MONMOUTH, Ore. – After 14 events scored, the nationally ranked Alaska Anchorage men's and women's outdoor track & field teams each sit second Friday at the 2015 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships at McArthur Field on the Western Oregon campus.
The UAA women's team – which sits at No. 23 in the latest U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association poll and it looking for its third straight title – is second 49 points. Leading the GNAC with a No. 16 national ranking, the men's squad is runner-up with 49 points. The league is led by Seattle Pacific (57) on the women's side and Western Washington (72) in the men's competition.
At the conclusion of Day 1, the Seawolves have amassed eight all-conference accolades, including a sweep of the men's 10,000 meters. Winning the event was junior Victor Samoei with a time of 31 minutes, 46.09 seconds. Taking second was freshman Henry Cheseto (31:46.83), while junior Dominik Notz took third at 31:48.91.
Going 2-3 in the women's 10,000 meters for all-conference awards were senior Amy Johnston and freshman Caroline Kurgat. Johnston, who entered the meet with the fastest seed time, took second at 37:13.34, while Kurgat rounded out the top three at 37:15.33.
Picking up a runner-up performance in the women's long jump was junior Karolin Anders with a season-best leap of 18-3.75. A local of Berlin, Germany, Anders already earned a conference title April 28, when she won the heptathlon at the Combined Events Championships.
Also earning all-conference honors were sophomores Grant George and Tevin Gladden. George finished third in the men's discus with a toss of 148-1.75, while Gladden tied for third in the high jump with a leap of 6-5. Gladden, a local from Fairbanks, also finished sixth in the long jump at 22-7.25.
In the prelims, UAA combined for 18 qualifying times for tomorrow's finals. Highlighting the day was sophomore Jamie Ashcroft, who set one meet record and two McArthur field records in the sprinting events. A native of Shawnigan Lake, B.C., Ashcroft set the meet record in the 100 meters with a time of 11.81, bypassing the previous time set by former Seawolf Grace Morgan (11.91) in 2012.
The defending champion in both sprint events, Ashcroft then went on to best the 200-meter field record with a time of 24.51. Morgan also set that record in 2012 at 24.61. Joining Ashcroft in the finals Saturday will be junior Rosie Smith, who finished eighth in the prelims at 25.68, while qualifying for the 100-meter hurdles at 14.27.
Additionally, two other Seawolves posted the fastest prelim times of the day – sophomore Adam Commandeur in the 400 meters (48.51) and senior Haleigh Lloyd in the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.71). Lloyd also qualified for the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.37.
Qualifying for the finals on the men's team were freshmen Darrion Gray (100m), Liam Lindsay (400m) and Nathan Kipchumba (800m), sophomore Michael Mendenhall (800m), juniors Jesse Miller (800m) and Travis Turner (110mH, 400mH) and senior Elliott Bauer (400mH).
On the women's side, sophomores Mary-Kathleen Cross and Hayley Bezanson qualified in the 400 meters, while classmate Alexia Blalock qualified in the 100-meter hurdles.
The Seawolves started the championships with 23 points on the women's side and six points on the men's side from the GNAC Combined Events Championships held late April.
Action gets underway tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. ADT.
Men Team Scores (7 Events) – Western Washington 72, Alaska Anchorage 52, Central Washington 38, Northwest Nazarene 33, Saint Martin's 31, Simon Fraser 20, Western Oregon 16, Seattle Pacific 9, MSU Billings 2.
Women Team Scores (7 events)– Seattle Pacific 57, Alaska Anchorage 49, Central Washington 41, Western Washington 40, Northwest Nazarene 34, Saint Martin's 26, Western Oregon 15, Simon Fraser 5, MSU Billings 5.
