Track & Field 4/8/2021 2:05:00 PM Brian Kortz

Track and Field to Host John Knight Twilight and Senior Recognition This Week

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University men's and women's track and field teams will host the John Knight Twilight this Friday and Saturday. In addition to hosting the meet, the Wolves will also honor their 16 senior student-athletes on Saturday. Below is a recap of the careers of each senior.

Adam Alnazer
Alnazer arrived at WOU after transferring from Hartnell College. He is originally from Monteray, Calif., and attended Monteray High School. He has competed in the 800, 1k, 1,500 and mile throughout his career with the Wolves as he began his time at WOU with the UW Preview in 2019 running in the 1k and 4x400 relay. Alnazer competed in the GNAC Indoor Championships that year running in the 800 and distance medley relay. He posted his top time in the 800 at the Brayn Clay Invitational crossing in 1:54.26. At the GNAC Outdoor Championships in 2019, he placed fifth in the 800. During this past year, Alnazer ran to his best time in the mile of 4:25.06 at the Portland Indoor Meet #1 and came in fourth in the 800 at the GNAC Indoor Championships. So far this outdoor season, Alnazer has run the 1,500 and 800, coming in fourth in the 1,500 with a time of 4:02.74 at the PNW Team Clash. Plans after WOU, Alnazer is majoring in exercise science and he plans to attend Azusa Pacific's graduate program in physical education and a concentration in sports management. He will look to run on the APU team his first year and then be a volunteer coach in year two.

Lauren Berry
Berry spent her entire collegiate career with the Wolves arriving from Bothell, Wash. Berry has competed in the 60, 100, long jump and triple jump, along with the relays during her career. She reached a recent personal-best in the triple jump when she hit a distance of 31-6.5 while placing second at the WOU Tri Meet #2. That was a strong overall meet for Berry as she also came in third in the long jump with a distance of 15-11.5 and was part of the 4x100 relay that crossed in second. Berry also has top times of 8.59 in the 60-meter that she set during the Portland Indoor Meet #1, in the 100-meter with a time of 13.27 at the Linfield Open and in the long jump set at the WSU Cougar Indoor with a mark of 16-8. Berry has competed in both the GNAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the long jump throughout her career. Plans after WOU, Berry is majoring in business marketing with a minor in communications. She plans to move back home and will look to land a marketing specialist career for a company.

Max Carmona
Carmona arrived at WOU as a transfer having competed at Ventura College before arriving at WOU. During his time with the Wolves he has seen time running in the 400, 600, 800, relays and participated in cross country. He was part of the distance medley relay team that qualified for the 2019-20 NCAA Indoor Championships. Some of his top times include crossing at 1:22.37 in the 600-meter during the UW Preview, a time of 1:53.07 in the 800-meter during the Portland Twilight, and a time of 51.05 in the 400-meter during the Willamette Opener. During the 2019 cross country season, Carmona competed in both the Linfield Harrier Classic and the Ash Creek Festival.

Karsten Collins
Collins has been with the Wolves throughout his collegiate career arriving with his brother, Owen, from Portland where they competed at Sunset High School. He has competed in all of the throwing events throughout his career, recently setting a personal-best mark in the hammer throw at the first WOU Tri Meet with a distance of 153-2. In the weight throw, he hit a distance of 51-0.25 at the Portland Indoor Meet #2. In the discus, he had a top throw of 148-4 that occurred at the GNAC Outdoor Championships and during WOU's own John Knight Twilight he set a personal-best in the shot put with a throw of 47-2.5. Collins has had a strong start to the outdoor season, coming in first-place in both of the WOU Tri Meets in the discus, placing in the top-three in the hammer throw in both meets and posted a couple of top-three finishes in the discus and hammer throw at the PNW Team Clash. He has competed in three GNAC Championships throughout his career throwing the shot put, weight throw and discus. Plans after WOU, Karsten is majoring in information systems and will look to pursue a career in data analytics.

