Track & Field | 5/9/2015 4:13:00 PM
FINAL RESULTSMONMOUTH, Ore. – Senior
Rebecca Laible defended her individual title in the triple jump, while Western Oregon University's track & field teams added two more individual titles to their resumé at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships Saturday at McArthur Stadium.
Along with Laible, junior
Badane Sultessa and freshman
David Ribich took home titles in the 800 and 1,500 meter runs, respectively, as Sultessa became the Wolves' third 800 meter champion since 2011 with Ribich becoming WOU's first individual champion in the 1,500 meter run since 2008.
As a team, Western Oregon finished fourth overall in the men's standings with 88 points ending behind four-time champion Western Washington (176 points), Alaska Anchorage (174), and Central Washington (109.5).
Western Oregon's women's team ended the championships in fifth place with 62 points finishing behind Seattle Pacific (183 points), Alaska Anchorage (154), Central Washington (90), and Western Washington (88).
On the women's side, Laible posted a winning mark of 11.79 meters (38-8.25) in the triple jump to win the event by 1.50 inches en route to posting a season-best with freshman
Kylie Reinholdt finishing third with a lifetime best leap of 11.69 meters (38-4.25) to also earn all-conference honors.
Also on Saturday, junior
Stephanie Stuckey finished third in the 1,500 meter run with a time of 4:35.26 to earn all-conference honors. Senior
Emily Wetherell would also finish third in the hammer throw with a lifetime best mark of 48.70 meters (159-9.50), while the freshman duo of
Amanda Short and
Sheila Limas De La Cruz placed third and fourth, respectively, in the javelin with lifetime best throws of 44.12 (144-9.25) and 44.04 (144-6.25) meters, respectively, with Wetherell and Short earning all-conference honors.
On the men's side, Sultessa would capture the 800 meter crown with a time of 1:52.31 to finish ahead of WOU teammate and sophomore
Josh Dempsey who took third overall with a time of 1:54.33. The duo would earn all-conference honors becoming the first two Wolves to stand together on the podium on Saturday.
In the 1,500 meter run, Ribich would run away from the field over the final 300 meters en route to capturing the title in a lifetime best time of 3:50.58 in Heat #2 that resulted in an all-conference honor for the first-year Wolf.
Other Wolves earning all-conference were freshman
Cody Warner with a second place finish in the 100 meter dash and freshman
Kaleb Dobson via a runner-up finish in the 400 meter hurdles.
Friday results also turned in all-conference honors for sophomore
Jeremy Moore in the discus and
Emmi Collier in the shot put.
Western Oregon will now have to wait and see which student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, as the national office will announce qualifiers later this week.
