Thursday, May 4, 2023

THIS WEEK'S GNAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
MEN’S TRACK
Jonah Bloom, Western Washington
Sophomore • Spokane, Wash.

Bloom won the 800 meters in front of his home crowd at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational. His NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time of 1:50.75 was a personal best, ranks third in the GNAC this season and 30th in Division II.  

Also Nominated: Enrique Campbell (Alaska Anchorage), Johan Correa (Central Washington), Ben Ralston (Montana State Billings), Hunter Braseth (Northwest Nazarene), Kainalu Pagente (Saint Martin’s), Isaiah Archer (Seattle Pacific), Jesaiah Penson-Mccoy (Simon Fraser).

MEN’S FIELD
Jaydon Tryon, Western Washington
Junior • Woodinville, Wash.

Tryon won the javelin at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational with the best mark in the conference this season of 196 feet, 3 inches. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark was a personal best and ranks 29th in Division II this season. Tryon also competed in the discus for the first time in his collegiate career, finishing 12th with a mark of 121 feet, 7 inches.

Also Nominated: Wyatt Franklin (Central Washington), Forrest Cross (Montana State Billings), Bryan Cortes (Simon Fraser).

WOMEN’S TRACK
E’lexis Hollis, Central Washington
Junior • Ellensburg, Wash.

Hollis moved up to No. 2 on the GNAC all-time list with her victory in the 100 meters at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational. Her time of 11.63 seconds improved her school record of 0.15 seconds and improved her NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time, which is tied for 25th in Division II this season.  

Also Nominated: Kailee Stoppel (Montana State Billings), Abbey Wood (Northwest Nazarene), Cassidy Walchak-Sloan (Saint Martin’s), Kate Cameron (Simon Fraser), Caitlin Heldt (Western Oregon), Caitlyn Cheney (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Kinsey Yenor, Northwest Nazarene
Sophomore • Meridian, Idaho

Yenor broke the NNU record in the pole vault, placing second as the only non-Division I competitor at the Bengal Invitational. Her clearance of 13 feet, 0.75 inches improves her NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark, ranks No. 3 on the GNAC all-time list and is 16th in Division II this season.  

Also Nominated: Erica Cabanos (Central Washington), Ryann Moline (Montana State Billings), Lizzy Daugherty (Seattle Pacific), Sydney Kania (Simon Fraser), Katie Potts (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Senior Enrique Campbell’s victory in the men’s 200 meters led Alaska Anchorage’s performances at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational on Saturday in Bellingham, Washington.

• Campbell won in a time of 21.55 seconds, ranking him second in the GNAC this season and No. 3 on the UAA all-time list.

• Senior Drew Johnson placed second in the men’s 1,500 meters in a time of 3:49.19. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifier ranks 48th in Division II this season and is No. 4 on the UAA all-time list.

• Senior Mikayla Mader established the third-best mark in UAA history in the women’s high jump, placing second with a clearance of 5 feet, 4.5 inches. The mark is tied for third-best in the GNAC this season.

• Junior Michael Zapherson added a second-place finish in the men’s 5,000 meters with a time of 14:57.92 that ranks seventh in the GNAC this season.

• Junior Kevin Angarita finished second in the men’s 400 meters in 49.14 seconds while junior Joshua Wagner was second in the men’s 110-meter hurdles in 14.93 seconds.

• At the GNAC Combined Events Championships, junior Carlotta Duenninger placed third in the women’s heptathlon with a score of 4,281 points. She won the javelin with a throw of 121 feet, 9 inches and was second in the 800 meters in a time of 2:23.88.

• Alaska Anchorage will compete this week at the Oregon Twilight in Eugene on Friday and the Linfield Open in McMinnville, Oregon on Saturday.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Junior E’lexis Hollis and Johan Correa improved their NCAA Championships provisional qualifying marks to lead Central Washington at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational.

• Hollis moved up to No. 2 on the GNAC all-time list and cut .15 seconds off her CWU record time in the women’s 100 meters with a time of 11.63 seconds. That improved her NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time and ties her for 25th in Division II this season. The effort earned Hollis selection as the GNAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week.

