Wednesday, March 8, 2023

THIS WEEK'S GNAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
MEN’S TRACK
Andrew Oslin, Western Washington
Sophomore • Puyallup, Wash.

Oslin opened the outdoor season with a victory in the 10,000 meters at the Ed Boitano Invitational on Friday. His winning time of 29:41.91 ranks No. 6 on the GNAC all-time and is the best time in Division II in the young season.

Also Nominated: Logan Easley (Central Washington), Brody Kemble (Northwest Nazarene).

MEN’S FIELD
Isaiah Webster, Central Washington
Freshman • Bellevue, Wash.

Running in his first collegiate outdoor meet, Webster won the long jump by 11 inches at the Ed Boitano Invitational on Saturday with a mark of 21 feet, 10.25 inches.

Also Nominated: Jaydon Tryon (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Aniya Green, Seattle Pacific
Junior • Dupont, Wash.

Green opened the outdoor season by winning the 200 meters and running the leadoff leg on the Falcons’ winning 4x400-meter relay team at the Ed Boitano Invitational. Green cruised to the win in the 200 meters with a time of 26.43 seconds. She then started the Falcons off well as they won the 4x4000-meter relay by 12 seconds in a time of 4:02.29.

Also Nominated: Ellie DeGroot (Central Washington), Morgan Erler (Northwest Nazarene), Meaera Shannon (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Lizzy Daugherty, Seattle Pacific
Junior • Lake Stevens, Wash.

Daugherty won the pole vault at the Ed Boitano Invitational with a clearance of 11 feet, 9.75 inches. She tied at the height with Pacific Lutheran’s Lily Luksich and was awarded first based on fewer misses at the previous height. The mark ranks second in Division II in the young outdoor season.

Also Nominated: Payton Elenbaas (Central Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage will not open its outdoor season until Mar. 23-25, traveling south to compete at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego and the Mangrum Invitational in San Marcos, California.

• The Seawolves will send one athlete to the NCAA Indoor Championships in Coleman Nash. The sophomore is seeded No. 5 in the men’s 5,000 meters with a season-best time in 13:48.46 and No. 18 in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:03.41.

• Nash was named the GNAC Indoor Championships Men’s Track Athlete of the Meet after he won the 3,000 meters in a time of 8:18.32 and the 5,000 meters in a time of 14:17.09, both meet records.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington opened the outdoor season with four event winners at the Ed Boitano Invitational in Tacoma, Washington.

• Freshman Isaiah Webster was named the GNAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he won the long jump by nearly 11 inches with a mark of 21 feet, 10.25 inches. Webster finished fourth in the event at the GNAC Indoor Championships.

• Freshman Ellie DeGroot and sophomore Sarah Sewell finished one-two in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. DeGroot won in a time of 15.44 seconds while Sewell placed second in 15.71 seconds. The two flip places in the 400-meter hurdles with Sewell winning in 1:05.49 and DeGroot placing second in 1:06.71.

• Two weeks after placing second in the event at the GNAC Indoor Championships, sophomore Drew Klein won the men’s pole vault in the outdoor opener with a clearance of 14 feet, 8 inches.

• The Wildcats also picked up a pair of second-place finishes in the men’s throws. Senior Wyatt Franklin was second in the discus with a mark of 142 feet, 6 inches while junior Branden Wise was second in the javelin with a mark of 177 feet. 8 inches.

• Central Washington does not return outdoors until Sat., Mar. 18, when it competes in the Doris Heritage Track Festival in Renton, Washington.

• Central Washington will have two women’s athletes in the Division II Indoor Championships this weekend. Junior E’lexis Hollis is seeded No. 13 in the 60 meters with a time of 7.46 seconds. Junior Lauryn Chandler, the GNAC champion in the 60-meter hurdles, is seeded No. 14 with her season-best of 8.57 seconds.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings will not open its outdoor season until Sat., Mar. 18, co-hosting the MSUB/Rocky Meet in Billings.

• Montana State Billings finished eighth in both the men’s and women’s team competitions at the GNAC Indoor Championships.

• The Yellowjackets received a trio of top-three finishes. Sophomore Bradley Graves finished third in the men’s 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.42 seconds. He ran 8.34 in the preliminaries to reset his own MSUB record.

• Freshman Tatum Hull placed third in the women’s long jump with a school-record mark of 17 feet, 11.5 inches. Senior Kailee Stoppel finished third in the women’s 800 meters in a time of 2:16.84.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene opened the outdoor season by sending a limited number of distance runners to the Erik Anderson Memorial Icebreaker in McMinnville, Oregon.

• Freshman Morgan Erler opened her collegiate outdoor career as a winner, taking the women’s 10,000 meters with a time of 38:25.07.

• Freshman Brody Kemble placed seventh in the men’s 10,000 meters with a time of 31:27.97 while freshman Aaron Heberlein crossed in a time of 34:02.81.

• The Nighthawks are not scheduled to compete outdoors again until Saturday, Mar. 25, at the Willamette Invitational in Salem, Oregon.

• Northwest Nazarene will be represented at the NCAA Indoor Championships by sophomore Steven Schmidt. The GNAC Championships Men’s Field Athlete of the Meet, Schmidt is seeded No. 7 in the heptathlon with a score of 5,386 points and No. 9 in the high jump with his best of 7 feet, 0.25 inches.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s picked up a pair of first-place finishes as it opened the 2023 outdoor season at the Ed Boitano Invitational.

• Freshman Alyssa Duncan was a winner in her first collegiate outdoor meet, winning the women’s long jump with a mark of 16 feet, 3.25 inches. Duncan also finished third in the triple jump with a mark of 33 feet, 0.25 inches.

