Thursday, May 12, 2016

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Western Washington will vie for its fifth straight championship while Alaska Anchorage will try for a sweep of the season track titles at the 2016 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Friday and Saturday at Western Oregon University’s McArthur Field.

The Vikings just edged the Seawolves to win the 2015 team title, scoring 176 points to UAA’s 174. This year’s team competition figures to be just as close. While Western Washington returns two champions in three events, Alaska Anchorage comes to Monmouth with potent point scorers in the sprints, distances and jumps.

Western Washington senior sprinter Alex Donigian is in position to repeat as champion in both the 100 and 200 meters. The GNAC record holder in both events, Donigian enters the meet having reset his own record in the 200 meters with a time of 20.93 seconds. He is 12th in Division II in the event. In the 100, Donigian leads the conference and is ninth in the nation with a time of 10.33 seconds, running that time in a race in which he beat decathlon world record holder Ashton Eaton.

Senior Travis Milbrandt is the defending champion in the 110-meter hurdles and also won the 60-meter hurdles during the GNAC Indoor Championships. Like Donigian, Milbrandt has also reset his own conference record in the event with a time of 14.19 seconds, a mark that is 13th best in Division II.

Senior Matt Lutz also enters the meet as a GNAC leader. His time of 8:59.97 in the steeplechase is ninth in the nation while junior Andrew Wise is second in the GNAC in the event (9:11.08). Sophomore J.T. Konrad is second in the league and tied for 16th in Division II in the pole vault (16-4.75) and junior Jacob Hino ranks third in the GNAC (15-11). Senior John Haskin enters the meet 13th in Division II in the javelin with his mark of 204 feet, 8 inches.

Alaska Anchorage enters the meet with 10 points to their total thanks to senior Cody Thomas’ conference meet record win at last week’s GNAC decathlon, making him a three-time champion. Thomas also enters with the league’s best mark in the 400 meters with a time of 47.88 seconds.

The Seawolves’ other returning champion, senior Victor Samoei in the 10,000 meters, isn’t even the top athlete in the event from his school. Sophomore Henry Cheseto has that distinction with Division II’s 10th best mark at 29:36.07 while also owning the GNAC’s top time in the 5,000 meters at 14:13.25. Sophomore Edwin Kangogo is second in the league in both races with times of 14:16.63 in the 5,000 and 29:46.48 in the 10,000. With Samoei third in the 10,000 (30:34.11) and junior Michel Ramirez third in the 5,000 (14:18.38), the Seawolves could score 48 points in the two races.

Senior Cody Parker leads Division II in the javelin with a monster throw of 234 feet, 7 inches, at the Texas Relays in March. Junior Tevin Gladden set the UAA record in the high jump and is tied for 20th in Division II with his mark of 6 feet, 9.75 inches. Sophomore Nathan Kipchumba has the seventh best time in Division II in the 800 meters (1:49.67) as well as the conference’s fourth best time in the 1,500 meters (3:51.19).

Central Washington enters the championships with 15 points after taking three spots in the GNAC decathlon. Junior Kodiak Landis placed third, freshman Michael Forster took fourth and junior Justin Peterson placed fifth. Senior Luke Plummer will aim to supplement those points with his third straight conference title in the triple jump. His GNAC best mark of 49 feet, 1.75 inches is better than his winning mark each of the last two years.

Senior Bernari Sternen will contend in both hurdles races. Sternen owns the top mark in the 400-meter hurdles at 53.06 seconds and trails Milbrandt in the high hurdles at 14.34 seconds. Junior Armando Tafoya will compete for the title in three throwing events. He leads the conference in the discus (166-0), is second in the hammer (190-5) and fourth in the shot put (50-11).

Western Oregon returns two champions from last year’s meet. David Ribich won the 1,500-meter title as a freshman and has automatically qualified for the national meet with his time of 3:43.41. Senior Badane Sultessa won the 800 meters last year. His season best of 1:50.93 is sixth in the conference and trails teammates Josh Dempsey (1:49.84) and Josh Hanna (1:50.11), giving the Wolves three potential point scorers in the race. Senior John Larson owns the 11th best mark in Division II in the javelin (205-9).

