THE SCHEDULE
                                        Seattle Pacific at GNAC Championships
                                 Friday-Saturday, May 13-14, 2022
                                 CWU Recreation Sports Complex / Ellensburg, Wash.
                                 FRIDAY: Field events, 10:30 a.m.   Track events, 3:00 p.m.
                                 SATURDAY: Field events, 10:15 a.m.    Track events, 2:45 p.m.
                                 No live Webcast        Live results

                                            
SEATTLE – It's still 400 meters around the oval. But this year, the oval is in a different location for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Track & Field Championships.
 
That location is across the Cascade Mountains in Ellensburg, as athletes will gather at the CWU Recreation Sports Complex for this weekend's meet, set for Friday and Saturday.
 
On Friday, field events begin at 10:30 a.m. with the women's long jump. The first track race is the 3000-meter women's steeplechase at 3:00 p.m. First up for SPU will be the women's 400-meter dash preliminaries at 4:05. The last event of the day is the men's 10,000 meters at 7:25.
 
Saturday's schedule in the field gets going at 10:15 a.m. with the men's triple jump. The women's 4-by-100 relay starts the day on the track at 2:45 p.m. The last race is the men's 4-by-400 relay at 5:45, followed by the awards ceremony at 6:00.
 
The past 13 GNAC meets have been at McArthur Field on the Western Oregon University campus in Monmouth. Central has hosted the meet twice previously, in 2006 and 2008, at Tomlinson Stadium.
 
KEEPING TRACK OF THE ACTION
Live results will be available from both days of the meet. The appropriate link is at the top of this story. The meet will not have a live Webcast..
  
EVEN EASTERN WASHINGTON IS COOL AND CLOUDY
OK, so second weekend of May in Eastern Washington. Should be nice and warm, right? Maybe even hot.
 
Nope. Not this year. The forecast calls for temperatures of 58 degrees on Friday under partly sunny skies, then edging up to 64 on Saturday when it will be mostly cloudy. : 58 on Friday under partly sunny skies, and 59 on Saturday under complete cloud dover. Winds could be a factor both days, with gusts up 15 miles per hour.

GETTING THERE
The CWU Complex is located at 1776 N. Wildcat Way. A sizable parking lot (U8) is located next to the facility and is accessible from Wildcat Way and Walnut Avenue, across from the CWU Pool. There is also a gravel parking lot adjacent to Tomlinson Stadium on the corner of 18th and Walnut. Seating is in the set of bleachers located along the homestretch. The throwing area is separate from the track and can be reached with a short walk.
 
POINTING TOWARD THE POINTS
Simon Fraser would love to make it an indoor-outdoor women's team title sweep, but Western Washington is going to have plenty to say about that. It is, for all practical purposes, a dead heat between those two. The Vikings are seeded for 135½ points, Simon is seeded for 131½. WWU has three top-ranked entry marks and is slated to score in 16 of the 21 events. Simon Fraser has six No. 1 marks and is seeded for points in 14 of the 21 events.
 
A close race for third also is at hand, with Western Oregon seeded for 116 points, Seattle Pacific for 115, and Alaska Anchorage for 101. The Falcons have five top seeds (two for Annika Esvelt), plus a co-No. 1 in the pole vault for Lizzy Daugherty. Western Oregon has a pair of No. 1s, and Anchorage has four.
 
Western Washington remains the runaway No. 1 favorite on the men's side, seeded for 203 points, The Vikings are clearly getting it done with their depth, as they have just three top-seeded marks, but are in the points for 20 of the 21 events (all except the hammer). Closest to them is Northwest Nazarene with 113.
 
Seattle Pacific is seeded for 56 ½ points, with No. 1 marks for David Njeri in the triple jump and Isaiah Archer in the 400-meter dash.
 
SCOUTING THE GNAC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS
Very few events in a championship meet are ever a "sure thing" – too many variables, too many unexpected twists can knock a top contender out of the running or lift a lower-ranked competitor all the way to a title.
 
That said, SPU distance star Annika Esvelt is about as solid a favorite as one can be. She is the top seed in the 10,000 meters by a margin of 4 minutes, 21 seconds with her national top-10 time of 34:20.76. The closest one to her on the GNAC list is Sara Sabra of Saint Martin's at 38:41.95. Then in the 5000, Esvelt, with her entry time of 16:14.31 (also national top 10) is 1 minute, 35 seconds clear of her nearest challenger, Western Washington's Ila Davis at 17:49.45.
 
