BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The 2017 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships is officially in the books from the Birmingham Crossplex, and the Western Oregon men's team finished in a tie for sixth place overall after All-American performances in the finals of the mile and 800 meters on Saturday.
 
The Western Oregon men entered the day with 10 points after their photo-finish win in the Distance Medley Relay on Friday night. David Ribich finished third in the mile final in 4:06.72 to score six points for the Wolves and Dustin Nading took fourth in the same race at 4:06.85 to account for 11 team points.

Josh Dempsey took sixth in the 800-meter final with a time of 1:51.20 for the team's final three points. With just four male athletes competing in the meet, the WOU men ended the day with 24 points to earn a sixth place finish with Azusa Pacific and earn seven individual All-American honors.
 
The women of Western Oregon earned seven points, giving them a 29^th-place finish in the meet. All of the scoring came in the finals of the 800 meters as Suzanne Van De Grift and Olivia Woods placed fifth and sixth respectively. Van De Grift earned four points and improved on her school-record in the distance with a finishing time of 2:09.10 (2:09.63 run in the prelims on Thursday) while Woods also improved on the second fastest time in school history earning three points with a personal best 2:09.26. Van De Grift and Woods each earned All-American status in the 800.
 
After a superb run during the indoor season, Western Oregon now turns their attention to the outdoor season. The Wolves, after opening the season last weekend in Salem, will compete in the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open on March 18 at Griswold Stadium in Portland and return to Salem for the Charles Bowles Invitational on March 25, hosted by Willamette University.