ELLENSBURG, Wash. --  When Renick Meyer needed a big long jump, she pulled one out – on the last try.
 
When she needed a big javelin throw, she pulled one out – on the last try.
 
And when the Seattle Pacific senior wanted one more Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's heptathlon crown to go along with the one she captured during her freshman season, she pulled one out …
 
… on the last try.

After winning the long jump at 19 feet, 2 inches, and javelin at 108-10, Meyer came up with a solid run in the 800 meters that gave her enough points to fend off a tough challenge from Alaska Anchorage's Elena Cano and wrap up the victory on Tuesday at the Central Washington Recreational Sports Complex.
 
Meyer finished with 4,903 points, beating out Cano's total of 4,855. Western Oregon's Jenelle Hurley, who went back and forth with Meyer for both days of the CWU Wildcat Invitational here on April 16-17 before Meyer finished on top, was third with 4,519.
 
SPU senior Kellie May, who won the shot put portion on Monday and finished second to Meyer in the jav on Tuesday, wound up seventh with 3,944.
 
 

"Renick just came up clutch," Falcons head coach Karl Lerum said. "Comes up on her third long jump, gets a big mark. Comes up on her third javelin throw, gets a big mark. And that 800, it was a stiff wind for sure – that 2:27 (that she ran) is probably four or five seconds faster on a still day.
 
"It was very special to see Renick come back and fight through the year she has had and some out as the best heptathlete in the conference," Lerum added.

That her two GNAC heptathlon championships came at the start and end of her career was not lost on Meyer.
 
"It's a weird full-circle moment – not more special (than the first one), just different," Meyer said. "It was more fun this time just being close with all the other competitors and just having a good time out there. I definitely have more experience, and I got to approach things a lot different.
 
"The win felt very nice to finally see all my hard work the last four years pay off."
 
BREATHING ROOM? NEVER VERY MUCH
Meyer, who won the 100-meter hurdles, was second in the shot put and second in the 200-meter dash on Monday, started the day in second place, but not by much. She and Cano were separated by just three points, 2,841 to 2,838.

 

The long jump is one of her Meyer's best events, But it didn't start out well on Tuesday, as she fouled on her first try while Cano went 18 feet, 8 inches.
 
Meyer came back with an 18-1½ on her second try, while Cano went 18-5¼. Then came the 19-2 on her final attempt.—an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and her first outdoor 19-footer since the 2019 Aztec Open in San Diego, when she also went 19-2.
 
"I don't let that kind of stuff get to me mentally," she said of fouling on the first try. "I just have to stay confident in my runway and my approach and my jumps."
 
Meyer was the only one of the 11 competitors to top 100 feet in the first round of the javelin, going 102-10. But in the second round, senior teammate May took the lead with a toss of 105-2 – the first 100-footer of her career, and more than 10 feet beyond her previous best of 94-6½.
 
Then Cano got into triple-digits in the final round at 103-6 – not enough to catch May, but putting her ahead of Meyer. Undaunted, Meyer answered moments later with a 108-10.
 
That left her 73 points ahead of Cano, 4,176 to 4,103 heading into the meet-ending 800. Just as she did 2½ weeks ago here at the WIldcat Invite, Meyer went out aggressively and led for a good portion of the first lap.
 
She was fourth at the halfway point, and while Cano eventually pulled ahead and finished second, Meyer stayed close enough to her so as preserve her points advantage. Cano's time of 2:25.36 netted 752 points; Meyer's 2:27.30 was worth 727 – a plus-25 for Cano, but not nearly enough to wipe out Meyer's 73-point lead.
 
"Obviously, Elena and I were so close coming into today, I knew I had to really bring it because she is a really tough competitor," Meyer said. "The long I knew was probably going to be my better event, so I had to stay confident for that. The jav, I really just went out there and tried to go for it. By the 800, you just give it all that you have a that point."
 
 

May was especially happy to post the 1-2 finishes with Meyer in the two throwing events, each of them winning one.
 
"It was fun to have a jav PR, because right when I was starting to feel really down, it brought me back up," she said. "I was really happy to be doing it with Renick so we can compete together. The shot was definitely my favorite event of the meet, and again, just doing it with Renick and going 1-2, which is something we didn't think we could do."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Meyer's total of 4,903 points puts her in 13^th place on the NCAA Division II qualifying list. A minimum of 13 will be accept for nationals, and several conference meets still remain on the schedule. Meet officials could add between one and four additional qualifiers if space is available.
-- This was her ninth heptathlon as a Falcon and her fourth victory.
-- The first- and seventh-place finishes by Meyer and May gave Seattle Pacific 12 team points toward the overall GNAC championship. While the heptathlon is complete, all of the other events will take place next Friday and Saturday, May 14 and 15, at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Multi-Event Championships
Monday-Tuesday, May 3-4, 2021
CWU Recreational Sports Complex / Ellensburg, Wash.
 
Team scores (counts toward overall GNAC championship) – 1, Seattle Pacific 12; 2, Central Washington 9; 3, Alaska Anchorage 8; 4, Western Oregon 6; 5, Northwest Nazarene 3; 6, Western Washington 1.
 
HEPTATHLON
Final scores – 1, Renick Meyer (SPU) 4,903#; 2, Elena Cano (UAA) 4.855#; 3, Jenelle Hurley (WOU) 4,519; 4, McCall DeChenne (CWU) 4,383; 5, Hailey Holsey (CWU) 4,321; 6, Jaidyn Kinneeveauk (NNU) 4,167; 7, Kellie May (SPU) 3,944; 8, Leanne Kibbee (WWU) 3,804; 9, Amity Deters (WOU) 3,740; 10, Ellie Earnest (NNU) 3,692; 11, Makenzie Smith (WOU) 2,970.
 
MONDAY EVENTS
100 hurdles – 1, Renick Meyer (SPU) 14.25 (943 points). Other SPU – 7, Kellie May 16.21 (689).
High jump – 1, (tie) Elena Cano (UAA) and Jenelle Hurley (WOU) 5-4¼ / 1.63m (771 points). SPU – 7, (tie) Renick Meyer and Kellie May 4-9 / 1.45m (566).
Shot put – 1, Kellie May (SPU) 34-8¼ / 10.57m (567 points). Other SPU – 2, Renick Meyer 32-5¾ / 9.90m (523).
200 – 1, McCall DeChenne (CWU) 25.75 (819 points). SPU – 2, Renick Meyer 25.90 (806); 10, Kellie May 28.66 (580).
Day 1 scores – 1, Elena Cano (UAA) 2,841; 2, Renick Meyer (SPU) 2,838; 3, Jenelle Hurley (WOU) 2,784. Other SPU – 7, Kelile May 2,402.
 
TUESDAY EVENTS
Long jump – 1, Renick Meyer (SPU) 19-2 / 5.84m# (801 points). Other SPU – 7, Kellie May 16-3 / 4.95m (546).
Javelin – 1, Renick Meyer 108-10 / 33.17m (537 points). Other SPU – 2, Kellie May 105-2 / 32.05m (515).
800 – 1, McCall DeChenne (CWU) 2:19.93 (824 points). SPU – 4, Renick Meyer 2:27.30 (727); 9, Kellie May 2:48.30 (481).