Thursday, March 17, 2022

THIS WEEK'S GNAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
MEN’S TRACK
Andrew Boyd, Saint Martin’s
Sophomore • Olympia, Wash.

Boyd was the winner in the 110-meter hurdles at Saturday’s PLU Open with a time of 15.23 seconds.

Also Nominated: Ryan Greenwalt (Western Washington).

MEN’S FIELD
Josh Schulz, Saint Martin’s
Senior • Pe Ell, Wash.

Schulz won the long jump at the PLU open, finishing with a mark of 22 feet, 0.25 inches. He beat a field of 15 competitors and was the conference’s lone winner in the men’s field events.

Also Nominated: Jaydon Tryon (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Ila Davis, Western Washington
Freshman • Spokane, Wash.

Davis became the first athlete in Division II this season to hit an NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time in the steeplechase, winning the event at the PLU Open. Running virtually alone, Davis won in a time of 10:54.62 and beat second-place Annika Deazley of Pacific Lutheran by over two minutes.

Also Nominated: Gabriela Cintron (Saint Martin’s), Vanessa Aniteye (Seattle Pacific).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Raine Westfall, Western Washington
Freshman • Port Angeles, Wash.

Westfall won the hammer at the PLU Open by 24 feet, beating the field of 16 competitors with a mark of 162 feet. The mark ranks No. 7 this season among Division II competitors.

Also Nominated: Briana Cabrera (Saint Martin’s).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage opens its outdoor season on Saturday, sending athletes to both the Hornet Invitational in Sacramento, California and to the Doris Heritage Track Festival in Seattle.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington picked up six individual event victories, five on the women’s side, at the PLU Open on Saturday in Tacoma.

• Two of those victories came in the women’s sprints. Sophomore E’lexis Hollis won the 100 meters in 12.22 seconds. Senior Makenna Hansen won the 200 meters in 25.14 seconds and was second in the 100 meters, matching Hollis’ time of 12.22 seconds.

• The Wildcats swept the women’s hurdles races with junior Lauryn Chandler winning the 100-meter discipline in 14.78 seconds and junior McCall DeChenne winning the 400-meter discipline in 1:02.21. DeChenne was also second in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.91 seconds.

• Senior Avery Fisk was the lone field event winner for the Wildcats, taking the women’s shot put with a mark of 41 feet, 1.5 inches. Fisk also took second in the discus with a mark of 136 feet, 6 inches.

• Sophomore Ty Savely was Central Washington’s lone men’s winner, taking the 5,000 meters with a four-second margin in a time of 15:11.34.

• Sophomore Wyatt Franklin placed second in the men’s discus with a mark of 148 feet, 5 inches, while senior Angus Beaton was second in the hammer with a mark of 168 feet, 2 inches.

• Central Washington will be among five GNAC teams competing at the Doris Heritage Track Festival on Saturday in Seattle.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings will not begin the outdoor season until Saturday when it co-hosts the MSUB/RMC Icebreaker Open in Lockwood, Montana.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene will not open its outdoor season until Saturday, Mar. 26, taking part in the Team 4 Titus & Ely Meet in Irvine, California.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Two men’s victories led Saint Martin’s efforts at the PLU Open on Saturday in Tacoma, Washington.

• Sophomore Andrew Boyd was named the GNAC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after he won the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 15.23 seconds. The time is the fastest in the GNAC this season. Boyd also placed seventh in 400 meters in 51.96 seconds.

• Senior Josh Schulz was selected as the GNAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he captured the long jump with a mark of 22 feet, 0.25 inches. That mark also leads the conference this season by over two feet and was a winner by 14 inches over Markell Carter of Everett CC.

• Junior Andrew Schulz added a third-place finish in the men’s long jump with his mark of 20 feet, 5.25 inches, while senior Andrew Alfred was third in the men’s pole vault with a clearance of 13 feet, 1.5 inches.

• Sophomore Gabriela Cintron led the Saint Martin’s women on the track, placing fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.88 seconds. Senior Brianna Cabrera tied for sixth in the women’s pole vault with a clearance of 9 feet, 6.25 inches.

• Saint Martin’s will head north to Seattle on Saturday to take part in the Doris Heritage Track Festival.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Five women’s victories, three in individual events and two in the relays, led Seattle Pacific at the PLU Open on Saturday in Tacoma.

• Senior Vanessa Aniteye, running in her first meet for SPU, won the women’s 800 meters in a time of 2:12.51. Senior Peace Igbonagwam added a victory in the women’s 400 meters in a time of 57.91 seconds. Both times are the best in the GNAC this season.

• Sophomore Ellie Rising was the third individual champion, taking the top spot in the women’s 1,500 meters in a time of 4:45.13.

