MONMOUTH, Ore. – After Day 1 of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Friday, the Alaska Anchorage women's team leads the field, while the men's squad sits fourth. Combined, the Seawolves furnished three GNAC crowns and two school records on Western Oregon's campus.
Following the completion of 12 scored events, the Seawolf women amassed 58 point to hold a slight lead over Western Washington (55) and Seattle Pacific (52). The UAA men's team currently has 43 points, trailing Central Washington (64), WWU (61.5) and WOU (47).
Taking home his first GNAC title in the men's 10,000-meters was senior Yonatan Yilma (Edmonds, Wash.) with a winning time of 32 minutes, 25.74 seconds. Seawolf newcomer Victor Samoei finished runner-up at 32:32.20, while sophomore Kevin Rooke (32:42.71) took fifth.
In the women's 10K, the Seawolf duo of Ruth Keino (Kapcheno, Kenay) and Susan Tanui finished 1-2 for 18 points. Keino came away victorious at the line, edging Tanui by .84 of a second. Kenio crossed at 36:02.00, while Tanui finished at 36:02.84.
A local of Eldoret, Kenya, Tanui's day started out by defending her title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, with a winning-time of 10:41.88. Senior Katie Krehilk took fourth at 11:21.34, while sophomore Dylan Anthony finished the same in the men's race at 9:22.87.
In the prelim events, the Seawolves came away with four of the fastest times of the day. Sophomore Grace Morgan enters the finals of the 100 meters and 200 meters as the top seed, while junior Haleigh Lloyd and freshman Bobo Camara top the women's and men's prelims of the 400-meter hurdles, respectively. Morgan's 200-meter time set a new UAA record at 24.30, second best all-time in the conference
Breaking her own school record in the 800-meter prelims was junior Ivy O'Guinn, good for second seed in the finals. The Soldotna product posted a new time of 2:09.34 – the 10th-fastest in GNAC history – besting her previous time of 2:10.60. Classmate Susan Bick also posted a season-best time of 2:11.02, finishing third.
The women's team entered today with 13 points from the GNAC Multis on April 29-30, while the men's squad had 10.
The league championships starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. AST with the conclusion of 28 finals.
GNAC Championships
Friday, May 10, 2013
McArthur Field / Monmouth, Ore.
Women – 1, Alaska Anchorage 58; 2, Western Washington 55; 3, Seattle Pacific 52; 4, Central Washington 28; 5, Northwest Nazarene 25; 6, Western Oregon 23; 7, Montana State Billings 16; 8, Simon Fraser 13; 9, Saint Martin's 2.
Men - Central Washington 64, Western Washington 61 1/2, Western Oregon 47, Alaska Anchorage 43, Saint Martin's 22, Northwest Nazarene 12, Montana State Billings 10, Seattle Pacific 6, Simon Fraser 4 1/2.
