Track & Field | 2/20/2010 7:07:50 PM

[Results] [Photo gallery courtesy of Jayce Giddens]

NAMPA, Idaho - The Western Oregon University men's track & field team edged Western Washington 171-161.5 in the team scoring to earn its record setting third consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Championship, Saturday (Feb. 20), at the Idaho Center.

The men's third straight championship matched the three the Wolves won in outdoor track from 2002-04. This was the Wolves' fourth championship in the seven-year history of the GNAC Indoor Championships. WOU is also the only team in the conference to win back-to-back GNAC titles in both indoor and outdoor.

"Winning three consecutive championships is something that I think is always hard thing to do," said Western Oregon head coach Mike Johnson. "This conference has gotten so much better in five years."

Matson Hardie was named the Most Outstanding Male Performer at the meet. He scored 23.5 points for the Wolves in the three jumping events. He finished third in the high jump, second in the triple and won the long jump on his final attempt to give Western Oregon a late four point swing over Western Washington, in a meet which every point was crucial.

With the meet winding down, Hardie was leading the long jump with one attempt to go before Western Washington's Tim Clendaniel passed him with an NCAA provisional leap of 23-3.25 (7.09m). Hardie, however, had the answer. He jumped a career-best 23-8 (7.21m) to spring past Clendaniel and grab 10 team points for the Wolves. That mark also earned him an NCAA provisional standard and set a GNAC championship record in the event.

"Hardie is a talented and coachable student-athlete with a positive attitude," said Johnson. "Coach (Isaac) Frederick has done a good job working with him early in his career."

Hardie's performance in the long jump also seemed to inspire Jason Slowey in the throwing pits, because right after Hardie's record breaking leap, Slowey tossed the 35-pound weight 52-2.50 (15.91m) to vault from fifth to third place. In the process he passed WWU's Ben Elder in a three-point swing to seal the team championship.

Slowey was also one of three men, besides Hardie, to take home an individual event title and collect 10 team points for the Wolves. He earned first place in the shot put with a season-best throw of 51-3.75 (15.64m). That mark also moved him into fourth place on the Wolves' all-time top 10 list.

Matt Kaino had a person-best time of 49.17 in the men's 400m to win the event and secure his fourth place ranking on the school's all-time top 10 list. He also helped the men's 4x400m team, of Ashtin Mott, Josh Moore, Anthony Yakovich and himself, take home the title with an NCAA provisional time of 3:19.36.

Andy Loscutoff jumped to the first place in the Wolves' record books with a time of 8.34 in the men's 60m hurdle finals. That time was a .18 improvement over his qualifying mark of 8.52 and bettered his previous career-best by .13 seconds (8.45).

While a number of other men registered team points for the Wolves these are the ones which earned top three finishes in the running events: Bobby Alexander in the 60m (third, 7.00), Yakovich in the 200m (third, 22.37), Mike Schmidt (second, 1:55.38) and Carson O'Brien (third, 1:56.95) in the 800m, Chris Reed in the 5000m (second, 14:55.72), and the men's distance medley relay team of Kyle Larson, Shane O'Connell, Schmidt and Dan Sprinkle (second, 10:22.99). In the field events Robert Wegner tied for third in the high jump (6-2.75/1.90m) as did Jayce Giddens in the pole vault (14-1.75/4.31m).

The women's team finished fourth at the meet with 80 points. Seattle Pacific won the team title and are still the only women's team to ever win a GNAC Indoor title in the seven-year history of the league.

Ashley Potter won the women's triple jump with a conference championship-record leap of 38-10.50 (11.85m). It bested the previous record (37-9.25) by over a foot and was the second-longest mark in the history of the GNAC. The jump was a season-best for Potter who secured her No. 1 place in the rankings by 14.5 inches.

The women also had a number of competitors finish in the top three en route to earning their place on the Wolves' all-time top 10. Sarah Kathrein ran a season-best times of 25.59 in the 200m and 58.84 in the 400m to place second and third in the events at the GNAC Indoor Championships, respectively. Her time in the 200m maintained her grip on first place in the school record book and her mark in the 400m moved her from seventh to second all-time.

Janelle Everetts improved upon her NCAA provisional time in the 800m by registering a 2:15.03 to shave nearly a second off her time. That mark earned her third place at the GNAC Championships and kept her second in the school record books.

Mandy Keifer moved into fourth place on the Wolves' all-time top 10 list in the women's 60m hurdles with a time of 9.23. She qualified for the finals with a time of 9.25 but ran a 9.23 in the finals to finish in third place.

The Western Oregon men's and women's track & field teams will send a select number of student-athletes to Seattle next week to compete in the UW Last Chance Qualifier, Saturday, Mar. 6.

[Results]