• All three played a part in the relay victories. Igbonagwam and Aniteye combined with Aniya Green and Jenna Bouyer to win the 4x100-meter relay in 47.37 seconds. Igbonagwam, Aniteye and Rising teamed with Bouyer to win the 4x400-meter relay by 12 seconds in a time of 4:03.55.

• In the women’s pole vault, freshman Charlie Hill placed second with a mark of 10 feet, 11.75 inches while senior Madison Licari was third as she also cleared 10 feet, 11.75 inches.

• Sophomore Brad Bowman was the top SPU men’s placer, taking second in the pole vault with his mark of 13 feet, 1.5 inches.

• At the Division II Indoor Championships, freshman Annika Esvelt earned All-American honors with her eighth-place finish in the women’s 5,000 meters in a time of 16:31.12.

• Seattle Pacific will host its only home meet of the season on Saturday, the Doris Heritage Track Festival, at West Seattle Stadium.

SIMON FRASER
• Senior Alison Andrews-Paul won the national championship in the women’s 800 meters to lead Simon Fraser at the Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday in Pittsburg, Kansas.

• Andrews-Paul used a surge over the final lap to win in a meet and facility record time of 2:04.04. She also set the GNAC record with the third-fastest time in Division II history. She is the third SFU athlete to win a national title in the 800 meters, joining Helen Crofts (2013) and Lindsey Butterworth (2015).

• Senior Aaron Ahl earned All-American honors in the men’s 3,000 meters, placing fourth in a time of 8:00.64. That lessened the sting of missing the finals in the mile, where Ahl was 10th in prelims in 4:08.62.

• Junior Charlie Dannatt brought home an All-American trophy in the men’s mile, placing fifth in a time a 4:10.51. Dannatt ran a time of 4:04.73 in the prelims, the second-fastest time on Friday.

• Sophomore Callum Robinson placed 10th in the prelims of the men’s 400 meters, clocking a time of 47.65 seconds that ranks No. 2 on the GNAC all-time list.

• Simon Fraser also earned All-American status with all three entered relays. The men’s distance medley relay of Dannatt, Robinson, Paul Buckingham and Ahl placed second in a GNAC record time of 9:36.05. The women’s DMR of Megan Roxby, Emily Lindsay, Emily Chilton and Andrews-Paul placed fourth in 11:26.80, the No. 2 time in the event in GNAC history.

• The women’s 4x400-meter relay of Andrews-Paul, Erika Binder, Marie-Éloïse Leclair and Lindsay came together to place four in a time of 3:44.08. The time is No. 4 on the GNAC all-time list.

• Simon Fraser opens its outdoor season at home on Saturday, hosting the first of two high performance meets at Terry Fox Field.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon did not complete last weekend. The Wolves return to action on Saturday at the OSU PNW Invite in Corvallis.

• Western Oregon opened the 2022 outdoor season by sending a small number of athletes to the Willamette Opener on Mar. 5 in Salem, Oregon.

• Senior Austin Goldstein won the javelin with a mark of 198 feet, 10 inches. The mark is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier and ranks second in Division II this season. Sophomore Eli Nafziger added a third-place finish with a throw of 164 feet, 9 inches.

• Sophomore Kaylee Wright gave the Wolves a sweep of the javelin, winning the women’s event with a throw of 138 feet, 3 inches. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifier ranks No. 5 in Division II this season.

• Wright led a podium sweep in the women’s javelin for the Wolves. Junior Madison Hargett was second with a throw of 122 feet, 1 inch while sophomore Lyndee McLauchlin was third with a mark of 118 feet.

• Sophomore Jenelle Hurley added a third-place finish in the women’s shot put with her mark of 33 feet, 6.75 inches.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington picked up six individual event victories at the PLU Open on Saturday in Tacoma.

• Freshman Ila Davis was named the GNAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after she won the steeplechase in a time of 10:54.62. She is the first Division II athlete to hit a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Championships this season.

• Freshman Raine Westfall was selected as the GNAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week after she won the hammer with a mark of 162 feet. The performance is the best in the GNAC this season.

• The WWU women also received a victory from freshman Katie Potts in the discus with a mark of 143 feet, 11 inches.

• For the WWU men, freshman Ryan Greenwalt won the 400 meters in a time of 50.60 seconds while freshman Jalen Edwards won the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 56.16 seconds.

• Freshman Jeret Gillingham won the men’s steeplechase with a time of 9:06.26. The time would have been a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Championships, but the times in the race were ruled to be unofficial after the barriers were set too low.

• At the Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships, junior Mac Franks earned All-American honors in the men’s 800 meters, placing sixth in a time of 1:51.88. He placed ninth in Friday’s prelims in the mile with a time of 4:08.61.

• Senior Beau Sheeran finished tied for 14th in the men’s high jump, clearing the opening height of 6 feet, 6.75 inches.

• Western Washington continues the outdoor season in Seattle on Saturday at the Doris Heritage Track Festival.