Sports

UAA men's track team earns first GNAC team title

Spurred by the horsepower from a fleet of talented distance runners and the versatility of Cody Thomas, the UAA men's track and field team claimed the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's triple crown Saturday in Monmouth, Oregon.

The Seawolves captured their first outdoor track championship to complete their sweep of the conference's cross-country, indoor track and outdoor track titles.

Michel Ramirez led a 1-2-3 finish in the men's 5,000-meter race Saturday to give UAA its second podium sweep of the weekend and Thomas scored points in seven events to earn a share of the meet's Most Outstanding Performer award.

A victory in the javelin from Cody Parker plus a slew of top-five finishes helped the Seawolves end Western Washington's five-year reign as GNAC champs.

UAA finished with 163.5 points to easily dethrone the Vikings, who placed second with 128. Western Oregon was third with 118.

In the women's competition, Jamie Ashcroft became a three-time GNAC champ in both the 100 and 200 meters to help UAA finish third in the team standings with 119 points. Seattle Pacific edged Central Washington for first place, 148.5-143.5.

Thomas was the co-winner of the men's MVP award, thanks to two weekends of stellar performances that earned him a meet-high 31 points.

ADVERTISEMENT

The senior from New Zealand won the decathlon last weekend at the conference's multi-event championships in Lacey, Washington. Then he picked up points in six events in Monmouth.

After placing third in Friday's long jump, Thomas on Saturday grabbed second place in the high jump, fifth in the 200 meters, sixth in the 110 hurdles and eighth in the 100 meters. He also ran a leg on UAA's third-place 400-meter relay team.

Thomas was the co-winner of the men's Most Outstanding Performer award along with Josh Koch of Concordia, who won the shot put and discus and was second in the hammer. Koch set a GNAC record in the shot put.

UAA's biggest and most thrilling race Saturday was the men's 5,000, which was worth 27 points for the Seawolves. The race decided by one one-hundredth of a second. Ramirez won in 14:56.03, Edwin Kangogo was second in 14:56.04 and Henry Cheseto was third in 14:56.24.

The race marked the second straight day UAA's distance runners dominated. On Friday, Victor Samoei led UAA to a 1-2-3-4 finish and 29 team points in the 10,000. Samoei placed sixth in the 5,000.

The Seawolves on Saturday racked up 13 top-five finishes in the men's competition and 14 top-five finish in the women's competition.

Sprinter Darrion Gray was a top-five finisher in four races for the men. He placed third in the 200, fifth in the 100 and ran legs on the second-place 1,600-meter relay team and the third-place 400 team.

Leading the UAA women was Ashcroft, a junior from British Columbia. Besides her sweep of the sprint races, she ran legs on UAA's fourth-place 400 relay team and its fifth-place 1,600 relay team.

Also earning a GNAC title for the women was Yvonne Jeschke, a freshman from Germany who topped the 100 hurdles.

The Seawolves got a pair of runner-up performances from Joyce Chelimo (second in the 5,000) and Mary Kathleen Cross (second in the 400). Chelimo won Friday's 10,000 meters and Cross on Saturday grabbed third in the 200 and ran on both relay teams.

ADVERTISEMENT