ELLENSBURG, Wash. --- The Western Oregon track and field teams claimed four more individual titles – two for the men, two for the women – at the GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday at the campus of Central Washington.
MEN
The WOU men's track and field team took home a pair of titles – one by a senior wrapping up his career and the other by a freshman just getting his collegiate career going.
Senior
Mark Warren became the first WOU athlete to win the men's hammer throw since Anthony Marin in 2007 when he took home the title Saturday with a mark of 57.16 meters (187 feet, 6 inches) – nearly four feet further than second place. Warren also earned points for the Wolves in the shot put, taking sixth place (13.85 meters, 45-5.25).
The other title came from freshman
Brennen Murphy who set a PR in the 400 with a time of 49.09 seconds – the fourth-fastest time in WOU history and the Wolves' first men's 400 title since 2017.
Amari Hendrix took fifth in the event for WOU as well (49.65).
The WOU men had a trio of second-place finishes with freshman
Elwood Hosking taking second in the 1,500 (3:53.62),
JJ Walker set a PR in the pole vault and took second at 4.83 meters (15-10 – the fourth-best mark in WOU history) and
Justin Conklin took second in the 110 hurdles with a PR of 14.60 – moving from eighth to third on the WOU all-time list and the fastest time in the event since Damien Davis in 2003 (14.54).
In the 800, WOU had a trio of freshmen in the finals with
Isaiah Rodriguez taking third (1:52.33), Hosking taking sixth (1:55.31) and
Grant Bohannon taking seventh.
Alex Driesner took fourth in the 200 21.70 – moving him to ninth on the WOU all-time list and
Deshaun Stevens used a PR in the triple jump of 14.06 meters (46-1.5) to take fourth in the event (
Tyler White took sixth – 13.49,
Ping Koonantha took seventh – 13.36).
As for the releays, the 4x100 team of
Thomas Johnson, Driesner, Hendrix and
Brennen Murphy took third in a time of 41.28 – fourth all-time at WOU – while the 4x400 team of Le, Rodriguez, Hendrix and Murphy took third in 3:19.33.
The WOU men took third place with 120 points – finishing behind only Western Washington (238) and Central Washington (185).
WOMEN
The women's team won a pair of individual titles with
Madeline Lambing claiming the 400 hurdles with a PR of 1:02.02 – the second-fastest time in WOU history – while
Amity Deters became the first WOU female athlete to win the high jump since 2004 with a PR of 1.67 meters (5-5.75).
Kalulusno Ngaida took fourth in the high jump (1.62/5-3.75).
Ujunwa Nwokoma, coming off her long jump title Friday, used a PR to take second in the triple jump at 12.28 meters (40-3.5) – the second-best mark in WOU history and 17
th in D-II this season.
Marilyn Ramirez-Carmona took third in discus with a PR of 134-10 (41.11 meters) - 10
th all-time at WOU – while
Krystal Andres took fourth at 39.24 meters (128-09).
Also scoring points for WOU was
Amelia Merritt who took fifth in the 800 (2:16.93) while
Caitlin Heldt took sixth in the 5,000 (18:21.13).
The WOU women took third place with 117 points – finishing behind only Western Washington (212) and Central Washington (146).
The NCAA will announce its field for the NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Tuesday. The national committee will select student-athletes from the declared descending-order list to fill the fields
- Minimum field sizes
- 20 for individual events
- 16 for combined events
- 14 for relays
- Maximum field sizes
- 24 for individual events,
- 18 for relays
- 16 for combined events