• Correa placed second in the men’s 800 meters with a personal-best time of 1:50.78. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time moves him to No. 31 in Division II this season and No. 4 in the GNAC.

• Senior Lauryn Chandler picked up another win in the women’s 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.11 seconds. Freshman Grace Twiss added a win in the women’s 400-meter hurdles in 1:03.83.

• Junior Juliette Williams added a second-place finish in the women’s 200 meters in a time of 25.03 seconds.

• The Wildcats also sent a number of select athletes to the Oregon State High Performance Meet in Corvallis, Oregon. Freshman Steiner Christensen led the way, placing second in the men’s 5,000 meters in 15:19.30.

• At the GNAC Combined Events Championships, sophomore Drew Klein placed third in the decathlon with a score of 6,538 points. He placed second in the 100 meters (11.46), the discus (122-2) and the javelin (171-2).

• Freshman Ellie DeGroot finished fifth in the heptathlon with a score of 4,253 points. DeGroot tied in scoring with Seattle Pacific’s Hannah Chang with Chang winning the tiebreaker on head-to-head competition in the individual events. DeGroot won the final event, the 800 meters, in 2:23.88.

• Central Washington closes the regular season on Saturday at the Linfield Open in McMinnville, Oregon.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Sophomore Benjamin Ralston set a school record in the men’s 400 meters to lead Montana State Billings at the Bengal Invitational in Pocatello, Idaho.

• Ralston placed second in the event with a time of 48.24 seconds to beat the previous record of 49.12 seconds set by Nathan Vanderby in 2015. Ralston also ran 22.00 seconds in the 200 meters, tying him for No. 3 on the MSUB all-time list.

• Sophomore Bradley Graves placed fifth in the preliminaries in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.04 seconds. He went on to finish sixth in the finals with a time of 15.23 seconds.

• Senior Carson Jessop placed fifth in the men’s steeplechase in a time of 9:26.03. In the women’s 10,000 meters, junior Aspen Tolman finished third in a time of 43:18.70.

• In the field events, junior Bryce Olson placed fourth in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 39 feet, 11.5 inches. Senior Forrest Cross placed eighth in the men’s discus with a mark of 150 feet, 11 inches.

• In the women’s field events, sophomore Ryann Moline was 10th in the discus with a mark of 121 feet, 1 inch and 10th in the javelin with a mark of 122 feet, 10 inches.

• Montana State Billings concludes the regular season with the Tom Gage Invite on Saturday in Bozeman, Montana.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Sophomore Kinsey Yenor’s second-place finish in the women’s pole vault led three Northwest Nazarene school records set at the Bengal Invitational in Pocatello, Idaho.

• Yenor placed second as the only non-Division I competitor in the field with a mark of 13 feet, 0.75 inches. That broke her previous NNU record of 12 feet, 8 inches set in 2021 and moved her to No. 3 on the GNAC all-time list. It also ranks 16th in Division II this season. The effort earned Yenor selection as the GNAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week.

• The women’s 4x100-meter relay team of Katie Baniaga, Kayla Baniaga, Abbey Wood and Kalli Brence set a school record in the women’s 4x100-meter relay, placing second in 41.37 seconds. That bettered the record of 47.55 seconds set in 2015.

• Wood also reset her own record in the women’s 200 meters, placing fourth in the preliminaries with a time of 24.42 seconds. She went on to place fourth in the finals with a time of 24.56 seconds. Woods had the top time in the preliminaries of the 100 meters in 12.03 seconds and placed second in the finals in 11.95 seconds.

• Sophomore Hunter Braseth moved into No. 9 on the GNAC all-time list in the men’s 200 meters with a time of 21.39 seconds. The performance is No. 4 on the NNU all-time list and ranks second in the GNAC this season.

• The men’s 4x100-meter team of Dallin Garner, Braseth, Brayden Durfee and Sylvanus Hunt finished second with a GNAC-leading time of 41.37 seconds that ranks No. 5 on the GNAC all-time list.

