Eagles' Cody Teevens earns podium position in Big Sky decathlon...

GREELEY, Colorado--Eastern Washington's Cody Teevens (Paul Merca photo) moved up one spot and finished third in the decathlon as day 2 of the Big Sky Track & Field Championships concluded at Nottingham Field on the campus of Northern Colorado University under rainy conditions.

Teevens started the day in fourth place with 3454 points, and got going with a win in the 110 hurdles, running a lifetime best 14.86. He followed with a throw of 96-6 (29.41m) in the discus, before vaulting 12-7.25 (3.84m).

In the javelin, the Washington State transfer threw 124-8 (37.99m), before finishing with a time of 5:01.26 in the 1500 to end the competition with a final score of 6312 points, setting a lifetime best.

Teammate Elijah Conley finished seventh with a final score of 5821, just off his personal best of 5838 set last month at the Bryan Clay Combined Events meet at Azusa Pacific.

Conley's marks included a tine of 15.88 in the 110 hurdles, a throw of 118-0 (35.97m) in the discus, a clearance of 11-7.25 (3.54m) in the pole vault, a toss of 118-5 (36.09m) in the javelin, and a time of 5:47.65 in the 1500.  

Weber State's Jed Smith, who was third at last year's Big Sky championships in this event, moved two spots to win the competition with a final score of 6604 points.

The Eagles go into Friday's competition with eight points, placing them in second behind Weber State's 24 points.

The link to live results of this weekend's Big Sky Championships is available here.

PAC-12S START FRIDAY WITH UW MEN AMONG FAVORITES...

East of Los Angeles in Walnut, California, the Pac-12 Track & Field Championships get underway Friday at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College, the home of the annual Mt. SAC Relays.

Friday's opening day gets going with the multi-events at 1:30 p.m. then the first field event final (men's hammer) starts at 2:30 p.m and track events get underway at 6 p.m. The only track finals on Friday are the 10,000-meters starting at 7:55 p.m.

 

Saturday, the multis start their final day at 11:30 a.m. and the field events get going again at 12:30, with track action starting at 4 p.m. and ending with the steeplechase finals at 6:30 p.m.

 

Sunday the first field event is at 11 a.m. and running events begin at 1 p.m. with all finals until the meet ends at 4:30 p.m.

The Washington men's team, which goes into the Pac-12s ranked number 10 in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA D1 ranking index, is a slight favorite to end Oregon's 15-year reign as conference champions, and bring to Seattle its first title since 1928 when the Huskies won the Pacific Coast Conference crown (Washington has never won the Pac 8/10/12 title since the conference's current iteration in 1960). The Dawgs were second at last year's Pac-12 in Eugene.

The Huskies must contend with a suddenly hot number 13 Arizona State, number 17 Stanford, number 19 California, number 20 USC, and number 25 Arizona, in addition to defending champion Oregon.

The Husky women, who are ranked number 24 in the USTFCCCA rating index, will have to contend with co-favorites Oregon (#4) and USC (#5), as well as number 14 Utah, number 15 Oregon State, and number 17 Stanford. Washington had three-straight top-five finishes, including a third-place finish in 2021 that was the highest in program history.

The Huskies have four defending conference champs returning to this year's meet, and a fifth who is focusing on different events. Cass Elliott is the top seed again in the 400-meter hurdles, as is Joe Waskom in the 1500-meters, while Carley Thomas comes in seeded second in the 800-meters. Brian Fay, last year's steeplechase champion, is entered in the 10000 and the 5000 this year. Jacob Englar, last year's pole vault champ for Washington State, returns as the fourth seed.

Waskom (Paul Merca photo) is entered in the 3000 steeplechase, where he was fourth at Pac-12s last year in Eugene. He hasn't posted a mark in that event this season, but does have a personal best of 8:35.71 from last season.

Washington has seven entries in the 1500, with NCAA champ Waskom, indoor mile champ Luke Houser, and NCAA 1500m scorers Sam Ellis and Nathan Green also entered as well as 2022 NCAA D3 mile champ Aidan Ryan.

The Cougars head into Mt. SAC with only one top three finisher from last year in Micaela De Mello in the 100 hurdles. She enters the championships seeded eighth.

Their best individual scoring opportunities will come from De Mello, Caroline Jerotich (steeple), Anna Rodgers (long jump), and Elena Willems (800m) on the women's side, and from Lee Walburn (decathlon), Jared McAlvay (400 hurdles), Louie Hinchliffe (100m), Zach Stallings (1500/5000), and Ronald Grueso Mosqquera (shot put).

Washington's pre-meet release is here, while Washington State's release is here.

The Pac-12 Network will televise and stream the meet. The link to the championship home page is available here, while the link to live results is available here.

WWU VIKING MEN'S SQUAD FAVORITES FOR GNAC TITLE...

The Western Washington men's team heads into Friday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship meet at Western Oregon University's McArthur Field in Monmouth as the favorite to win the outdoor crown.

Field events get underway Friday at 1:15pm, while running events begin an hour later. Field events Saturday start at 11:30 am, with running events at 1:40 pm.

The Vikings have the depth to make four in a row outdoors. That depth is particularly present in the distances where WWU owns the GNAC’s top-five times in the 10,000 meters and five of the top six in the 5,000 meters. Sophomore Kevin McDermott leads the conference in the 5,000 (14:09.26) and sophomore George Karamitsos leads the way in the 10,000 (29:40.69).

Sophomore Drew Weber has the GNAC’s leading time in the 800 meters (1:49.34) and is second in the 1,500 meters (3:44.83) while sophomore Jeret Gillingham leads the way in the steeplechase (8:55.62). All four athletes own NCAA Championships provisional qualifying times.

Senior Drew Johnson leads the conference in the 100 meters (10.58) after placing second last year. In the field events, junior Ryan Greenwalt has the GNAC’s top mark in the long jump (23-4.75/7.13m) and sophomore Miller Campbell leads the way in the hammer (181-1/55.19m).

Central Washington is led by senior Austin Albertin, who owns the GNAC’s top time in the 400-meter hurdles (53.54). Senior Braydon Maier ranks second in the pole vault (15-5.5/4.71m) and is looking for his fourth title in five years. In the jumps, freshman Isaiah Webster is second in the triple jump and junior Christopher Hines is third in the long jump.

Freshman Logan Martin ranks second in the hammer while sophomore Wyatt Franklin is third in the discus and junior Branden Wise is third in the javelin. Sophomore Drew Klein carries six points into the meet with his third-place finish in the decathlon (6,538).

 

Senior David Njeri is the defending champ in the triple jump for Seattle Pacific. His top mark of 49-7.25  (15.12m) leads the conference by three feet. Sophomore Isaiah Archer ranks third in the GNAC in 400 meters (48.24) and junior Brad Bowman ranks sixth in the pole vault.

The WWU women are perhaps the biggest threat to upsetting host Western Oregon's plans to capture the GNAC crown.

Western Washington has three defending champions and stands to make a run at the team title. Sophomore Ila Davis won both the steeplechase and the 5,000 meters last year. She owns an NCAA provisional qualifying mark to lead the steeplechase (10:21.10) and ranks third in the 5,000 (17:08.91).

Sophomore Raine Westfall will defend her title in the hammer with the top mark in the conference this season (165-8/50.51m). Sophomore Katie Potts leads the GNAC in the discus (153-1/46.67m) after placing second last year. Junior Matty Lagerwey added eight points to the WWU total with her second-place finish in the heptathlon (4,495). She also ranks third in the long jump (18-4.25/5.59m).

The Vikings own three of the top four times in the 800 meters, led by junior Marian Ledesma’s NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:08.98. Freshman Meaera Shannon ranks second in the 10,000 meters (36:56.79).

Senior Lauryn Chandler leads Central Washington. The indoor 60-meter hurdles champion, she leads the conference with a time of 13.99 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Senior McCall DeChenne is the defending champion in the 400-meter hurdles and leads the GNAC with a time of 1:02.19. Junior E’lexis Hollis owns the second-fastest time in GNAC history in the 100 meters, a time of 11.63.

Senior Juliette Williams ranks third in the 200 meters (24.72). In the jumps, junior Erica Cabanos ranks sixth in both the long jump and the triple jump. She placed third in the triple jump last year.

Seattle Pacific sophomore Annika Esvelt will contend for the 5,000-meter title with the top time in the conference (16:52.91). In the sprints, freshman Marissa Crane ranks fifth in the 400 meters (57.81) while sophomore Aniya Green is sixth in the 400 meters (57.99).

Freshman Hannah Chang provided five points with her fourth-place finish in the heptathlon (4,523). She also ranks third in the 100-meter hurdles (14.50). Juniors Lizzy Daugherty and Emily Thomason are tied for second in the pole vault with NCAA provisional qualifying marks of 12-4/3.76m.

Sophomore Cassidy Walchak-Sloan of Saint Martin’s has an NCAA provisional time in the 1,500 meters and ranks second in the GNAC (4:27.97). She also ranks fifth in the 800 meters (2:13.88) while sophomore Sara Sabra ranks third in the 10,000 meters (37:27.60).

The GNAC preview is available here, while the link to live results is available here.

NOTE: The Big Sky Conference, the Western Athletic Conference and the sports information offices of Eastern Washington University and Seattle University contributed to this report.

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