Tuesday, February 21, 2023

SPOKANE, Wash. – Western Oregon is leaving Spokane as champions after climbing in the standings on day two of the GNAC Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships.

The Wolves came into the day in third place with 27 points, 22 behind first-place Northwest Nazarene. Through the course of the day, the Western Oregon men picked up a trio of wins, lifting the Wolves to their first GNAC indoor team championship since 2012  with 131 points. Western Washington finished runner-up with 125 points.

Western Oregon junior Justin Conklin nabbed the first win of the day for WOU with a time of 8.33 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. He was followed by Central Washington sophomore Aiden Wise in second with a time of 8.37 seconds.

The second win of the Wolves’ day also came in the 60 meters as junior Dominique Loggins took the win in the finals of the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.87 seconds. The win marks Loggins’ second individual GNAC title in the 60 meters, having previously won the event in 2020. Loggins was followed to the line by Simon Fraser sophomore Jesaiah Penson-Mccoy in 6.91 seconds.

Penson-Mccoy went one better for the Red Leafs in the finals of the men’s 200-meter dash, taking the win with a time of 21.77 seconds. That time tied him for ninth all-time in the GNAC. Penson-Mccoy was followed by Western Washington sophomore Nolan Mickenham in a time of 21.81 seconds.

The final win of the day for Western Oregon came in the shot put where senior Dayne Gordien led home as WOU took first and second with a throw of 53 feet, 2.75 inches ahead of sophomore teammate Mark Warren who threw 48 feet, 2.5 inches.

Elsewhere on the track, Northwest Nazarene sophomore Steven Schmidt picked up right where he left off on day one with second-place finishes in the heptathlon 60 meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000 meters en route to winning the heptathlon with a conference-meet record of 5,386 points.

 The heptathlon point total puts Schmidt No. 4 all-time in the GNAC while his 34-point contribution to NNU’s team total ranks second all-time at the GNAC Indoor Championships. For his success in the meet, Schmidt was named the Men’s Field Athlete of the Meet. He also earned the Men’s Performance of the Meet for his 7 feet, 0.25 inch effort in the heptathlon high jump on Monday.

Alaska Anchorage took home a pair of wins on the final day of the meet, taking victories in the 400 meters and 3,000 meters. Seawolves senior Kevin Angarita claimed the GNAC title in the 400 meters with a personal-best time of 48.70 seconds. He was followed by Seattle Pacific sophomore Isaiah Archer in 48.78 seconds.

In a red-hot 3,000 meters, it was Alaska Anchorage sophomore Coleman Nash who set a meet record with his winning time of 8:18.32. Nash was also named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Meet after setting the meet record in the 5,000 meters on the first day of the meet.

Western Washington picked up its win of the day in the 800 meters courtesy of junior Drew Weber in a time of 1:52.53. He was followed up by sophomore teammate Will Henry in second place in 1:52.64.

In the men’s mile, Simon Fraser’s Charlie Dannatt took home top honors with a time of 4:06.21. He finished nearly three seconds ahead of second-place Hunter Hutton of Western Oregon, who finished in a time of 4:09.11.

On the field, Seattle Pacific senior David Njeri repeated as champion in the triple jump with a mark of 48 feet. In the pole vault, it was Central Washington senior Braydon Maier who took home the title with a clearance of 15 feet, 5.75 inches.

The final win of the meet went to Central Washington who won the 4x400 meters in a time of 3:19.15 with a team of Isaiah Webster, Aiden Wise, Austin Albertin and Johan Correa.