Saturday, March 14, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –  Simon Fraser’s Lindsey Butterworth took the lead right before the start of the final lap and then was never really challenged in winning the women’s 800 meter title  in the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

Butterworth won the event in a time of 2:08.44, securing SFU its first Top 10 finish in women’s indoor track and field since joining the NCAA.

On Friday Butterworth ran a strong  anchor leg as SFU placed second in the women’s distance medley relay in a GNAC-record time of 11:28.28.  Those two events accounted for 18 of SFU’s 24 points, earning it a seventh-place team finish.

The Clan’s other six points came on a record performance, of sorts.  Jennifer Johnson placed third in the 3,000 meters and was one of four women to break a 30-year-old record in the event.

Emily Oren of Hillsdale smashed the old mark of 9:30.34 set in 1985 running a time of 9:16.81.  Johnson’s time of 9:26.82 ranks second in GNAC history, topped only by a 9:23.24 by all-time SPU great Jessica Pixler in 2009.

There were some other historic performances Saturday.  One of them may go down as one of the tightest finishes ever, perhaps at any level.

Western Washington’s Alex Donigian tied his own GNAC record in finishing second in the 60 meters in an official time of 6.72.  Unbelievably the top five finishers were all separated by less than 1/100^th of a second. 

After a 10-minute review of the tape, defending champion Lamar Hargrove was declared the winner in a time of 6.717 to Donigian’s 6.718.  Both officially receive times of 6.72.

The next three finishers officially receive times of 6.73 after posting times of 6.721, 6.724 and 6.725, respectively.

“I saw the video and it was just a line of men crossing the finish line,” said 28-year WWU coach Pee Wee Halsell. “Without fully automatic timing, you could never have figured it out.

“Alex missed out on a national championship by literally a hair. He got out well and was right there the whole way … He’s excited and we’re all very proud of him.”

Donigian was one three second-place  finishers in the meet for the GNAC including Cody Thomas of Alaska Anchorage in the heptathlon and the Simon Fraser foursome of Rebecca Bassett, Monique Lisek, Paige Nock and Butterworth in Friday's women’s distance medley relay.

Thomas finished second in the heptathlon with a score of 5,488, falling 20 points shy of the GNAC record of 5,508 points. Thomas’ score bettered his previous career best by 150 points.  His best mark came Friday in the high jump when he cleared 6-10 ¼, a height previously only cleared by Saint Martin’s Mikel Smith (7-0 ½) in GNAC history in any competition.

Karolin Anders, Thomas’ UAA teammate, also bettered her career best finishing seventh in the pentathlon with a point total of 3,822, 25 better than her previous best to join Thomas as an All-American.  Both multi-eventers posted the second best marks in GNAC history.

Also earning All-American honors Saturday in addition to Butterworth, Johnson, Donigian, Thomas and Anders were Badane Sultessa of Western Oregon, Travis Vugteveen of Simon Fraser and  Luke Plummer of Central Washington.

Sultessa had an amazing performance this weekend considering he finished only seventh three weeks ago in the 800 meters at the GNAC conference meet.  Sultessa placed fourth in a time of 1:51.36 after running a GNAC-record time of 1:50.73 in Friday’s prelims.  His time was the best of any athlete in the 800 prelims.

Vugteveen finished sixth in the mile in a time of 4:12.49.  Plummer, meanwhile, placed eighth in the triple jump with a mark of 48-10 ¼.

Saturday’s seven All-Americans brought the number of All-American awards for GNAC athletes in the national meet to 17, including eight on SFU’s and Alaska Anchorage’s women’s distance medley relay teams.

Joining SFU’s and UAA’s DMR team of Jessica Pahkala, Rosie Smith. Haleigh Lloyd and Beatrice Decker as All-Americans Friday were Western Washington distance runner Katelyn Steen and SMU high jumper Mikel Smith.

Steen finished  fourth in the 5,000 in a time of 16:54.31.  Smith ended up in a five-way tie for fifth in the high jump to earn the Saints two team points.  He cleared 6-9 ½.  UAA’s DMR team edged Seattle Pacific’s quartet by one-hundreth of a second for the eighth and final All-American slot in that event running a time of 11:40.67.

