UAA track and field athletes have broken seven school records in the outdoor season – high jumper Tevin Gladden delivered the latest rewrite Saturday – heading into this week's Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship meet.
Gladden, a junior from Fairbanks, cleared 6 feet, 9.75 inches, at the Linfield Open in Oregon, to break Eric Draper's 10-year-old Seawolves' record (6-9.50, 2006) and continue his significant improvement this season. Prior to 2016, Gladden's career-best was 6-6.
Draper's record was the second-oldest on UAA's books. The longest-standing Seawolves' outdoors record is Jessica Houston's discus mark of 165-9 in 2005, which also remains the GNAC record.
Gladden's winning jump Saturday ranks No. 2 all-time in the GNAC and improved his provisional qualifier to the NCAA Division II nationals.
Gladden on Monday was named the GNAC's men's field Athlete of the Week.
Four other UAA individuals have broken school records this season, as has a relay team.
Senior Joyce Chelimo has furnished UAA records at 5,000 meters (15 minutes, 59.55 seconds) and 10,000 meters (33:14.41), and the latter doubles as a GNAC record. Junior Jamie Ashcroft lowered her 200-meter school record to 24.07.
Senior Cody Thomas last week accumulated a school-record 7,201 points to win his third GNAC decathlon title. Sophomore Nathan Kipchumba last month ran a school-record 800 meters (1:49.67). And the 4x400-meter relay team of Liam Lindsay, Nicholas Taylor, Adam Commandeur and Thomas last month ran a Seawolves-record 3:10.60.
Also, Thomas this season tied his school-record, 110-meter high hurdle mark of 14.81.
In the most recent national rankings, UAA's men and women are tops among GNAC schools.
UAA's women are ranked No. 11 in the nation, ahead of GNAC schools Seattle Pacific (No. 19) and Western Washington University (No. 22). UAA is the GNAC's only nationally ranked men's team at No. 19.
The Seawolves earlier this year swept the men's and women's team titles at the GNAC Indoor Championships. Both UAA's men and women's teams last year finished second at the GNAC Outdoor Championships.
UAA's women have either won or finished runner-up in the last four GNAC outdoor championships. The Seawolves seized titles in 2013 and 2014 and finished second in 2012 and 2015.
UAA's men seek their first conference outdoor title. Their runner-up finish last year was their third, matching 2014 and 2008.
The conference outdoor championship meet is Friday and Saturday at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.
UAA's men begin the competition with 10 points in the bag, courtesy of Thomas' decathlon win last week at the GNAC Multi-Events in Lacey, Washington.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr