Vikings off to hot start at GNAC Championships...
MONMOUTH, Oregon--Western Washington turned in some equally hot distance performances on Friday to take the first day lead in the GNAC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Western Oregon University’s McArthur Field.
The Vikings earned 43 points in the two distance finals to open up a first-day score of 73.5 points as they look to win their fourth title in as many meets. Twenty-two of those points came in the steeplechase where sophomore Jeret Gillingham defend his conference final with a time of 9:04.20. Sophomore Jalen Javurek was fourth in 9:20.79 and senior Kaleb Korta was fifth in 9:25.92.
Western Washington added 21 more points in the 10,000 meters behind a gutsy effort by Andrew Oslin. The junior led the race from start to finish to clinch his first conference title in a time of 30:36.34.
The favorite to win the triple jump on Saturday, Seattle Pacific senior David Njeri (SPU Athletics photo) notched a huge lifetime best to win the long jump. His winning leap of 23 feet, 7.5 inches (7.20m) improved his best by eight inches. He beat out Central Washington's Isaiah Webster, who jumped 23-3.5 (7.10m) and Western Washington's Ryan Greenwalt (23-3.25/7.09m) to take the title.
Central's Drew Klein finished second on misses to Northwest Nazarene's Steven Schmidt, with both clearing 15-1.75 (4.62m).
Behind Western's 73.5 points after seven events, Central Washington sits third with 42 points, while Seattle Pacific is sixth with 23, and Saint Martin's seventh at 9.5.
In the women's competition, Western sits in second, four points behind host Western Oregon's 80 points after seven events. Seattle Pacific stands sixth with 12, Saint Martin's seventh with 11, and Central Washington is tied for eighth with eight points.
The Vikings earned 38 of their points in both distance finals. Sophomore Ila Davis defended her title in the women’s steeplechase, running a time of 10:41.34. The Vikings scored 25 points in the event, which included freshman Ashley Reeck placing second in 10:54.82. In the 10,000 meters, freshman Meaera Shannon ran to the title in a time of 36:51.65.
Raine Westfall successfully defended her GNAC hammer crown, with a toss of 172-1 (52.45m), getting an NCAA provisional mark in the process.
In qualifying, Central Washington senior Lauryn Chandler ran a great race to earn the top spot in the 100-meter hurdles. Her time of 13.90 seconds improved Chandler to No. 3 on the GNAC all-time list and No. 20 in Division II this season.
The final day of the GNAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships begins on Saturday with the discus at noon. Running events commence at 1:50 p.m. with the 4x100-meter relay.
NOTE: The Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the sports information office of Seattle Pacific contributed to this report.
paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links.
Comments