Owen Collins
Collins has been with the Wolves throughout his collegiate career arriving with his brother, Karsten, from Portland where they competed at Sunset High School. During his time with the Wolves, Collins has thrown the shot put, discus, hammer throw and weight throw, recently setting a new personal-best in the hammer with a distance of 152-9. Some of his other top marks include hitting a distance of 51-9 in the weight at the Portland Indoor Meet #1, a distance of 48-10 in the shot put during the Cougar Open and a mark of 148-1 in the discus during the Willamette Invitational. Collins is off to a strong start so far this outdoor season placing first in the shot put during both the WOU Tri Meets, placing second and fourth in the hammer and third in the discus. At the PNW Team Clash he came in second in the shot put and fifth in the hammer. Throughout his career he has competed in four GNAC Championships throwing the hammer, shot put, weight and discus. Plans after WOU, Owen is majoring in criminal justice and will look to start a career working with juveniles involved in the criminal justice system.

Neal Cranston
Cranston has been with the Wolves throughout his career after arriving from Canby, Ore., and competing at Canby High School. Throughout his career he has competed in the 400, 800, 1k, 1,500, mile and cross country. Some of his personal-best marks include crossing with a time of 52.75 in the 400-meter during the Portland Indoor Meet #2, coming in second in the 800-meter during the Linfield Open with a time of 1:52.61, posting a time of 4:04.94 in the 1,500 at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open, clocking a time of 4:29.28 in the mile at the UW Open and a time of 2:31.77 in the 1k at the UW Preview. He also ran the relays throughout his career. During the 2019 cross country season, Cranston ran in the Warner Pacific Classic to earn him GNAC Runner of the Week honors. Plans after WOU, Cranston is majoring in history and will look to attend graduate school at the University of Oregon.

Justin Crosswhite
Crosswhite spent his entire collegiate career with the Wolves after arriving from Hood River High School in Hood River, Ore. He began his career on the cross country course during the 2016 season collecting a pair of top-15 results at the Oregon State John Frank Invitational and the Ash Creek Invitational. In his first cross country GNAC Championships, Crosswhite placed 25^th that year and later competed in the NCAA Division II West Regional. During the 2017 season, he came in 15^th at the GNAC Championships and came in 64^th at Regionals. In 2018, he ran in both the GNAC and Regional events again and this past year in 2019, he came in runner-up at the GNAC Championships and placed 61^st at Regionals. On the track, Crosswhite has competed in the 800, 1,500, mile and 3,000, along with the distance medley relay and the 4x400 relays. He ran in the mile and DMR during his first GNAC Indoor Championships in 2017. That outdoor season, he competed in the 1,500 at the GNAC Championships. Crosswhite started to post strong results in the 2018 GNAC Indoor Championships coming in third in the mile and second in the DMR. He was part of the DMR that competed in the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships as earlier that year he placed first in the GNAC Indoor Championships in the mile. During the most recent GNAC Indoor Championships in 2019, Crosswhite came in fourth in the mile. So far this outdoor season, he has entered in the 800, 1,500 and the 4x400, posting a new top time in the 800 of 1:53.38 at the WOU Tri Meet #1. Some of his other top marks include 3:51.45 in the 1,500, 4:04.36 in the mile and 9:06.46 in the 3,000. Plans after WOU, Crosswhite is completing his master's in organizational leadership and will look to take some time off to travel outside of the country and look for a fun job in an emerging field once he returns.

Jalon Fields
Fields spent his entire collegiate career with the Wolves after arriving from Eugene where he competed at Churchill High School. He has specialized in the jumps throughout his career competing in the triple and long jump, along with running the 100. Fields hit a new personal-best mark this outdoor season in the triple jump at the PNW Team Clash hitting a distance of 47-3 to come in second. His long jump mark currently stands at 21-4.75 set during the GNAC Indoor Championships and in the only 100-meter that he ran in occurred at the Willamette Opener with a time of 12.75. It's been a strong start to the outdoor season this year for Fields coming in second in both triple jump meets and coming in first and second in the long jump. He has competed in three GNAC Championships, entering in the triple jump and long jump. Plans after WOU, Fields is majoring in exercise science and will look to become a personal trainer.

