Viking squads finish second to Western Oregon in close GNAC team battles in Spokane...
SPOKANE--The Western Washington men's team, which went into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship meet at The Podium with high expectations to repeat as champions for the fourth straight time, instead fell short Tuesday, as Western Oregon overtook the Vikings late in the meet to take the team crown by a 131-125 margin.
Using the same formula, the Wolves won the women's team title, nosing out Western Washington by a 122-117 margin to give Western Oregon a sweep of the championship crowns.
MEN'S RECAP
Western Washington picked up its win of the day in the 800 meters courtesy of junior Drew Weber (Loren Orr/GNAC photo) in a time of 1:52.53. He was followed up by sophomore teammate Will Henry in second place in 1:52.64.
Weber moved up one spot from his runner-up position at last year's meet. The victory gave the Vikings two straight and three of the last four indoor 800s.
With most of the other conferences competing in their championship meets later this week, Weber stands number 13 on the NCAA D2 descending order list at 1:50.36.
Western got podium finishes from Angelo Ramos in the shot put, throwing 47-3.5 (14.41m) to take third, Gabe Menicke in the triple jump (46-0.75/14.04m), finishing second to Seattle Pacific's David Njeri, who defended his GNAC title with a leap of 48-0 (14.63m).
The Vikings wrapped up the meet with a second place finish in the 4 x 400 relay, as the team of Maurice Woodring, Ryan Greenwalt, Lucas Brenek, and Brian Le ran 3:19.20 to finish behind Central Washington's squad of Isaiah Webster, Aiden Wise, Austin Albertin, and Johan Correa, who ran 3:19.15.
Central Washington, which finished fourth with 76.5 points, earned a win from Braydon Maier in the pole vault, who cleared 15-5.75 (4.72m) after finishing second in the heptathlon with 4821 points. Teammate Drew Klein was third with a two day total of 4540 points.
The Wildcats also got top three finishes from Wise in the 60 hurdles (8.37), and Johan Correa in the 800 (1:52.82).
In addition to Njeri's win in the triple jump, Seattle Pacific, which finished 7th with 38.5 points, got a top three finish from Isaiah Archer in the 400, who ran 48.78, and their 4 x 400 relay, which finished third in 3:20.86.
Saint Martin's finished ninth with 22 points, only getting Hewson Nguyen on the podium in the long jump (22-10.5/6.97m) Monday.
WOMEN'S RECAP
The WWU women's team equaled their highest indoor team finish in program history, placing 2nd with 117 points, just five points behind Western Oregon. The runner-up finish marked the best team finish since back-to-back second-place showings in 2012-13.
Spokane native Ila Davis was the top overall performer for the Vikings in the meet. The sophomore won the 3000m in a time of 10:14.61, and placed 3rd in the mile, running 5:08.02.
Western Washington got a 2-3 finish in the shot put from Katie Potts (40-11.5/12.48m), and Mara Parks (40-8.25/12.40m).
Sprinter E'Lexis Hollis was second in the 60, running 7.46. The women's 4x400 team of Juliette Williams, Elise Hopper, Donna Marie Harris, and McCall DeChenne finished 2nd in the race with a time of 3:50.97. DeChenne also took home 2nd place in the 400-meter dash (57.93). Erica Cabanos got 3rd in the triple jump with a leap of 37-11.5m (11.57m).
National 800m leader Vanessa Aniteye was a convincing winner in her event, as the Seattle Pacific senior ran 2:08.71 to maintain her stranglehold. Aniteye led the Falcons to a fifth place finish with 60 points.
Libby Michael was second in the mile in 5:06.96, and doubled back to take third in the 3000m in 10:18.94. SPU's other podium finish came in the 4 x 400, as they ran 3:53.54 to take third.
Saint Martin's finished the meet in 7th place with 39 points. The Saints got both of their podium finishes on Monday. Jocelyn Saribay was third in the weight throw at 52-4.75 (15.97m), while Sara Sabra was third in the 5000, running 18:20.62.
Western Washington and Central Washington will send a small contingent to Seattle for Friday & Saturday's Ken Shannon Last Chance meet hosted by the University of Washington at the Dempsey Indoor in hopes of ensuring qualifying marks to next month's NCAA championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
NOTE: The sports information office of Western Washington University, Central Washington University, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and the USTFCCCA contributed to this report.
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