Western second in both divisions at GNAC Championships

NAMPA, Id. - Western Washington University's Ellie Siler (So., Spokane/Lewis & Clark) had a hand in three event victories and Sarah Porter (Jr., Hockinson) won the women's 5,000 meters in NCAA Division II national automatic qualifying time as the Vikings placed second in both the men's and women's divisions for the third straight year at the seventh annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at the Jackson's Indoor Track in the Idaho Center Sports Complex.

Seattle Pacific won its seventh straight women's title with 179.5 points, 20 ahead of Western, and Western Oregon took its third consecutive men's championship with 171 points, the Vikings having 161.5.

Siler took the 200 in the national provisional qualifying time of 25.03, a school, meet and GNAC record. She won the 400 (56.93) for the second straight year and ran the lead leg as the 4x400 quartet placed first in a meet record time of 3:55.21.

Porter won the 5,000 in a meet and school record time of 16:47.07 to lead a 1-2-3 sweep of that event for Western. Lauren Breihof (Jr., Vancouver/Mountain View) was second in 17:32.30, and Courtney Olsen (Sr., Bellingham/Squalicum) third in 17:43.72. Breihof improved her national provisional time and Olsen met the standard.

Jordan Welling (Jr., Burlington/Burlington-Edison) had the top performance for the Western men, winning the 5,000 for the second time in three years in a meet record time of 14:51.53, and anchoring the victorious distance medley to a meet-record time of 10:18.80. Completing the medley were Bennett Grimes (Jr. Pocatello, ID/Century), Andrew Gray (So., Sammamish/Skyline) and Nick Abraham (So., Sammamish/Skyline).

Jordan Welling

In all, Western won six women's events and four men's events, setting eight school records.

Other victories for the Western women were by Michelle Howe (Jr., Lakewood) in the 60 hurdles, and Emily Warman (So., Sedro-Woolley) in the long jump.

Howe won the 60 hurdles for the third straight year, having a time of 9.02 in the final after winning her preliminary in a school-record 9.00. With Howe and Siler on the victorious 4x100 relay were Sarah Brownell (Jr., Yelm) and Megan O'Connell (Jr., Sammamish/Skyline).

Warman won the long jump with a mark of 18-3 3/4, and was second in the triple jump (38-4) where she is the defending national champion.

Another top performance for the women was by Joana Houplin (Jr., Olympia), who was second in the 60 in a school record 7.88. The distance medley team of Porter, Megan Zukowski (Jr., Maple Valley/Tahoma), Cheryl Watson (Jr., Olympia) and Rachael Johnson (Jr., Yakima/West Valley) was second in 12:19.11.

Brownell was second in the 400 (57.92). Olsen was third in the mile (4:57.37) as were Zukowski in the 200 (25.82) and Diana DiMarco (Jr., Bozeman, MT) in the pole vault (11-1/4, 3.36).

For the men, Ryan Brown (Jr., Bellingham/Squalicum) claimed his third consecutive GNAC title in the pole vault, clearing 16-1 1/4 (4.91). Anthony Tomsich (Sr., Fairbanks, AK/West Valley) won the mile in 4:14.08, a meet record.

Tim Clendaniel (So., Bothell) broke a Western record that had stood since 1992 and was a provisional qualifier as he finished second in the long jump with a mark of 23-3 1/4 (7.09).

Three other Viking men set school records. Will Davis (So., Spokane/Central Valley) was fourth in the triple jump with a school-record 46-7 1/4 (14.20); Ben Elder broke his own school record in the weight throw with a fifth-place toss of 50-4 (15.34), and was also third in the shot put (49-5 1/2, 15.07); and Alex Tilley (So., Edmonds/Kamiak) was second in the 200 with a school-record 22.28.

Tilley was part of a second-place 4x400 relay (3:23.35) that also included Logan Darling (So., Bellingham), Shane Gruger (Jr., Shoreline/Shorewood) and Toby David (Jr., Cathlamet/Wahkiakum). Gruger placed second in the 60 (7.00).

Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific was selected the Outstanding Female Performer as she won the 800 and mile each for the third time in four years, setting meet records in both events. The men's award went to Western Oregon's Matson Hardie who set a meet and GNAC record in winning the long jump.

