a mark of 35 feet, 3.75 inches.

WESTERN OREGON
• Senior JJ Walker broke the Western Oregon record in the men’s heptathlon as the Wolves sent athletes to both the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open and the Portland Indoor #1 meet.

• Walker placed third with a score of 4,728 points which bettered the old school record of 4,530 points set by Eric Gaines in 2013. His best individual effort was in the second event, the long jump, with a mark of 21 feet. 2.5 inches.

• Sophomore Gabriel Burchfield placed 16th with a score of 3,786 points and won the high jump portion of the competition with a mark of 6 feet, 3.25 inches.

• At the Portland Indoor, the Wolves took second place in both 400-meter races. Junior Deshaun Stevens took second in the men’s race in 51.84 seconds while junior Madeline Lambing was second in the women’s race in a time of 1:01.58.

• Freshman Natalie Perez added a seventh-place finish in the women’s mile, crossing in a time of 5:19.29.

• Western Oregon will join the majority of the conference’s squads in Seattle this weekend at the UW Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington did not compete last week. The Vikings are back to action on Friday and Saturday at the UW Invitational in Seattle.

• Western Washington saw five athletes run school top 10 times in the 800 meters to lead the Vikings’ performances at the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 14.

• Sophomore Will Henry led the three WWU men to make the top 10, placing fourth in the men’s 800 meters with a time of 1:52.08 that ranks No. 3 on the WWU all-time list. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark is No. 15 in Division II this season.

• Junior Marian Ledesma paced the two Vikings women who made the 800-meter top 10. She placed 12th and was second among non-Division I runners in a time of 2:14.40, second best in school history.

• Sophomore Jessica Neal recorded an indoor personal best in the women’s high jump, tying for fourth with a clearance of 5 feet, 5 inches. Junior Matty Lagerwey added a fifth-place finish in the women’s long jump, also setting an indoor personal best with a leap of 18 feet, 4.5 inches.

• Sophomore Miller Campbell finished fourth in the men’s weight throw with a mark of 54 feet, 1.75 inches. It is the leading mark in the conference this season.