Moana Gianotti
Gianotti arrived at WOU after competing at Riddle High School in Riddle, Ore. Gianotti threw in her first collegiate event during the UW Invitational in 2018 in the shot put. That year she entered in her first GNAC Indoor Championships throwing both the shot put and weight throw. During the 2018 GNAC Outdoor Championships, Gianotti threw the shot put and discus and then placed in the top-10 in the shot put and weight throw at the 2019 GNAC Indoor Championships coming in sixth in the weight and ninth in the shot put. In WOU's John Knight Twilight, Gianotti set a new personal-best throw in the discus hitting a mark of 141-10 to come in first. During the GNAC Outdoor Championships that year, Gianotti came in third in the discus, fourth in the shot put and sixth in the hammer throw. During this past 2020 season, Gianotti set a new personal-best in the shot put of 44-9 at the UW Invitational, a mark of 50-10.25 in the weight throw at the GNAC Indoor Championships in which she placed sixth and also came in third in the shot put. So far this outdoor season, Gianotti has thrown the shot put, discus and hammer, hitting a new personal-best in the hammer reaching a distance of 148-6. She has placed in the top-four in six of the events she has entered this spring, winning both the shot put and discus during the WOU Tri Meet #2. Plans after WOU, Gianotti is majoring in criminal justice and will look to hopefully complete an internship with a social work group in Southern Oregon and go to graduate school to earn her master's.

Dominic Giordano
Giordano arrived at WOU after transferring from Concordia (OR) and is originally from Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood, Wash. Giordano began his WOU career in the indoor season of 2020 running in the 3,000 at the Portland Indoor Meet #1. Later that year he came in first and set a season-best time of 9:28.49 in the 3,000 steeplechase at the Linfield Erik Anderson Memorial Icebreaker. Giordano competed in the 3,000 at the GNAC Indoor Championships. So far this outdoor season, he has set new marks in the 800 (2:01.46) and the 1,500 (4:04.68) which both occurred at the WOU Tri Meet #2. Throughout his time at WOU, he has entered in the 800, 1,500, 3,000 (8:49.91) and in the 3,000 steeplechase. Plans after WOU, Giordano is completing his master's in organizational leadership and will look to move to Seattle or Portland to start his career in business.

Zach Kanelis
Kanelis arrived at WOU after transferring from Clark College. He is originally from Camas, Wash., where he competed at Union High School. Kanelis has competed in multiple events during his time at WOU including the 800, 1k, 1,500, mile, relays and cross country. He began his cross country career in the fall of 2017 competing in the Ash Creek Invitational and the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational. Kanelis had a strong cross country year a season later in 2018 coming in 45ht at the GNAC Championships and also ran in the NCAA Division II West Regional. That indoor track season, he set a new personal-best in the 1k with a time of 2:36.73 at the UW Preview. During the outdoor season that year he hit new PR marks in the 1,500 with a time of 4:01.75 at the Oregon State High Performance and in the 800-meter with a time of 1:54.31 at the Portland Twilight. During the most recent cross country season in 2019, Kanelis came in 42^nd at the GNAC Championships and placed 77^th at the NCAA Division II West Regional. This past indoor season he set a PR in the mile with a time of 4:29.71 at the Portland Indoor Meet #1.

Curt Knott
Knott arrived at WOU from Newport High School in Newport, Ore., spending his entire collegiate career with the Wolves. Spending time as both a cross country runner and on the track, Knott placed 28^th at the WOU Ash Creek Invitational, along with competing at the Sundowner and GNAC Championships in 2019. He was part of the 2018 cross country team that came in fourth at the GNAC Championships, as he also ran in four other meets that year, posting top-20 results in three of the races. On the track, he began his career in 2017 during the outdoor season running in the 800. Knott competed in the 800 in multiple GNAC Championships, along with the 4x400, placing second in the 800 at the GNAC Indoor Championships. He was part of the distance medley relay that competed in the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships. During this past indoor season, Knott came in fourth in the 800 and third in the 4x400 relay. Some of his top marks stand at 1:51.45 in the 800, 50.29 in the 400 and 4:01.13 in the 1,500. Plans after WOU, Knott is majoring in earth science and will look to attend graduate school.