Pixler, Hardie Top Performers in GNAC Indoor Championships

Jessica Pixler won the women's 800 and mile each for the third time in four years to lead Seattle Pacific to its seventh straight women's team title at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor track-and-field championship meet Saturday at Jackson's Track in Nampa. (Meet Program) (Heat Sheets (Meet Preview )(Real-Time Results)

Pixler, who set meet records in both events, was selected the Outstanding Female Performer. The men's award went to Western Oregon's Matson Hardie who set a meet and GNAC record in winning the long jump.

Seattle Pacific won its seventh straight women's team title, while Western Oregon won its third straight men's title and its fourth overall.

Western Washington finished second in both divisions. The Falcon women outscored the Vikings 179 1/2 to 159 1/2. WWU's score was the highest ever for the runner up in the meet.

Western Washington finished just 9 1/2 points back of the Wolves in the men's scoring (171 to 161 1/2). The Vikings point total was the second highest for a runner up. WWU had 166 points in 2007 when CWU edged their rivals for the team title by 5 1/2 points.

Pixler first won the mile in a time 4:40.39 breaking the record of 4:47.37 set last year by Ashley Puga of Northwest Nazarene. She then came back to win the 800 in a time of 2:08.28, breaking Puga's 2009 record of 2:09.86.

Pixler's records were two of 15 that were set. Two of the records are also all-time GNAC marks.

Hardie won the men's long jump with a meet and conference record of 23-8. Western Washington's Ellie Siler, who won the women's 400 for the second year in a row in a time of 56.93, won the 200 in a meet and GNAC record time of 25.03.

In the men's mile, Anthony Tomsich of Western Washington set a meet record with a time of 4:14.08. WWU's Jordan Welling won the 5,000 in a meet record time of 14:51.53 winning the event for the second time. He also finished first in 2008.

Matt Kaino of Western Oregon set a meet record in the men's 400 with a time of 49.17.

Both meet records fell in the 60 as Latasha Essien won the women's event for the fourth year in a row in a meet record time of 7.67. Andrew Wright of Central Washington set a meet record in the men's 60 in a time of 6.89.

Essien is the first athlete in the meet history to win the same event four times in a row and the second to win the same event four times joining Krissy Tandle of Central Washington who won the shot put between 2005 and 2007 and again in 2009.

Sarah Porter of Western Washington set a meet record in winning the women's 5000 in a time of 16:47.07 and Ashley Potter of Western Oregon won the women's triple jump with a meet record leap of 38-10 1/2.

Meet records were also broken in all four relays. Western Washington won the women's 4x400 relay in time of 3:55.21 and the men's distance medley relay in a time of 10:18.80.

Western Oregon won the men's 4x400 with a time of 3:19.36. In the women's distance medley, Seattle Pacific finished first in a time of 11:36.32.

In other events, Seattle Pacific's Brittany Aanstad won the women's high jump with a leap of 5-5 1/4 leading a 1-2-3 Falcon sweep.

Michelle Howe of Western Washington won the 60 hurdles for the third year in a row with a time of 9.02, while Andy Loscutoff of Western Oregon won the men's event in a time of 8.34.

SPU's Melissa Peaslee won her second title in the pole vault with a GNAC season-best vault of 12-0. She was also the 2008 champion. Ryan Brown of Western Washington, the nation's leader in the event, won his third straight men's title with a vault of 16-1 1/4.

Tyler Fischer and Rendel Jones, both of Central Washington won their second consecutive titles in the men's weight throw (58-3) and triple jump, respectively (47-7 1/4). The Wildcats also got wins from Kincaid Nichols in the 200 (22.22) and Brennan Boyes in the high jump (6-4 3/4).

Fischer finished second in the shot put as Jason Slowey of Western Oregon finished first with a put of 51-3 3/4.

In all CWU had five individual wins in the men's meet, the most for any school. Western Oregon had five total wins, four in individual events, while Western Washington won three individual events and a relay.

Nathan Seely of Seattle Pacific won the 800 in a GNAC season-best time of 1:54.86 to account for SPU's lone victory in the men's meet.

Western Washington and Seattle Pacific each had six wins in the women's meet, five in individual events and one each in relays.

Emily Warman won the long jump with a leap of 18-3 3/4 to account for one of Western Washington's victories. Warman, the defending national triple jump champion, finished second in that event with a leap of 38-4.

Joy Warrington of Northwest Nazarene won the women's shot with a put of 45-9 1/4 and also won the weight throw with a toss of 49-10 1/2 to account for NNU's only two victories in the meet.