Contact: Bob Guptill (503-305-8756/www.gnacsports.com)
April 29, 2015
Multi-Eventers Give Teams Early Lead in GNAC Championships
THIS WEEK: Friday – Montana Open (MSUB); Oregon State High
Performance (SFU, WOU, UAA). Saturday – Montana Open
(MSUB); Idaho/Utah Border Clash (NNU); SMU Last Chance
(CWU, SMU, SPU, SFU, WWU); Oregon State High Performance
(SFU); Mt. Hood Track Festival (UAA, WOU); Stanford Payton
Jordan Invitational (SFU). WHAT’S LEFT: May 8-9 – GNAC Outdoor
(at Monmouth). May 21-23 – NCAA Outdoors (at Allendale, Mich.)
UAA’s Haleigh Lloyd placed second with 4,589 points,
aided by a meet record time of 2:14.20 in the 800 meters.
Rosie Smith was fourth with 4,559 points.
GNAC Record Highlights Vernacchia Performances
Prior to the multi-events which resulted in eight national
qualifying scores (three by the men and five by the
women), GNAC athletes did their best work at Bellingham,
earning 11 national qualifying marks in the Ralph
Vernacchia Invitational.
Seattle Pacific, led by a third-place finish by Maliea Luquin,
earned nine team points.
PORTLAND, Ore. - With one conference event already in
the books, GNAC athletes scatter throughout the West for
the final time this spring in search of qualifying marks for
the upcoming GNAC and NCAA championship meets in
May.
SMU’s Mikel Smith had one of the 11 setting a GNAC
outdoor record in the high jump of 6-10 ¾. Earlier this
winter he set the indoor record leaping 7-0 ½ at Seattle.
GNAC teams will compete in six meets in five states. Four
schools – Central Washington, Seattle Pacific, Simon Fraser
and Western Washington - will join Saint Martin’s in Lacey
for the Saint Martin’s Last Chance meet.
Four of the other Vernacchia PNQ performances also
made the GNAC Top 10s.
CWU’s Kevin Stanley climbed into fifth in the hammer
(191-9). WWU’s Katelyn Steen took over fifth in the
women’s 5K (16:35.53) and CWU’s McKenna Emmert pole
vaulted 12-6 ¾, No. 2 on the GNAC career list.
GNAC athletes will also compete in the Montana Open in
Missoula, the Oregon State High Performance Invitational
in Corvallis, the Mt. Hood Track Festival in Gresham, the
Idaho/Utah Border Clash in Boise, and the Stanford Payton
Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto.
Two steeplechase times also earned GNAC Top 10 rankings
– WWU’s Haley O’Connor now ranks sixth (10:38.54) and
CWU’s Erin Chinchar moved up to eighth (10:42.69).
Once the dust has cleared the league’s coaches will make
the declarations Monday for next weekend’s conference
championships in Monmouth on the campus of Western
Oregon University.
Two performances which weren’t PNQS, made the GNAC
Top 10 list - Western Washington’s 4x100 men’s relay
time of 41.52 ranks sixth and a 100 meter time of 12.05 by
Seattle Pacific’s Becca Houk is the fifth quickest in GNAC
history.
After last Monday and Tuesday’s multi-events at Lacey,
Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Anchorage are the early
team leaders.
NATIONAL QUALIFYING MARKS (GNAC Top 10): Men:
Steeplechase – Zach Holloway, WOU, 9:16.39. High Jump – 1.
Mikel Smith, SMU, 2.10 – 6-10 ¾. Hammer – 5. Kevin Stanley,
CWU, 58.46 – 191-9. Javelin – Slater Hirst, WWU, 64.32 – 211-0;
John Haskin, WWU, 62.77 – 205-11. Decathlon – 5. Payton Lewis,
NNU, 6595; 8. Jaysen Yoro, SMU, 6541; Travis Turner, UAA, 6362.
Women: 5000 – 5. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 16:35.53. Steeplechase
– 6. Haley O’Conner, WWU, 10:38.54; 8. Erin Chinchar, CWU,
10:42.69. High Jump – Karolin Anders, UAA, 1.70 – 5-7. Pole
Vault – 2. McKenna Emmert, CWU, 3.83 – 12-6 ¾; Anna Paradee,
WWU, 3.68 – 12-0 ¾. Javelin – Michaela Farner, SPU, 41.47 - 1361. Heptathlon – Karolin Anders, UAA, 5162; Haleigh Lloyd, UAA,
4589; Maliea Luquin, SPU, 4584; Kaylie Greninger, WWU, 4462;
Maddi Hommes, SPU, 4381.
The Crusaders netted 13 team points in the decathlon led
by freshman Payton Lewis who posted a winning score of
6,595 points, the fifth highest in GNAC history.
Saint Martin’s scored 11 points, including eight by
freshman Jaysen Yoro who scored 6,541 decathlon points.
That ranks No. 8 on the GNAC All-Time Top 10 list. His
high jump mark of 6-6 ½ was a meet record.
In the heptathlon, UAA earned 23 points as defending
champion Karolin Anders repeated with an automatic
national qualifying score of 5,162, bettering the AQ by a
scant two points.
Non-National Qualifying GNAC Top 10s: Men: 4x100 Relay – 6.
Western Washington 41.52. Women: 100 – 5. Becca Houk, SPU,
12.05.
Among Anders’ seven marks was a provisional national
qualify leap of 5-7 in the high jump.
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