Shayla Solomon
Solomon arrived at WOU after competing at Junction City High School in Junction City, Ore. Spending time both in cross country and in track, Solomon posted top results in cross country during the 2018 season, placing 10^th at Linfield and seventh at WOU's Ash Creek Invitational, before finishing the year the GNAC Championships. Solomon began her cross career in 2017 running at the Charles Bowles Invitational. On the track, Solomon started her collegiate career at the UW Preview in 2018 running in the 4x400 relay. She competed in the 800 and the distance medley relay at the GNAC Championships. So far this outdoor season, Solomon competed in the PNW Team Clash coming in second in the 800 and fourth in the 4x400 relay. Some of her top times on the track include 1:02.05 in the 400 and 2:18.62 in the 800. Plans after WOU, Solomon is a Pre-Med in biology and will look to take the MCAT in September while applying to medical schools for next spring 2022.

Makenzie Smith
Smith arrived at WOU after transferring from Mt Hood Community College. She is originally from Vancouver, Wash., and attended Evergreen High School. Smith opened her WOU career during the Candy Cane Open competing in the pentathlon and the high jump. She later competed in both during the GNAC Indoor Championships. So far this outdoor season, Smith has competed in three meets, posting a new top mark in the long jump of 16-4.25 at the WOU Tri Meet #2 to win the event. She has also competed in the shot put, javelin, 100-meter hurdles throughout the outdoor season.

Darian Wilson
Wilson arrived at WOU after competing at Coquille High School in Coquille, Ore. She put together a 2018 year to remember when she came in third at the GNAC Outdoor Championships in the javelin and then went on to place seventh at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships in the event. During those same GNAC Championships, she placed fifth in the heptathlon with 4,519 points, third in the long jump and seventh in the triple jump. Wilson began her WOU career at the UW Preview in 2018 in the triple jump. Wilson followed up her 2018 in the javelin by placing second in the event during the 2019 GNAC Outdoor Championships and then set a new personal-best in the javelin placing sixth at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships. Some of her top marks throughout her career include 155-0 in the javelin, 4,519 in the heptathlon, 36-5.5 in the triple jump, 18-3 in the long jump and 4-9 in the high jump. Wilson also ran on the track in the 60, 200, 800, 60-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles. Plans after WOU, Wilson is majoring in community health and will look to attend nursing school.

Michaela Yonkman
Yonkman arrived at WOU after competing at Noosack Valley High School in Everson, Wash. She began her collegiate career competing in the GNAC Indoor Championships in the 60-meter hurdles in 2018. Yonkman entered in the 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and the 4x100 relay during the 2018 GNAC Outdoor Championships. Over the past two GNAC Championships, Yonkman was part of the 4x400 and distance medley relay that placed third. Throughout her career she has competed in the 200 with a top time of 27.62, in the 400 with a top time of 1:01.59, in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.71, in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.83 and in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:05.27. Plans after WOU, Yonkman is majoring in history and will move back home to take a year off before enrolling in graduate school.

In order to ensure the health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches, officials and staff, and to provide the best opportunity to complete the spring seasons, spectators will not be allowed for regular-season home events at GNAC institutions for the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year. Additionally, spectators will not be allowed at the GNAC's spring championships. Live video and stats will be available for the games.

The first events on Friday will begin at 2:30 p.m. Then on Saturday, events will start around 10 a.m. Other teams set to compete include Alaska Anchorage, Western Washington, Portland State and Lane CC. Live results will be available throughout the meet and can be found here.

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Berry: Senior; SO

Moana Gianotti: Senior; JR

Makenzie Smith: Senior; JR

Shayla Solomon: Senior; JR

Darian Wilson: Senior; JR

Michaela Yonkman: Senior; JR

Adam Alnazer: Junior; SO

Max Carmona: Junior; SO

Karsten Collins: Senior; SO

Owen Collins: Senior; SO

Players Mentioned

Lauren Berry
: Senior; SO

Moana Gianotti
: Senior; JR

Makenzie Smith
: Senior; JR

Shayla Solomon
: Senior; JR

Darian Wilson
: Senior; JR

Michaela Yonkman
: Senior; JR

Adam Alnazer
: Junior; SO

Max Carmona
: Junior; SO

Karsten Collins
: Senior; SO

Owen Collins
: Senior; SO