Tuesday, June 7, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – After a pair of record-setting seasons that included conference titles and appearances in the NCAA Division II Championships, Simon Fraser junior Alison Andrews-Paul and Alaska Anchorage sophomore Joshua Wagner have been selected as the 2022 GNAC Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Year.

Andrews-Paul established herself as one of the top 800-meter runners in Division II history. She set the Division II record in the event with her time of 2:01.43 at the Bryan Clay Invitational, bettering the previous record by nearly a second. The time also ranks as one of the top times ever by a New Zealand national. She won both the 800 and 1,500 meters at the GNAC Championships and ran a leg on SFU’s winning 4x400-meter relay team.

Andrews-Paul finished second in the 800 meters at the Division II Championships in a time of 2:07.24. She also had provisional qualifying marks in the 400 meters and 1,500 meters. Her season-best of 4:21.79 in the 1,500 meters was fifth in Division II and No. 4 on the GNAC all-time list while her time of 54.07 seconds in the 400 meters was No. 5 in Division II this season.

Wagner ran his way into the record book in the 110-meter hurdles, winning the GNAC Championships in a time of 14.15 seconds that eclipsed the previous conference record of 14.19 seconds set by Travis Milbrandt in 2016. He went on the lower the record to 14.00 in the preliminaries at the Division II Championships and went on place 10th in a time of 14.38 seconds. His season-best ranks sixth in Division II this season.

Wagner also won the GNAC title in the 400-meter hurdles at the GNAC Championships. He was named the Male Track Athlete of the Meet and earned the Performance of the Meet award for his record run in the 110-meter hurdles.

Simon Fraser took home three of the outdoor track and field special awards with sophomore Charlie Dannatt earning the Male Newcomer of the Year award and Marie-Éloïse Leclair earning selection as the Female Freshman of the Year.

Dannatt transferred to Simon Fraser from British Columbia in 2019 and did not compete in the last two outdoor seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once he reached the outdoor oval, though, he made the most of it. Dannatt placed third in the 1,500 meters at the Division II Championships in 3:47.24, earning All-American honors. He also qualified for nationals in the 800 meters, placing 18th. At the GNAC Championships, Dannatt won the title in the 1,500 meters and placed fourth in the 800 meters.

Dannatt’s season-best of 3:42.01 in the 1,500 meters ranks No. 3 on the GNAC all-time list and his best of 1:49.52 in the 800 meters ranks No. 7 on the GNAC all-time list.

Leclair was named the GNAC Championships Female Athlete of the Meet after she won both the 100 meters and 200 meters in meet-record times. Her winning time of 23.88 seconds eclipsed the conference all-time record of 23.99 seconds set by NyEma Sims of Seattle Pacific in 2007. In her four individual races in the meet, Leclair set conference records three times. At the Division II Championships, Leclair placed 13th in the 200 meters, 14th in the 100 meters and was part of the SFU 4x400-meter relay team that placed eighth and set the GNAC record with a time of 3:41.17.

Northwest Nazarene picked up two awards with Steven Schmidt earning Male Freshman of the Year honors and junior Abbey Wood picking up Female Newcomer of the Year.

Schmidt was named the GNAC Championships Male Field Athlete of the Meet after he won the decathlon with a score of 6,488 points and the high jump with a clearance of 6 feet, 8.25 inches. In winning the decathlon, Schmidt completed a sweep of the men’s indoor and outdoor multi-event titles. Schmidt also finished sixth in the pole vault, ninth in the 110-meter hurdles, 12th in the javelin and 15th in the long jump at the GNAC Championships.

Schmidt earned NCAA Championships provisional qualifying marks with his season bests of 6 feet, 9 inches in the high jump and 6,488 points in the decathlon. He ranks No. 4 on the NNU all-time list and is tied for seventh on the GNAC all-time list in the high jump and is No. 4 on the NNU all-time list in the decathlon.

Wood placed sixth in the 100 meters and the 200 meters at the GNAC Championships in her first season for Northwest Nazarene after transferring from George Fox. Her season-best of 12.20 seconds in the 100 meters ranks No. 2 on the NNU all-time list and her best of 25.42 seconds in the 200 meters is No. 8 on the NNU all-time list.

The coaches of the conference’s team champions were tabbed as the coaches of the year. Western Washington’s Pee Wee Halsell earned his third straight Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year award and his ninth overall after leading the Vikings to a 111-point victory at the GNAC Championships with a score of 240 points. The team’s ledger included six individual champions and 16 top-three finishes as the Vikings scored points in every event with the exception of the hammer.

Octavious Gillespie-Bennett was named the Women’s Coach of the Year after he led the Wolves to their first championship since 2008 with a score of 155 points. In his second year at WOU head coach. Gillespie-Bennett’s team scored a 29-point victory over second-place Western Washington and received individual titles from four athletes.

2022 GNAC OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD SPECIAL AWARDS
MEN
Athlete of the Year: Joshua Wagner, Alaska Anchorage
Newcomer of the Year: Charlie Dannatt, Simon Fraser
Freshman of the Year: Steven Schmidt, Northwest Nazarene
Coach of the Year: Pee Wee Halsell, Western Washington

WOMEN
Athlete of the Year: Alison Andrews-Paul, Simon Fraser
Newcomer of the Year: Abbey Wood, Northwest Nazarene
Freshman of the Year: Marie-Éloïse Leclair, Simon Fraser
Coach of the Year: Octavious Gillespie-Bennett, Western Oregon