Thursday, May 23, 2013

PUEBLO, Colo. – Ruth Keino of Alaska Anchorage finished third in the women’s 10,000 meters Thursday to highlight the opening day of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Keino captured her seventh career All-America honor in the event posting a time of 36:17.26.  

Keino was the only GNAC athlete to score points on Thursday which was mostly a day of prelims.

The Seawolves’ Susan Tanui established herself as the favorite in the women’s steeplechase prelims cruising to victory in her heat in a time 10:50.98.  UAA's Ivy O'Guinn also qualified for Saturday's finals of the 1500 with a prelim time of 4:35.60.

Seattle Pacific's Ali Worthen put herself in excellent position to win a national title Friday in the heptathlon.  She is in third place, but just 66 points behind the leader.

Worthen set personal-best marks in two of her four events.  The pre-meet favorite and season-long D-2 leader trails only Academy of Art senior Jesseka Raymond (3,292) and Ashland senior Kendra Bassitt (3,248).

On Friday she will compete in the long jump, javelin, and 800 meters. The long is one of her strong suits, having won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title on May 10 at Western Oregon with a career-best leap of 19 feet, 8 inches.

“I'm excited – I think I'm ready to put up some big jumps,” Worthen said. “I feel like I've been jumping really well lately, and I've been throwing the javelin really well in practice, so I'm excited for that.”

Based on Thursday's totals and her respective season-bests for the remaining events, Worthen is in range to score 5,500-plus points. Raymond is in the 5,050-point area, and Bassett is in the 4,950 range. 

Worthen won her heat of the 100-meter hurdles in a career-best 14.08 seconds, running .08 faster than her previous PR of 14.16 at the MONDO Mid-Major Challenge hep in Sacramento, Calif., on April 11. That's the fourth-best mark in SPU history, and the second-fastest clocking in GNAC history. Worthen led her heat from start to finish.

Worthen cleared 5-5 ¼ in the high jump for fifth place despite some persistent pain in her take-off leg. She shook that off to come up with back-to-back PR throws in the shot put, topping out at 36 feet, 0 ¾ inches, then clocked 25.31 in the 200.

Also competing in the heptathlon Thursday was Karolin Anders of Alaska Anchorage who finished the first day in ninth place with 3,027 points.  SPU's Katy Gross ended Day 1 in 13th place with 2,927 points.

UAA's Cody Thomas finished Day 1 of the decathlon in 11th place with 3,516 points.

MEN

Thursday: Decathlon (Through 5 Events) – 11. Cody Thomas, UAA, 3516.  100 – 4. Thomas 10.92.  Long Jump – 16. Thomas 5.93 – 19-5 ½.  Shot Put – 12. Thomas 11.33 – 37-2 ¼.  High Jump – 9. Thomas 1.84  6-0 ½.  400 – 5. Thomas 49.45.  100 Prelims – Rimar Christie, NNU, false start.  1500 Prelims – 13. Isaac Kangogo, UAA, 4:01.16; 18. Seth Pierson, SPU, 4:06.52. 10,000 – 17. Dylan Anthony, UAA, 33:26.69.

Friday: 10 a.m. - Decathlon (Thomas).  5:45 p.m. - 200 Prelims (22.  Rimar Christie, NNU, 21.17).

Saturday: 12:15 p.m. - Javelin  (1. Cody Parker, UAA, 71.43 – 234-4; 2. Franz Burghagen, UAA, 70.29 – 230-7; 4. Braden Keller, CWU, 67.79 – 222-5; 11. Shane Brooks, WOU, 63.35 207-10; 26. Justin Larson, WOU, 61.65 – 202-3).  5:15 p.m. - Triple Jump  (17. Bryan Mack, CWU, 15.06 – 49-5).  7:55 p.m. – 200 Finals.

WOMEN

Thursday:  Heptathlon (Through 4 events) -  1. Jesseka Raymond, Academy of Art, 3292; 2. Kendra Bassitt, Ashland, 3248; 3. Ali Worthen, SPU, 3226; 9. Karolin Anders, UAA, 3027; 13. Katy Gross, SPU, 2927. Day 1: 100 Hurdles – 4. Worthen 14.08, 10. Gross 14.66, 15. Anders 15.37.  High Jump – 2. Anders 1.72 – 5-7 ¾. 5. Worthen 1.66 – 5-5 ¼, 11. Gross 1.60 – 5-3.   Shot Put – 8. Anders 11.03 – 36-2 ¼, 9. Worthen 10.99 – 36-0 ¾, 12. Gross 10.45 – 34-3 ½. 200 – 4. Worthen 25.31, 14. Anders 26.45, 15. Gross 26.60.   1500 Prelims – 7. Ivy O’Guinn, UAA, 4:35.60 (advances); 20, Lynelle Decker, SPU, 4:49.03.  Steeplechase Prelims – 1. Susan Tanui, UAA, 10:50.98 (advances).  400 Hurdle Prelims – 11, Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 1:01.44.  10,000 – 3. Ruth Keino, UAA, 36:17.26.

Friday:  11 a.m. – Heptathlon (Worthen, Anders, Gross). 5 p.m. - Discus  (9. Jade Richardson, SFU, 48.68 – 159-8).  6 p.m. - 800 Prelims (1. Helen Crofts, SFU, 2:04.53; 3. Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 2:08.07; 5. Sarah Sawatzky, SFU, 2:09.13; 7. Ivy O’Guinn, UAA, 2:09.34; 8. McKayla Fricker, SPU, 2:09.42; 11. Michaela Kane, SFU, 2:10.45; 14. Susan Bick, UAA, 2:11.02; 19. Emily Quatier, SPU, 2:11.71).  7:15 p.m.  – Steeplechase Finals (Tanui).  7:50  p.m. – 4x400 Prelims  (5. Simon Fraser (Chantel Desch, Sarah Sawatzky, Michaela Kane, Helen Crofts) 3:42.53; 7. Seattle Pacific (Kishia Mitchell, Emily Quatier, Jasmine Johnson, McKayla Fricker) 3:43.44.

Saturday: 2:50 p.m. - Javelin (2. Bethany Drake, WWU, 47.96 157-4; 3. Amanda Schumaker, WOU, 47.16 – 154-9; 6. Seabre Church, WOU, 46.15 – 151-5; 22. Katy Gross, SPU, 42.53 – 139-6). 5:30 p.m. – High Jump (High Jump – 6. Tayler Fettig, CWU, 1.75 – 5-8 ¾). 5:35 p.m. – 1500 Finals (O’Guinn). 6:55 p.m. – 800 Finals.  7:20 p.m. – 400 Hurdles.  8:05 p.m. - 5000  (1. Ruth Keino, UAA, 16:20.87; 6. Susan Tanui, UAA, 16:41.55).  8:55 p.m. – 4x400 Finals.