A record total of six GNAC men’s teams scored points in the meet led by Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington with eight each.  They tied for 28th place.  Western Oregon was 35th with five points.  Simon Fraser was 41st  with three points.  Saint Martin’s placed 43rd with two points and Central Washington was 47th with one point.

The previous high for GNAC men's teams scoring a point in the indoor national meet was three in 2006 and 2007.

On the women’s side, joining Simon Fraser in the point column were Western Washington with five points to earn 37th place and Alaska Anchorage with three points to placed 43rd.

NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field (March 13-14 at Birmingham, Alabama)

Saturday:

Men’s Team Scores – 28. Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington 8; 35. Western Oregon 5; 41. Simon Fraser 3; 43. Saint Martin’s 2; 47. Central Washington 1.   Individual Results:  60 – 2. Alex Donigian, WWU, 6.72.  800 – 4.. Badane Sultessa, WOU, 1:51.36.    Mile – 6. Travis Vugteveen, SFU, 4:12.49. Triple Jump – 8. Luke Plummer, CWU, 14.89 – 48-10 ¼.  Pole Vault – 9. Payton Lewis, NNU, 4.95 – 16-2 ¾.  Heptathlon – 2.  Cody Thomas, UAA, 5488 (Friday: 60 – 6.97.  Long Jump – 6.79 – 22-3 ½.  Shot Put – 12.53 – 41-1 1/2; High Jump – 2.09 – 6-10 ¼ . Saturday: 60 Hurdles – 8.46.  Pole Vault – 4.10 – 13-4 ¼.  1000 – 2:47.54). 

Women’s Team Scores: 7. Simon Fraser 24; 36. Western Washington 5; 40. Alaska Anchorage 3.  Individual Results: 800 – 1. Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 2:08.44.  Mile –9.  Stephanie Stuckey, WOU, 5:00.85.  3000 – 3. Jennifer Johnson, SFU, 9:26.82; 9. Rebecca Bassett, SFU, 9:41.68; 10. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 9:42.68.  Pentathlon – 7. Karolin Anders, UAA, 3822 (60 Hurdles – 9.23.  High jump – 1.69 – 5-6 1/2.  Shot Put – 11.52 – 37-9 1/2.  Long Jump – 5.44 – 17-10 ¼.  800 – 2:21.30). High Jump – Tayler Fettig 1.68 – 5-6.

Friday:

Men: High Jump – 5. Mikel Smith, SMU, 2.07 – 6-9 ½.   5000 – 12. Oliver Jorgensen, SFU, 14:42.95.  Prelims: 60 -  5. Alex Donigian, WWU, 6.76 (advances). Mile – 5. Travis Vugteveen, SFU, 4:09.79 (advances), 7. Robert Peterson, MSUB, 4:11.29; 12. Brady Beagley, WOU, 4:14.84.  800   – 1. Badane Sultessa, WOU, 1:50.73.   

Women: 5000 – 4.  Katelyn Steen, WWU, 16:54.31.  Distance Medley Relay - 2. Simon Fraser (Rebecca Bassett, Monique Lisek, Paige Nock, Lindsey Butterworth) 11:28.28; 8. Alaska Anchorage (Jessica Pahkala, Rosie Smith. Haleigh Lloyd, Beatrice Decker) 11:40.67; 9. Seattle Pacific (Jessica Rawlins, Becca Houk, Lynelle Decker, Anna Patti) 11:40.68. Prelims:  60 – 17.  Jamie Ashcroft, UAA, 7.67.  Mile – 9. Stephanie Stuckey, WOU, 4:54.79 (advances); 13. Rebecca Bassett, SFU 4:56.86. 800 – 2. Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 2:07.76 (advances); 11. Paige Nock, SFU, 2:12.11.  14.  Lynelle Decker, SPU 2:13.68.  200 – 9.  Jamie Ashcroft, UAA, 24.56.