 

Vanessa Aniteye, who earlier this year set the school record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.60, is the top seed for that event, with a slight edge on Simon Fraser's Emily Lindsay at 55.01. Sophomore Aniya Green, coming off a personal-best 58.88 at last week's Portland Twilight, is No. 6.
 
 

Peace Igbonagwam is the one to beat in the long jump, thanks to her national-qualifying mark of 19 feet, 8¼ inches on this very same CWU runway at the Wildcat Invitational on April 23. But Western Oregon's Jenelle Hurley also has gone 19 feet this spring, and Western Washington's Matty Lagerwey has logged an 18-8¾. Igbonagwam also is in the 100-meter dash.
 
Igbonagwam, Aniteye, Green, and Jenna Bouyer (in that order) come in as the top seed in the 4-by-100 relay. They've run it five times together, starting the season at 47.37 on March 12, and now getting it all the way down to 46.43 on April 30. That same foursome (albeit in a different order) is the No. 2 seed in the 4-by-400 at 3:45.91. Simon Fraser is the team to beat at 3:42.35.
 
 

Along with the relay, Bouyer is the No. 3 seed in the 100 and the 200 dashes. Marie-Eloise Leclair of Simon Fraser is ranked No. 1 in both, at 11.88 for the 100 (Bouyer's time is 12.09) and 24.30 in the 200 (24.68 for Bouyer). Igbonagwam (No 4 at 24.77) and Aniteye (No 6 at 25.19) also are in the 200.
 
 

Sophomore Lizzy Daugherty is the co-No. 1 seed in the pole vault. She and Northwest Nazarene's Kinsey Yenor both have cleared 12 feet, 4 inches, Daugherty having done so last weekend at the Linfield Open. Right on their heels is NNU's Julie Cheney at 12-3½, and Madison Licari of the Falcons is No. 4 at 12-0. SPU's Charlie Hill, who won the indoor pole vault crown in February, is co-No. 6 at 11-5¾.
 
 

Ellie Rising is the No. 2 seed in the 800 meters. She won it last year, but just as Esvelt is the overwhelming favorite in the longer distance races, so is Simon Fraser's Alison Andrews-Paul in this one with her national-leading time of 2:01.43. Rising is next at 2:11.83. She also is seeded No. 5 in the 1500. Andrews-Paul is No. 1 in that race, as well, at 4:21.29 – and just like the 800, it's by a 10-second margin, with Western Washington's Mia Crocker at No. 2.
 
Along with SPU in what is looming as a three-way battle for third place, Western Oregon has two top seeds and is in the points in 17 of the 21 events. That includes the 18 the Wolves already have scored in the heptathlon with four of the top eight placers. Alaska Anchorage has three No. 1 seeds, and already has picked up Elena Cano's victory in the heptathlon. Of the remaining 20 events, the Seawolves are slated to score in 14 of them.
 
SCOUTING THE GNAC MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS
It was expected that David Njeri of the Falcons would be the top seed in the triple jump as he goes for his second straight outdoor title – and he is the top seed, with room to spare, with his mark of 49 feet, 10 inches at the Fresno State Invitational on April 30.The closest one to him is Josh Schulz of Saint Martin's at 45-11¼.
 
In addition to winning another crown, Njeri is aiming to become just the second GNAC athlete ever to go 50 feet in the triple. The only one to get there so far is Wesley Gray of Western Oregon at 50-10¼ in 2015.
 
But the Falcons have two No. 1 seeds for the meet – the second of which was not expected. It belongs to freshman Isaiah Archer in the 400-meter dash.
 
 

Archer ran a lifetime best 49.17 seconds last Saturday at the Portland Twilight meet, which had him No. 4 on the GNAC list. But of the three runners above him, Enrique Campbell of Alaska Anchorage opted for the 100 and 200 (he's the top seed in both), Austin Albertin of Central Washington opted for the 400 hurdles (he's the top seed in that race), and Calum Robinson of Simon Fraser, whose time of 47.61 was the to time in the conference, is not competing. Archer is one of five runners in the 49s (ranging from his 49.17 to 49.96).
 
 

Kainoa Lee is the co-No. 2 seed in the pole vault with his personal-best height of 14 feet, 10 inches on April 9 at the PLU Invitational. Central Washington's Jacob Thompson also has gone that high. The one to beat is Kacey Provo of Western Washington. He has gotten over at 15-5¾. Brad Bowman of the Falcons is the No. 5 seed after recording his first 14-footer of the season (14-1¾) at last Saturday's Linfield Open.
 
 

Colin Boutin has scored in the 10,000 meters all three times he has run it at GNAC: eighth in 2018, then fifth in 2019 and 2021. He's the No. 3 seed this time with his personal-best 31:11.10 at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 14. That puts him close to No. 2 seed Jesus Avalos of Alaska Anchorage. Cole Nash of UAA is was out ahead at 29:24.40.
 
Jeff Gordon is seeded No. 5 in the 200 at 22.06 and co-No. 6 in the 100 at 10.90. He made the awards podium in the 200 last year, finishing third with his current personal-best of 22.02. He has gone 22.06 this season.

SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- In the previous 18 GNAC meets, Seattle Pacific (11), Western Oregon (4) and Alaska Anchorage (3) are the . The first conference meet was in 2002. It did not take place in 2009 (swine flu) or 2020 (coronavirus).only schools to win the women's team title
-- Last year, the Falcon women won 11 of the 21 events, which included both relays and the heptathlon.
-- Of those, Jenna Bouyer (100) and Ellie Rising (800) are back. Bouyer is the No. 3 seed (she's also No. 3 in the 200), and Rising is No. 2 in the 800.
-- SPU picked up one win on the men's side with David Njeri in the triple jump.
-- Njeri owns the GNAC outdoor and indoor triple jump crowns simultaneously. He won the indoor version in February with a mark of 46 feet, 10¼ inches.
-- The men now have an individual winner in two straight meets. In addition to Njeri in the triple jump last year, Jesse Phan won the 800 in 2019.
-- They finished with 44 points last year, taking sixth place. That was their highest total since tallying 34 in 2012. The last time SPU scored more than 40 was in 2011 with 63.
 
FALCONS HAVE A FEEL FOR THE PLACE
For the majority of the competitors, this will be their first time at the Central Washington facility. It opened in 2019 and hosted a small invitational plus the GNAC Mulit-Event Championships. The 2020 season was canceled.
 
Last spring, SPU and Western Washington came over for the Wildcat Invitational, and the multi-event portion of GNAC took place here again.
 
Then three weeks ago, a partial squad of the Falcons came Ellensburg for the Wildcat Invite, along with athletes from WWU and Saint Martin's. SPU picked up a pair of wins that day: one from senior Peace Igbonagwam in the long jump with her best-ever distance of 19 feet, 8 ¼ inches to put her high on the NCAA provisional qualifying list. Along with her victory in that event, Ellie Rising won the 1500 meters.
 
POLE POSITION
SPU's all-time outdoor top 10 in the pole vault has a decidedly different look as of this moment, thanks to the current crop of vaulters.
 
Lizzy Daugherty's clearance of 12 feet, 4 inches at last Saturday's Linfield Open took her from not even in the top 10 all the way up a tie for No. 3 on the all-time list. Ally Studer also went that high in 2003. Madison Licari currently is in the No. 10 spot after her first-ever 12-footer, that coming on April 15 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California.
 
On the men's side, Kainoa Lee is at No. 4, thanks to his 14-10 mark on April 9 at the PLU Invitational. Coming into the spring, he had cleared 14 feet four times indoors, with a high of 14-7¼ for fourth place at the GNAC Championships in February, but had never gone that high outdoors. He took care of that right away, starting off with a 14-2 at the PLU Open on March 12. That put him at No. 9.
 
On April 1 at the West Coast Relays in Clovis, California, Lee got over at 14-7½. That elevated him to No. 4. His 14-10 the following week at PLU kept him in that spot. The next rung up is 14-11 by Ray Zoellick in 2011.  Seattle Pacific's all-time leader is 15-11 by Bill Spaet in 1973, followed by Chris Randolph's 15-5 in 2005.

Brad Bowman is No. 5 at 14-6¼, which he hit last season.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Whether it's getting onto the NCAA qualifying list, or moving up that list, this is the final weekend to do that.
 
