Tuesday, May 15, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS – Fifty-four GNAC athletes have earned selection to the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which take place May 24-26 at the Irwin Belk Complex in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A total of 16 men and 38 women from the conference were selected to the field. Concordia leads the way with 10 entrants (four men, six women) while Western Oregon will travel nine athletes (three men, six women) and the women’s 4x400-meter relay to the championships.

As was the case in last year’s national meet, the conference will be best represented in the women’s javelin and the women’s 800 meters. Eight GNAC athletes are among the 20 selected to compete in the women’s javelin. That group is led by Northwest Nazarene’s Ellie Logan, who won the GNAC Championships with a mark of 162 feet, 3 inches, that ranks No. 2 in the nation.

A total of five GNAC athletes will compete in the women’s 800 meters. Alaska Anchorage’s Danielle McCormick, the reigning indoor champion at 800 meters, leads the conference group. She has the fourth-fastest time in the field at 2:06.17.

Five GNAC athletes, all women, were selected in two events. Alaska Anchorage’s Caroline Kurgat will compete in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and has the top times in Division II in both events (15:41.21 in the 5,000, 32:33.24 in the 10,000). Seattle Pacific’s Renick Meyer will compete in both the long jump and the heptathlon.

Three Concordia athletes are among the two-event qualifiers. Melissa Ausman is qualified in the shot put and discus, Christina MacDonald is qualified in the shot put and hammer and Tasha Willing is qualified in the shot put and hammer.

The GNAC field will also include a pair of defending national champions. Western Oregon’s David Ribich won the men’s 1,500 meters last year. This season, Ribich has set the Division II record in the event at 3:37.35, which also ranks as the No. 32 fastest time in the world this season. Northwest Nazarene’s Payton Lewis will aim to defend his title in the men’s pole vault.

NCAA DIVISION II OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
GNAC SELECTED ENTRIES BY SCHOOL
MEN
Central Washington:Kodiak Landis (Decathlon)
Concordia: Jakob Chamberlin (Discus), Easton Christensen (Javelin), Josh Koch (Shot Put), Jacob Slate (Hammer)
Montana State Billings: Beau Ackerman (Javelin), Jorey Egeland (Steeplechase), Sam Zook (100 Meters)
Northwest Nazarene: Payton Lewis (Pole Vault)
Saint Martin’s: Brian Chalkley (Javelin)
Simon Fraser: Oliver Jorgensen (Steeplechase), Vladislav Tsygankov (400m Hurdles)
Western Oregon: Dustin Nading (1,500 Meters), David Ribich (1,500 Meters), Alani Troutman (Long Jump)
Western Washington: Alex Barry (Javelin)

WOMEN
Alaska Anchorage: Vanessa Aniteye (400 Meters), Yemi Knight (800 Meters), Caroline Kurgat (5,000 Meters, 10,000 Meters), Danielle McCormick (800 Meters), Tamara Perez (1,500 Meters), 4x400 Meter Relay (Knight, McCormick, Perez, Aniteye)
Central Washington: Ali Anderson (400m Hurdles), Halle Irvine (Pole Vault), HarLee Ortega (Heptathlon), Alexa Shindruk (10,000 Meters), Nicole Soleim (Steeplechase), Mariyah Vongsaveng (100m Hurdles), Erykah Weems (400m Hurdles)
Concordia: Melissa Ausman (Shot Put, Discus), Chelsea Bone (Heptathlon), Christina MacDonald (Shot Put, Hammer), Elizabeth Stottlemyre (Javelin), Joselynn Tensley (Hammer), Tasha Willing (Shot Put, Hammer)
Northwest Nazarene: Ellie Logan (Javelin)
Saint Martin’s: Deanna Avalos (Javelin), Liz Larson (Hammer)
Seattle Pacific: Scout Cai (Heptathlon), Mary Charleson (1,500 Meters), Kate Lilly (1,500 Meters), Renick Meyer (Long Jump, Heptathlon),
Simon Fraser: Reta Dobie (Steeplechase), Sophie Dodd (800 Meters), Ally Ginther (5,000 Meters), Addy Townsend (1,500 Meters), 4x400 Meter Relay (Nicole Lindsay, Dodd, Townsend, Renate Bluschke)
Western Oregon: Halie Korff (Javelin), Megan Rose (800 Meters), Kennedy Rufener (10,000 Meters), Suzie Van De Grift (1,500 Meters), Darian Wilson (Javelin), Olivia Woods (800 Meters), 4x400 Meter Relay (Grayson Burke, Megan Rose, Van De Grift, Woods)
Western Washington: Anna Paradee (Pole Vault), Raquel Pellecer (Javelin), Natalie Vetto (Javelin)