• At the GNAC Combined Events Championships, sophomore Steven Schmidt repeated as conference champion in the decathlon. His score of 7,047 points ranks No. 3 on the GNAC all-time list. In the competition, Schmidt cleared 7 feet, 0.5 inches in the high jump, moving into a tie for No. 2 on the GNAC all-time list. Schmidt ranks No. 7 in Division II this season in the decathlon and is tied for third in the high jump.

• Northwest Nazarene does not compete again until the GNAC Outdoor Championships, May 12 and 13 in Monmouth, Oregon.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Sophomores Cassidy Walchak-Sloan and Kainalu Pagente set school records to lead Saint Martin’s at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational.

• Walchak-Sloan set the SMU record in the women’s 1,500 meters with a second-place time of 4:27.97, surpassing the previous record of 4:29.82 set by Shannon Porter in 2016. She improved her NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time and ranks 33rd in Division II this season.

• Pagente placed fourth in the men’s steeplechase with a time of 9:28.51 to surpass the previous SMU record of 9:32.66 set by Jasper Heckman in 2016. The time ranks sixth in the GNAC this season.

• Sophomore Sara Sabra placed second in the women’s 5,000 meters with a time of 18:02.36.

• In the field events, freshman Alyssa Duncan added a second-place finish in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 37 feet, 10.75 inches. Freshman Ryan Doidge led the men with his fifth-place finish in the pole vault with a clearance of 14 feet.

• .At the GNAC Combined Events Championships, junior Andrew Boyd placed fifth in the decathlon with a score of 6,170 points. Boyd won the shot put with a mark of 42 feet, 3.25 inches and was second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.56 seconds.

• Saint Martin’s does not compete again until the GNAC Outdoor Championships, May 12 and 13 in Monmouth, Oregon.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Sophomore Isaiah Archer and senior David Njeri each picked up victories to lead Seattle Pacific’s efforts at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational.

• Archer claimed the victory in the men’s 400 meters, outdueling Alaska Anchorage’s Kevin Angarita with a time of 48.48 seconds. It was Archer’s fourth victory in a row in the event.

• Njeri claimed his third win of the season in the men’s triple jump with a leap of 48 feet, 1.25 inches. He also tied for 12th in the long jump with a mark of 21 feet, 6.25 inches.

• Junior Lizzy Daugherty tied her season-best in the women’s pole vault, finishing second with a clearance of 12 feet, 4 inches. That improved her NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark and ties her for 35th in Division II this season. Junior Emily Thomason was third with a clearance of 12 feet.

• In the men’s pole vault, junior Brad Bowman tied for third with a clearance of 14 feet.

• Freshman Maya Ewing added a third-place finish in the women’s steeplechase with a time of 11:38.40.

• The men’s 10,000 meters saw freshman Isaac Venable place second in a time of 34;09.89.

• At the GNAC Combined Events Championships, freshman Hannah Chang placed fourth with a score of 4,253 points. Tying in total points with Central Washington’s Ellie DeGroot, Chang was awarded fourth as she beat DeGroot in five of the seven disciplines. Chang won the opening event of the competition, the 100-meter hurdles, in 14.53 seconds.

• The Falcons will close the regular season by sending athletes to the Linfield Open in McMinnville, Oregon and the Portland Twilight on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Sophomore Jesaiah Penson-Mccoy set a Simon Fraser record in the men’s 100 meters to lead the Red Leafs’ performances at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational.

• Penson-Mccoy won the event in a time of 10.63 seconds that surpassed the SFU record of 10.65 seconds set by Kevin Tyler in 1989 and a hand-timed 10.4 run by Murray Delorme in 1978 (which converts to 10.64 according to accepted practice). The time is No. 3 in the GNAC this season. Penson-Mccoy was also third in the 200 meters in a time of 21.78 seconds.

• Penson Mccoy also teamed with Blake Furtado, Jeremy Belcher and Kaito Suzuki to win the men’s 4x100-meter relay in a time of 41.98 seconds.

