GNAC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS - FINAL RESULTS
 
NAMPA, Idaho – Behind a league title for sophomore sprinter Cody Warner in the 200, Western Oregon men's track and field team finished second behind Alaska Anchorage in the team race at the 2016 GNAC Indoor Championships at Jackson's Track with 93 points. The women closed out the meet in eighth place tallying 29 points.
 
Much like Friday's preliminary runs, the Wolves performed solidly throughout the spectrum of men's running distances. Warner won the 200-meter race with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 21.78 and finished second in the 60-meter dash at 6.95.
 
Three other WOU male runners finished their races in second place. Sophomore David Ribich was edged out in a photo finish during the men's mile with a time of 4:10.14. In the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore Kaleb Dobson ran a time of 8.33.
 
Five WOU runners made the final of the 800-meter race, led by a close second-place finish by senior Badane Sultessa (1:55.95). Josh Dempsey finished third with a time of 1:56.68 while fifth through seventh places went to Sam Naffziger (1:56.97), Josh Hanna (1:58.08) and Ribich (1:58.24).
 
Aaron Whitaker earned a top three result in the 400-meter race with a new school record time of 48.53 seconds while teammate AJ Holmberg finished seventh in the same race.
 
Western's 4x400 relay team (Whitaker, Sultessa, Holmberg, Hanna) also came in second behind UAA in a close battle.
 
Moreover on the men's side, Wesley Gray was third in the triple jump (46 feet, 2 ½ inches) and Kenny Klippel led the charge in the shot put with a seventh-place finish (46 feet, 3 ½ inches).
 
In the women's competition, senior Emmi Collier posted a provisional qualifying mark in the shot put in her second round with a mark of 47 feet, 2 ¼ inches.
 
Freshman Olivia Woods and sophomore Suzanne Van De Grift each finished seventh in the 400 and 800, respectively. Stephanie Stuckey ran her mile with a time of 5:08.05 to place fifth while Nicole Maurmann finished ninth. Maurmann also came in ninth in the 3,000 meters.
 
The Wolves have one last chance to post mark to get them to Pittsburg, Kan. When they compete in the Seattle Pacific Final Qualifier meet on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Dempsey Indoor.FRIDAY RECAP:
NAMPA, Idaho – After the first day of the GNAC Indoor Championships, the Western Oregon track and field team made its presence known with numerous qualifiers into Saturday's finals and a new school record at Jackson's Track. The WOU men are currently in eighth place while the women are in 10^th.
 
Freshman Olivia Woods broke the WOU school record in the 400 meters with a time of 57.54 to qualify in sixth place. Also qualifying for a final on Saturday was sophomore Suzanne Van De Grift in the 800 after posting the eighth best time of 2:18.03.
 
On the men's side, the Wolves posted 10 qualifying marks over a variety of races. Sophomore Cody Warner qualified first in both the 60-meter dash (6.91) and 200 meters (21.89). Kaleb Dobson moves on in the 60-meter hurdles with a second-place time of 8.31 (.01 off his personal best).
 
In the 400 meters, junior Aaron Whitaker had the second fastest time at 49.04. That marked a personal best and the second fastest time recorded in school history. Sophomore AJ Holmberg also advanced to Saturday's final with a sixth place qualifying time of 49.43 (seventh best all time at WOU).
 
The final of the 800-meter race will feature five Western Oregon runners. Badane Sultessa(1:53.56) and Josh Dempsey (1:53.84) finished in second and third place, respectively. The last three qualifying times went to Sam Naffziger at 1:55.99, David Ribich at 1:54.09 and Josh Hanna at 1:54.49.
 
In Friday finals, Emmi Collier finished fourth in the weighted throw with a mark of 50 feet, 11 ½ inches. Natalie Legras completed the pentathlon with 2,445 points in 12^th place.
 
For the men, two WOU competitors finished in the top 10 in the weighted throw – Kegan Allenwas eighth at 52 feet even and Jeremy Moore was 10^th at 46 feet, 8 ¼ inches.
 
Both distance relay teams finished in sixth place. 
NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Indoor Championships
Friday-Saturday, February 19-20, 2016
Jackson's Track / Nampa, Idaho
 
Team scores – 1. Alaska Anchorage 164; 2. Seattle Pacific 136; 3. Simon Fraser 82.5; 4. Western Washington 64.5; 5. Concordia 59, Central Washington 59; 7. Northwest Nazarene 36; 8. Western Oregon 29; 9. Saint Martin's 25; 10. MSU Billings 11.
 
SATURDAY RESULTS
400 – 7. Olivia Woods 57.91.
800 – 7. Suzanne Van De Grift 2:18.03
Mile – 5. Stephanie Stuckey 5:08.05; 9. Nicole Maurmann 5:13.04.
3000 – 9. Nicole Maurmann 10:12.56 (PB, WOU SCHOOL RECORD); 18. Grace Knapp 10:39.99; 23. Kennedy Rufener 10:56.17
4x400 relay – 6. Western Oregon (Boles, Rose, Van De Grift, Patrick) 4:00.28 (WOU 10th all-time)
Shot put – 2. Emmi Collier 47-2 ½ / 14.38m# (PB, WOU 2nd all-time); 12. Rachael Huffman 40-6 ½ / 12.35m; 22. Sylvia Dean 34-5 ¼ / 10.49m.
 
