Track & Field | 3/12/2016 7:00:00 PM

PITTSBURG, Kan. - The Western Oregon men's and women's track and field teams wrapped up competition at the 2016 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday (March 12), with sophomore David Ribich earning two All-American honors in the mile and as part of the WOU Distance Medley Relay Team.

Ribich qualified on Friday with the fifth-best time at Harvey Dean Track. Saturday's finals was run at a slightly slower pace than qualifying, but that did not hinder Ribich's effort. His time of 4:14.22 was a mere second and a half off the title winning pace to earn Ribich a fourth-place finish.

"I knew it was going to be a tactical race, so I knew I wanted to position myself in front", Ribich said post-race. "With 600 (meters) to go, I stopped worrying about who was behind me and who was ahead of me. I'm happy with my first national race."

With almost half the field comprised of runners from Adams State (Colo.), Ribich had to contend early with the Grizzlies' running as a team. He was able to stay inside and make passing moves at the right time in the race.

Ribich was unfazed by having to run the previous night in the men's Distance Medley Relay, where the Wolves finished as All-Americans, finishing fifth.

"After the DMR, I felt good, weirdly good for today," Ribich added.

Going into the weekend ranked 10th, the men of the DMR had a lot to prove so they could claim that they are one of the best teams in the nation. Sam Naffziger, Aaron Whitaker, Josh Dempsey and Ribich faced immediate adversary. After a knocked out baton from the gun, the Wolves raced to catch up. From full effort on every leg, WOU fought back for a GNAC Record and new school record time of 9:50.07.
 

The quartet was two seconds off the pace set by American International, but outran conference for Simon Fraser by two seconds.

On Friday, Nicole Maurmann competed in the women's mile preliminaries and finished 15^th with a time of 5:03.22.

Emmi Collier faced a tough field in the women's shot put on Saturday. She improved distances on every attempt, finishing the competition in 15^th place with an effort of 45 feet, inch (13.72 meters).

With the indoor season officially over, WOU will set its sight on outdoor excellence. Next on the schedule is the Willamette Invitational in Salem, Ore. on Saturday, March 26.