• Sophomores Kate Cameron and Elizabeth Vanderput went one-two in the women’s 800 meters. Cameron was the winner in 2:14.95 while Vanderput placed second in a time of 2:15.19.

• Sophomore Sydney Kania was the winner in the women’s high jump, clearing a height of 5 feet, 4.5 inches.

• Sophomore Bryan Cortes improved his NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark in the men’s javelin, placing second with a throw of 195 feet, 10 inches that ranks 30th in Division II this season.

• Sophomore Erika Binder added a second-place finish in the women’s 400-meter hurdles in a time of 1:04.02.

• Simon Fraser will send some athletes to Los Angeles to take part in the Oxy Invitational and the On Track Fest on Saturday. Others will participate in the Jennifer Rogers Swan Memorial Meet in Abbotsford, B.C.

WESTERN OREGON
• Senior Caitlin Heldt set the Western Oregon record in the women’s 5,000 meters to lead performances at the Oregon State High Performance Meet in Corvallis.

• Heldt finished 11th in the invitational heat with a time of 17:06.05. That surpassed her previous record of 17:08.22 set in 2021. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time ranks 54th in Division II this season.

• Sophomore Emmett Klus notched an NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time in the men’s 800 meters, placing 11th in 1:51.24. The time ranks 39th in Division II this season and No. 7 on the WOU all-time list.

• Junior Ujunwa Nwokoma and senior Jenelle Hurley took third and fourth in the women’s long jump. Nwokoma finished with a mark of 18 feet, 11.75 inches while Hurley leaped 18 feet, 10 inches.

• Senior Maya Hopwood placed third in the women’s 100 meters, clocking a time of 12.20 seconds.

• Sophomore Kolby Spink was the winner in the men’s 5,000-meter open race in a time of 15:13.19. Junior Hunter Hutton placed fourth in the invitational section of the men’s 1,500 meters in 3:47.89.

• At the GNAC Combined Events Championships, Hurley won the heptathlon title for the first time in her career. Her score of 4,803 points improved her NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark and ranks 17th in Division II this season. Hurley won the high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 3.25 inches and the long jump with a mark of 18 feet, 7.75 inches.

• In the decathlon, senior JJ Walker placed second with a score of 6,680 points that is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier and ranks 15th in Division II this season. Walker won the long jump with a mark of 22 feet, 11.25 inches.

• Western Oregon will compete on Friday at the Oregon Twilight in Eugene and on Saturday at the Linfield Open and the Portland Twilight.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Winning efforts by sophomore Jonah Bloom in the men’s 800 meters and junior Jaydon Tryon in the men’s javelin led 12 event victories for Western Washington at its own Ralph Vernacchia Invitational.

• Bloom provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships with his win in the 800. His time of 1:50.75 ranks 30th in Division II this season and No. 5 on the WWU all-time list and earned Bloom selection as the GNAC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week.

• Tryon won the javelin with the best mark in the GNAC this season at 196 feet, 3 inches. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark ranks 29th in Division II this season and earned Tryon selection as the GNAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week.

• Sophomore Kevin McDermott improved his NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time in the men’s 1,500 meters, winning in a time of 3:48.47. The time ranks No. 41 in Division II this season.

• Sophomore Katie Potts also improved her NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark in the women’s discus. Her mark of 153 feet, 1 inch ranks No. 8 on the GNAC all-time list and 16th in Division II this season.

• At the GNAC Combined Events Championships, junior Matty Lagerwey finished second with a score of 4,995 points. She placed second in the shot put with a mark of 34 feet, 3.5 inches.

• In the decathlon, freshman Ryan Kenny led the way as he placed seventh with a score of 6,056 points. Kenny won the first event, the 100 meters, in 11.23 seconds. Freshman Austin Seals won the 400 meters in 51.31 seconds and the 1,500 meters in 4:40.85 en route to an eighth-place score of 5,546 points.

• Western Washington will send athletes to both the Linfield Open and the Portland Twilight on Saturday.