FRIDAY RESULTS
60 meter dash (prelims) – 13. Laura Patrick 8.05; 19. Madeline Bernard 8.19; 22. Lindsey Fletcher 8.4623. Hailey Sears 8.52.
200 (prelims) – 19. Laura Patrick 26.40; 23. Maggie Boles 26.96.
400 (prelims) – 6. Olivia Woods 57.54 (WOU SCHOOL RECORD, PB, qualifier); 17. Leah Paffrath 1:00.72; 22. Megan Rose 1:02.48.
800 (prelims) – 8. Suzanne Van De Grift 2:18.03 (qualifier); 14. Kendra Zimmerdahl 2:27.10; 17. Lauren Kangas 2:34.02.
60 hurdles (prelims) – 18. Sara Madden 10.02; 19. Natalie Legras 10.35.
4000 DMR – 6. Western Oregon 12:33.77 (WOU 4^th all-time)
High Jump – Cherise Kirkpatrick, NH
Weighted throw – 4. Emmi Collier 50-11 ½ / 15.53m; 9. Emily Wetherell 48-0 ¾ / 14.65m (WOU 8^th all-time); 14. Racheal Huffman 42-8 ¾ / 13.02m; 15. Alecia Falck 41-4 ½ / 12.61m; 18. Sylvia Dean 39-1 / 11.91m.
Pentathlon – 12. Natalie Legras 2,445 points
 
 
NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Indoor Championships
Friday-Saturday, February 19-20, 2016
Jackson's Track / Nampa, Idaho
 
Team scores – 1. Alaska Anchorage 164; 2. Western Oregon 93; 3. Western Washington 92; 4. Northwest Nazarene 77; 5. Concordia 64; 6. Central Washington 63; 7. Simon Fraser 46; 8. MSU Billings 30; 9. Saint Martin's 24; 10. Seattle Pacific 12.
 
SATURDAY RESULTS
60 – 2. Cody Warner 6.95.
200 – 1. Cody Warner 21.78#.
400 – 3. Aaron Whitaker 48.53# (PB, WOU SCHOOL RECORD); 7. AJ Holmberg 49.99.
800 – 2. Badane Sultessa 1:55.95; 3. Josh Dempsey 1:56.68; 5. Sam Naffziger 1:56.97; 6. Josh Hanna 1:58.08; 7. David Ribich 1:58.24.
Mile – 2. David Ribich 4:10.14#; 4. Sam Naffziger 4:16.06; 17. Tyler Jones 4:38.29.
3000 – 26. Joe Soik 9:21.99.
60 hurdles – 2. Kaleb Dobson 8.33.
4x400 relay – 2. Western Oregon (Whitaker, Sultessa, Holmberg, Hanna) 3:16.93# (WOU 2nd all-time).
Triple jump – 3. Wesley Gray 46-2 ½ / 14.08m (WOU 7^th all-time)
Shot put – 7. Kenny Klippel 46-3 ¾ / 14.11; 9. Stefan Seul 45-0 ¾ / 13.73m; 10. Jeremy Moore 44-9 / 13.63m; 13. Josh Brown 42-3 ¼ / 12.88m; 14. Zach Smith 39-2 ¼ / 11.94m.
 
FRIDAY RESULTS
60-meter dash (prelims) – 1. Cody Warner 6.91 (qualifier); 14. Wesley Gray 7.21.
200 (prelims) – 1. Cody Warner 21.89 (qualifier); 9. Aaron Whitaker 22.49;
400 (prelims) – 2. Aaron Whitaker 49.04 (WOU 2^nd all-time, PB, qualifier); 6. AJ Holmberg 49.43 (WOU 7^th all-time, PB, qualifier); T-11. James Vettrus 50.71.
800 (prelims) – 2. Badane Sultessa 1:53.56 (qualifier); 3. Josh Dempsey 1:53.84 (qualifier); 6. Sam Naffziger 1:53.99 (qualifier); 7. David Ribich 1:54.09 (qualifier); 8. Josh Hanna 1:54.49 (qualifier).
60 hurdles (prelims) – 2. Kaleb Dobson 8.31 (qualifier)
4000 DMR – 6. Western Oregon 10:32.66.
Weighted throw – 8. Kegan Allen 52-0 / 15.85m; 10. Jeremy Moore 46-8 ¼ / 14.23m; 14. Kenny Klippel 44-4 / 13.51m; 17. Zach Smith 38-1 ½ / 11.62m; 18. Stefan Seul 35-10 / 10.92m.
 
# NCAA Provisional Qualifying Mark