• Senior Jack Farrell won the men’s 800 meters, clocking a time of 1:58.26.

• The Saints amassed a pair of second-place finishes in the 4000 meters. Junior Cree Bell was second in the women’s 400 with her time of 1:00.12 while junior Zach Franco was second in the men’s 400 with a time of 50.96 seconds.

• Sophomore Alisha Saucedo led a 2-3-4 finish for the Saints in the women’s 1,500 meters, placing second in a time of 4:46.66. Freshman Alauna Carstens placed third in 4:48.48 and junior Naomi Hartley was fourth in 4:58.33.

• The Saints will be back outdoors on Saturday, competing in the PLU Open in Tacoma.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific picked up three victories and swept the conference women’s weekly awards as the Falcons opened the outdoor season at the Ed Boitano Invitational.

• Junior Aniya Green was named the GNAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after she won the 200 meters in a time of 26.43 seconds. She went on to run the leadoff leg of the Falcons’ 4x400-meter relay team, which won in a time of 4:02.29.

• Junior Lizzy Daugherty earned GNAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors after winning the pole vault with a mark of 11 feet, 9.75 inches which leads Division II this season. Daugherty tied with Lily Luksich of Pacific Lutheran and was awarded first based on fewer misses at the previous height.

• Junior Annika Esvelt won the women’s 1,500 meters in her first race of the season after missing the indoor schedule due to injury. Esvelt won in a time of 4:45.73.

• Junior Kainoa Lee was the top SPU men’s placer, taking second in the pole vault with his clearance of 14 feet, 2 inches. Junior Jon Owen placed third in the men’s 800 meters in a time of 1:59.22.

• The Falcons will return to the outdoor oval on Saturday, competing in the PLU Open in Tacoma.

• Seattle Pacific will be presented by senior Vanessa Aniteye at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Aniteye has the top time in the women’s 800 meters at 2:07.53.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser will not open the outdoor season until Saturday, Mar. 18, when it hosts the first of two High Performance Meets at Terry Fox Field.

• The Red Leafs will have three individuals and its men’s distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Junior Charlie Dannatt leads the way. He ranks No. 2 in the men’s mile with a seed time of 3:58.54 and is No. 8 in the 3,000 meters with a time of 7:58.32.

• Dannatt also joins with Aiden Good, Jordan Schmidt and Felix Allen in the men’s distance medley relay. The team is No. 5 in the field with a season-best time of 9:42.77.

• Sophomore Marie-Éloïse Leclair will compete in both the 60 meters and 200 meters. Leclair is seeded No. 4 in the 200 meters in 23.63 seconds and No. 6 in the 60 meters in 7.33 seconds. Both times are GNAC records.

• Junior Megan Roxby is seeded No. 13 in the women’s mile with a season-best time of 4:48.70.

WESTERN OREGON
• After sweeping the GNAC indoor championships, Western Oregon pivoted to the outdoor seasons and competed at the Willamette Opener on Saturday in Salem, Oregon.

• The WOU women picked up four victories in the meet. Senior Kaylee Wright led the way with the victory in the javelin with a mark of 133 feet, 2 inches.

• Senior Maya Hopwood led three women’s winners on the track, winning the 100 meters in 12.44 seconds. Sophomore Katie Chapman won the 1,500 meters in a time of 5:03.47 while junior Madeline Lambing won the 400-meter hurdles by five seconds in a time of 1:06.33.

• Both of Western Oregon’s men’s victories came on the track. Sophomore Alex Driesner won the 100 meters in a time of 11.04 seconds while sophomore Wyatt Smith won the 800 meters in a time of 1:58.62.

• The Wolves also sent a handful of distance athletes to compete at the Erik Anderson Memorial Icebreaker on Friday night in McMinnville, Oregon. Sophomore Emily Johnson led the way, placing 16th in the women’s 10,00 meters in 41:59.93.

• Western Oregon returns to outdoor competition on Mar. 17 and 18, taking part in the Oregon Preview at Hayward Field in Eugene.

• Junior Hunter Hutton will represent WOU at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He is seeded No. 6 in the men’s mile with a time of 4:03.26.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Sophomore Andrew Oslin’s school-record time in the men’s 10,000 meters led Western Washington as it opened the outdoor season at the Ed Boitano Invitational.

• Oslin was named the GNAC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after winning in a time of 29:41.91 to break the previous WWU record of 29:45.42 set by Jordan Welling in 2010. The time leads Division II this season and is No. 6 on the GNAC all-time list.

• Sophomore Jeret Gillingham also had a Division II-leading mark in the men’s steeplechase, winning in a time of 8:55.62. It is the best time in Division II by 53 seconds.

• Sophomore Kevin McDermott was a winner in both the men’s 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters. McDermott took the 1,500 in a time of 3:51.41 and the 5,000 in a time of 15:14.22.

• Freshman Meaera Shannon led the WWU women with her second-place finish in the 10,000 meters. Her time of 37:23.82 ranks No. 8 on the WWU all-time list.

• Junior Marian Ledesma added a third-place finish in the women’s 400 meters in 1:00.75 while freshman Elie Bassett was third in the 800 meters in 2:23.47.

• Western Washington returns to outdoor action this weekend, competing in the PLU Open on Saturday in Tacoma.

• Junior Drew Weber will represent Western Washington at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He is seeded No. 12 in the 800 meters with a time of 1:49.86. Weber will also team with Will Henry, Brian Le and Jonah Bloom in the men’s distance medley relay, where the Vikings are seeded No. 3 with a time of 9:45.48.