MONMOUTH, Ore. – The 2016 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Western Oregon University, is officially in the books. WOU finished third in the men's overall team competition and seventh in the race for the women's title.
 
The Western Oregon men ended the day with 118 points, coming in behind league champion Alaska Anchorage with 163.5 points and Western Washington with 128 points. Three Wolves earned GNAC Championships in their individual races while both relay teams got on the award stand, including a victory.
 
The day started out quickly for the WOU men with a championship in the 4x100 meter relay. Wesley Gray, Devonte Woods and Aaron Whitaker kept pace with Alaska Anchorage, who held the lead over the first three laps. In the final turn, Cody Warner accelerated past the competition to post a time of 42.02 seconds and earn 10 points for the Wolves.
 
Another win came in repeat fashion for David Ribich in the finals of the 1,500 meters. Like the relay team, Ribich accelerated over the final 250 meters to run a time of 3:54.18. Sam Naffziger earned a fifth-place finish at 3:57.38. Badane Sultessa backed his top qualifying spot in the 800 meters by capturing the GNAC outdoor title in a time of 1:54.39. Josh Hanna ran third at 1:54.77. Kaleb Dobson picked up third place in the finals of the 110 meter hurdles (15.12) and improved his place in winning the 400m hurdles in a time of 53.97. Zach Holloway closed out the individual races with an eighth-place effort in the 5,000m with a time of 15:08.73.
 
In the field events, Gray took third in the triple jump at 14.28m (46-10.25) and Justin Larson finished third in the javelin at 60.30m (197-10.25). Kegan Allen led four WOU athletes with a 10^th place finish in the hammer (46.22m / 151-8).
 
The women had two runners individually place third while one relay team took runner-up.
 
Stephanie Stuckey (4:37.09) and Nicole Maurmann (4:39.03) finished sixth and seventh respectively in the women's 1,500 meters after the 4x100 relay team kicked off the day also placing seventh (49.74). WOU got two top-five finishes when Olivia Woods took third place in the 400m with a time of 57.63 and Megan Rose grabbed fifth at 57.99.
 
Suzanne Van De Grift inked a new personal best to come in third in the women's 800 at 2:11.62, strengthening her hold on the fourth all-time mark in the WOU record books. Bailey Beeson picked up points for WOU with a sixth place time of 2:14.28. Other point earners were Sara Madden in the 400m hurdles (6^th, 1:05.70) and Laura Patrick in the 100m dash (8^th, 12.83). The 4x400 relay team – Rose, Van De Grift, Beeson, and Woods - capped off the meet coming in second with a time of 3:52.37 to earn eight points.
 
The Wolves have one more qualifying meet at the University of Portland Twilight on Sunday, April 15 on the track at Lewis & Clark College. Races begin at 5:30 p.m. Following the Portland Twilight, WOU qualifiers will travel to Bradenton, Fla. for the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships, hosted by the University of Tampa, May 26-28.