For the Division II nationals, scheduled for May 26-28 in Allendale, Michigan, the "desired minimum" number of participants for individual events is 20 (maximum of 24); the desired minimum for relays is 14 (maximum 18). Typically, some events do wind up adding athletes beyond the minimum in order to reach 377 athletes per gender. However, no event is guaranteed any additional entries, so the best way to secure a spot is to be above that "desired minimum" cutoff line
 
Several Falcons already have made the provisional qualifying standard. (There are no longer automatic standards.)
 
-- Vanessa Aniteye is No. 12 in the women's 400-meter dash at 54.60. No. 1 time: 52.40.  No. 20 time: 55.13.
-- Annika Esvelt is No. 8 in the women's 5000 meters at 16:14.31.No. 1 time: 15:28.41.  No. 20 time: 16:34.39.
-- Esvelt is No. 9 in the 10,000 at 34:20.76. No. 1 time: 32:50.06.  No. 20 time: 35:09.77.
-- Peace Igbonagwam is tied for No. 14 in the long jump at 19-8¼ / 6.00m.  No. 1 mark: 21-7½ / 6.59m.  No. 20 mark: 19-6¾ / 5.96m.
-- David Njeri is No. 12 in the men's triple jump at 49-10 / 15.19m. No. 1 mark: 53-8¼ / 16.36m.  No. 20 mark: 49-3 / 15.01m..
-- Ellie Rising is No. 42 in the women's 800 at 2:11.83. No. 1 time: 2:01.43.  No. 20 time: 2:09.81.
-- Women's 4-by-100 relay: The team of Peace Igbonagwam, Vanessa Aniteye, Aniya Green, and Jenna Bouyer is No. 19 at 46.43.  No. 1 time: 44.65. No. 14 time: 46.19.
-- Women's 4-by-400 relay: The team of Igbonagwam, Bouyer, Green, and Aniteye is No. 14 at 3:45.91. No. 1 time: 3:38.36.
 
Aniteye also is No. 35 on the 800 qualifying list, and Esvelt is No. 52 on the 1500 list, but neither of them is running those events this week.
 
Click on this link for a complete look at national qualifiers.
 
ONE MORE SHOT AT IT
Several Falcons have come close to breaking milestone barriers in their particular events this spring, but haven't quite gotten there yet. All of them will have at least one more try (two for any sprinters who make the finals) this weekend.
 
--Evan Carpenter sub-50 seconds in the men's 400-meter dash (personal-best 50.27).
--Colin Boutin sub-15 minutes in the men's 5000 (PB 15:05.23).
--Boutin sub-31 minutes in the men's 10,000 (PB 31:11.10).
--Jeff Gordon sub-22 seconds in the men's 200 dash (PB 22.02).
--Peace Igbonagwam sub-12 seconds in the women's 100 dash (PB 12.17).
--Jon Owen sub-4 minutes in the men's 1500 (PB 4:01.36).
 
ON THE HONOR ROLL                                                                                                                                                                            
Lizzy Daugherty, who set a personal-best by 13 3/4 inches in the pole vault last Saturday, was named the GNAC Women's Field Athlete of the Week. Daugherty cleared 12 feet, 4 inches to win the event at the Linfield Open in Monmouth.
 
She is the third Falcon to earn an Athlete of the Week award this spring – all in the field events. David Njeri (April 4) and Peace Igbonagwam (April 25) are the other two.

POLLING PLACE
The Seattle Pacific women are ranked No. 36 on this week's national list compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Azusa Pacific remains No. 1. Conference rival Simon Fraser is No. 16 and is the only GNAC team above SPU.
 
The Falcons remain No. 10 on the West Region list. Azusa Pacific is well out in front there, with Simon Fraser at No. 5 and Western Washington at No. 7.
 
The rankings are computer-generated and are based on season performances rather than voting by coaches.
 
UP NEXT
The NCAA Division II nationals are set for Thursday through Saturday, May 26-28, at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Michigan. Declarations for those who have posted provisional qualifying marks are due on Monday, May 16. The announcement of who has been accepted into the meet will be released on Tuesday sometime between noon and 3:00 p.m. Pacific time. A story about Seattle Pacific athletes who have been chosen for the meet will be posted as soon as possible after the NCAA's official announcement.