Friday, May 26, 2023

PUEBLO, Colo. – Simon Fraser sophomore Marie-Éloïse Leclair qualified for her second final and Western Washington sophomore Marian Ledesma made her case for All-American honors in the women’s 800 lead the second-day efforts for the GNAC at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.

Leclair ensured herself two races in Saturday’s finals as she earned an automatic berth in the women’s 200 meters. She finished second in the first preliminary heat and had the fourth-fastest time overall in 23.05 seconds. Leclair will race in the 100-meter final on Saturday at 6:35 p.m. (MDT) followed by the 200 meters at 7:45 p.m.

Ledesma qualified for the finals in the women’s 800 meters, placing second in her heat with the third-fastest time of the preliminaries of 2:10.57. She will compete in the final on Saturday at 6:55 p.m. Simon Fraser senior Megan Roxby closed her meet out by placing 12th in 2:12.93.

Vikings sophomore Ila Davis was the lone GNAC competitor in Friday’s running-event finals, finishing 12th in the women’s steeplechase in a time of 10:58.97.

Northwest Nazarene sophomore Steven Schmidt closed out the decathlon strong, moving up five places to finish 10th with a lifetime-best score of 7,155 points that improves his No. 4 mark on the GNAC all-time list. Schmidt finished no worse than ninth in any of the second-day disciplines, winning the javelin with a throw of 191 feet, 6 inches and third in the pole vault with a clearance of 15 feet, 1 inch.

Seattle Pacific senior David Njeri was the only field event participant for the GNAC on Friday, finishing 13th in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 48 feet, 0.5 inches.

Western Washington sophomore Drew Weber saw his meet come to a close with a 12th-place finish in the men’s 800 meters in a time of 1:51.25. Central Washington senior Lauryn Chandler finished 14th in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 13.99 seconds.

The NCAA Outdoor Championships concludes on Saturday. Action for the GNAC begins at 11 a.m. (MDT) with Northwest Nazarene sophomore Kinsey Yenor in the women’s pole vault. Other GNAC field-event competitors include Western Oregon senior Kaylee Wright in the women’s javelin and Schmidt in the men’s high jump.

Running events for conference athletes begin at 5:45 p.m. with Simon Fraser junior Charlie Dannatt in the men’s 1,500 meters.