MONMOUTH, Ore. – Multiple top-three results highlighted day two for the Western Oregon University men's and women's track and field teams during the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday. It was the highest finish for the men's team since 2012 and the highest for the women's team since 2015.
Dominique Loggins won the 100-meter, while several top-three finishes resulted in podium awards. Michaela Yonkman placed third in the 400-meter hurdles, Justin Crosswhite placed second in the 1,500-meter, Austin Goldstein placed second in the javelin, Darian Wilson placed second in the javelin, Jalon Fields placed second in the triple jump, while the women's 4x100 relay and the men's 4x400 relay each placed third.
Team scores, WOU finished second on the men's side with 145 points and placed fifth on the women's side with 92 points. Western Washington won the men's title and Seattle Pacific took the women's title. It was the highest finish for the men's team since coming in second during the 2012 season and the most points since tallying 203 during the 2011 season. On the women's side, it was the highest finish since placing fifth in 2015 and the most points since tallying 109 in 2011.
Loggins ran the eight fastest time in program history in the 100-meter crossing with a time of 10.73 to place first overall. It's the second straight GNAC Championships that Loggins has won an event, having claimed the first-place title at the GNAC Indoor Championships in the 60-meter in 2020.
Yonkman ran the seventh fastest time in program history in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.70 to place third overall. Yonkman trimmed over two seconds off her preliminary time of 1:06.06 from Friday to set her new personal-best in the event.
Crosswhite went right down to the wire in the 1,500 with Western Washington's Calahan Warren before Warren came in first with a time of 3:57.44. Crosswhite was right behind with a time of 3:57.60 to finish second.
Goldstein was close to his season-best mark in the javelin when he hit a mark of 187-1 to come in second. It was the second time this season he had a throw of over 57m and he bests his throw from the previous GNAC Outdoor Championships by over 13-plus feet.
Wilson had a flashback to her throws from the previous GNAC Outdoor Championships on Saturday. Wilson hit her season-best in the javelin to come in second on Saturday hitting a distance of 143-9. Wilson's mark is also an NCAA Provisional in the javelin. Her previous high throw this season was a mark of 115-10. It's close to her 2019 GNAC Outdoor Championships throw that she had of 151-4 before eventually finishing sixth at the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships.
Fields followed up his first-place finish on Friday in the long jump by placing second in the triple jump on Saturday. Fields hit a distance of 47-11 in the event to not only place second, but his mark ranks sixth in program history.
The women's relay team in the 4x100 of Maya Hopwood, Ana Popchock, Jenelle Hurley and Maliyah Thompson placed third with a time of 48.46, which was just off the season-best time of 48.37. The men's relay team in the 4x400 of Trey Reed, Deshaun Stevens, Aaron Hanible and Max Carmona placed third with a time of 3:19.57. That new time crushes the previous season-best mark by a 4x400 team this year by almost seven full seconds.
Other results from a busy Saturday include Hopwood picking up points in the 100-meter coming in seventh with a time of 12.21.
Popchock added points in the 100-meter hurdles coming in seventh with a time of 14.96.
Hanible just missed a podium spot in the 400-meter hurdles when he crossed at 55.31 to come in fourth. It was a new personal-best for him in the event.
Hunter Hutton also just missed a spot on the podium in the 800-meter. He crossed in fourth with a time of 1:54.22. Max Carmona was right behind in fifth with a time of 1:55.35. Crosswhite placed in seventh with a time of 1:57.23 and Timothy Rambo came in eighth with a time of 1:57.51.
Shayla Solomon was just a few spots back of the podium in the 800-meter coming in fifth with a time of 2:20.48. Ashley Hauger came in eighth with a time of 2:25.67.
In addition to Crosswhite in the 1,500, Hutton was just a spot out of coming in with a podium spot placing fourth with a time of 3:58.83. Rambo came in eighth with a time of 4:04.97.
Hauger competed in the 1,500 placing ninth.
Bailey Smith hit a season-best mark in the 5,000-meter and tallied points crossing in seventh with a time of 15:07.76. Miguel Villar placed 14th and Keanu Daos in 16th.
Sam Cole set a new personal-best in the hammer hitting a mark of 170-1 to come in fourth. It was also a personal-best for Owen Collins in the event hitting a distance of 161-0 to come in sixth. Karsten Collins came in 10th.
Moana Gianotti was close to a podium spot in the hammer with a throw of 148-06 to come in fifth. Liliana Lyness-Morales also competed in the hammer and placed 12th.
Devin Hasher led the Wolves in the high jump hitting a height of 6-3.5 to come in fifth. JJ Walker came in seventh with a height of 6-01.50. Brennen Sorah came in 10th and Eli Nafziger came in 11th.
Nafziger also competed in the javelin and picked up points in the event coming in seventh with a new season-best mark of 168-0.
In addition to Darian Wilson in the javelin, Lyndee McLauchlin was close to a podium spot coming in fifth with a throw of 137-3 for a new season-best mark. Kaylee Wright came in seventh with a throw of 131-9. Krystal Andres placed 11th.
Walker placed fourth in the pole vault just missing a podium spot with a mark of 14-6.25.
In addition to Fields in the triple jump, Marlon Harrison was close to his season-best in the event and was pushing for a podium spot before coming in fifth with a distance of 44-8.75. Jacob Flury was close to his season-best in the event coming in 10th with a distance of 41-4.5. Jake Thompson placed 11th.
Popchock set a new personal-best in the triple jump hitting a mark of 36-8.25 to come in fifth. Lauren Berry also competed in the event and set a new personal-best hitting a distance of 34-3.5 to come in 13th.
Rounding out the final results were the other two relays. The men's 4x100 relay team of Loggins, Hanible, Walker and Jarren Ford came in fifth with a time of 43.02 for a new season-best time. The women's 4x400 relay team of Popchock, Hauger, Hurley and Yonkman came in fifth with a time of 4:03.77 which was a new season-best in the event, improving by over three seconds.
