Track & Field | 2/16/2011 3:34:44 PM
[GNAC meet program] [Heat sheet]
[GNAC meet schedule] [GNAC performance list]
What's happening:
The championship portion of the 2011 indoor track & field is here. The Western Oregon men's and women's track & field team will both journey to Nampa, Idaho to compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Championships Feb. 18-19, at the Idaho Center Sports Complex. The men will be looking for their fourth straight title, while the women will be looking for their first indoor championship.
The GNAC Championships:
The GNAC Championships have been extended to a two-day competition. Each of the last two years the meet was held on a single day but this season the meet will be conducted on Friday and Saturday. The meet will begin on Friday at 10:15 a.m. with the multi-events. The meet will extend into the evening with a number of field events and preliminary sprint and hurdles races. The GNAC Championships will resume on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. and conclude around 2:30 p.m.
Men lead the region:
Western Oregon jumped past Northwest Nazarene into first place in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Regional rankings. The men have been ranked first in the poll with 516.64 points, 80 ahead of second place Western Washington. The men control a top 3 spot in the region in nine different events.
Kyle Larson leads the West in the 800m and
Chris Reed in the mile. The men's distance relay team which contains
Matt Kaino and
Connor Kasler along with Reed and Larson also leads the region.
Women ranked eight in the West:
The Western Oregon women's team is ranked eighth in the West region poll with 160.29 points. The Wolves are just .51 points back of Central Washington for seventh place in the region.
Annan Applebee leads the region in the 800m, and
Katie Pelchar is ranked third in the high jump.
Men look to keep the streak alive:
Western Oregon will be looking for its fourth straight GNAC indoor championship. The Wolves became the only team to ever win three straight conference titles as they edged Western Washington for the championship last season.
The men will return six all-conference performers from last year's championship team.
Jason Slowey returns as the GNAC championship in the shot put and third place performer in the weight throw.
Matt Kaino (400m) and
Andy Loscutoff (60m hurdles) also return to defend their GNAC titles. Other All-GNAC returners include Bobby Alexander in the 60m dash,
Anthony Yakovich in the 200m and
Chris Reed in the 5,000m.
The WOU men have nine student-athletes ranked in the top 3 in the 10 different meet events. The Wolves also have two individuals leading their events -
Chris Reed in the mile and
Kyle Lane in the long jump.
Western Oregon will be the favorite in both relays as well. The 4x400m relay team of
Matt Kaino,
Josh Moore,
Eric Gaines and
Anthony Yakovich posted a time of 3:20.16 earlier this season to lead the league. The men's distance medley relay team of
Kyle Larson, Kaino,
Connor Kasler and
Chris Reed set the GNAC record and the top mark in the West region with an adjusted time of 9:55.06
Women seek first indoor title:
The Western Oregon women's team is in search of its first-ever GNAC Indoor Championship.
Madison McClung enters the meet tied as the favorite in the 60m dash with a time of 7.84.
Ashley Potter, the 2010 conference champion in the triple jump, is in prime position to defend her title as she enters the meet with an NCAA provisional qualifying standard of 37-10.5 (11.54m).
Katie Pelchar will enter the GNAC Championships ranked third in the high jump after clearing the height of 5-4.25 (1.63m).
The Field:
The field at the GNAC Indoor Championships will feature eight teams on both the men's and women's side. The only GNAC schools not represented at the meet are Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage.
The Facility:
The meet will be held in the Idaho Sports Complex and on the Jacksons Indoor Track. The complex is a 100,000 square foot multi-purpose building that houses the only Mondo 200-meter track west of Nebraska. The Idaho Sports Center has played host to numerous top ranked collegiate meets and housed the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championships as well as the Western Athletic Conference and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Championships. It is a banked track with run ways in the center for jumping events. The throwing events are located on the north side of the track.