Sophomore Cody Warner will contend in the 200 meters and has the 18th best mark in Division II with a time of 21.09 seconds. Junior Wesley Gray has the conference’s second best mark in the triple jump at 48 feet, 2.75 inches while senior Sam Naffziger is ranked third in the 1,500 meters (3:49.63).

Conference newcomer Concordia will be a team to watch in both the sprints and throws. Sophomore Josh Koch is No. 2 on the GNAC all-time list in the shot put with a mark of 58 feet, 7.5 inches, that ties him for eighth in Division II. Koch is also second in the GNAC in the discus with a throw of 163 feet. Senior Robert Watson trails Koch in the shot put with a mark of 54 feet, 7.25 inches, while junior Tyler Lamott leads the league in the hammer with his throw of 200 feet, 1 inch.

In the sprints, sophomore Carlos Ortiz has the second best mark in the GNAC in the 100 meters with a time of 10.67 seconds. He also ran a wind-aided 20.91 seconds in the 200 meters at the Oregon Twilight, the fastest in GNAC history under all conditions. Senior Louis Faust is also a potential point scorer in the high jump and is fourth in the GNAC at 6 feet, 7.5 inches.

Sophomore Payton Lewis will once again lead Northwest Nazarene. Lewis provided eight points for the Crusaders with his second place finish in the decathlon and he enters the championships having automatically qualified for nationals in the pole vault with his clearance of 17 feet, 0.75 inches. Lewis is also entered in 110-meter hurdles where he has the league’s fifth best mark of 14.86 seconds. Junior Cole Hoberg will be the mix in the high jump, entering with the league’s third best mark of 6 feet, 9 inches. Senior Kyle McLaughlin is also a potential point scorer in both the 110-meter hurdles (15.02) and the 400-meter hurdles (54.87) as is senior John VanBeuren in the discus (153-5).

Distance standouts Marc-Antoine Rouleau and Cameron Proceviat lead Simon Fraser. Rouleau, a sophomore, is automatically qualified for nationals in the 1,500 meters with his time of 3:45.35. Proceviat, a senior, hopes to sweep the indoor and outdoor 800-meter titles. He leads the GNAC and is sixth in Division II with a time of 1:49.28. Junior Daniel Kelloway is the defending champion in the 400 meters and enters the meet with the league’s second best time at 47.91 seconds. Junior Alex Wu should also contribute points in the long jump, tied for second with his mark of 23 feet, 0.75 inches.

Senior Mikel Smith leads Saint Martin’s into the championships looking to top the podium in the high jump. The reigning GNAC indoor champion, Smith enters the outdoor meet tied for 11th in Division II with a nationals provisional qualifying mark of 6 feet, 10.75 inches. Junior Brian Chalkley enters with a provisional qualifying mark in the javelin of 200 feet, 5 inches. Junior Latrelle Swayne is ranked fifth in the GNAC in the 100 meters with his time of 10.80 seconds while David Durden is sixth in the 110-meter hurdles (14.99) and seventh in the 400-meter hurdles (55.57).

Senior Robert Peterson and junior Austin Lindquist top Montana State Billings’ list of contenders. Peterson enters with the conference’s fourth best mark in the 1,500 meters with an altitude converted time of 3:49.17 and is third in the steeplechase with a converted mark of 9:21.28. Lindquist is among three athletes entered tied for second in the long jump at 23 feet, 0.75 inches. Sophomore Nels Flanagan is seventh in the discus with a mark of 152 feet, 9 inches and freshman Brady Ostermiller ranks seventh in the shot put (49-1.75).

Seattle Pacific will pin its scoring hopes on distance runner Turner Wiley and hurdler Peyton Harris. Wiley, senior, has provisionally qualified for nationals in the 10,000 meters with a time of 30:53.09, fourth best in the GNAC. Harris, a sophomore, is ranked ninth in the league in the 110-meter hurdles (15.14).