SPOKANE, Wash. – The last time a Seattle Pacific men's 4-by-400 relay team set a school indoor record, Isaiah Archer had barely just come into the world.
 
By the end of Tuesday afternoon, he was sitting on top of it.
 
A couple of hours after breaking his own school standard in the 400-meter dash – which had stood for all of two weeks – he was the anchor man on the 4-by-4 squad that erased the record which had stood for two decades.
 
But all of that was only part of the story for the Falcons on the final day of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships at The Podium, as David Njeri won his second straight triple jump title, and Vanessa Aniteye cruised to the 800-meter crown.
 
Those two wins were expected as Njeri and Aniteye were the big favorites to win, and both of them delivered.
 
But a new relay record wasn't necessarily on the radar.
 
Julius Shepherd, Evan Carpenter, Jeff Gordon, and Archer teamed up to finish their eight-lap trip around the 200-meter banked oval in 3 minutes, 20.86 seconds.
 
Their time, with Shepherd finishing his leadoff 400 in 50.22 seconds, followed by Carpenter in 51.12, Gordon in 51.00, and Archer in 48.52 was fast enough to beat the old SPU mark of 3:21.25 set by Micah Kellcy, Scott Van Hess, Chris Randolph, and Paul Mach in 2003.
 
Based on the information available from prior GNAC meets dating back to 2004 (the first year the conference sponsored indoor track), this was the first time a Falcon men's 4-by-4 had earned top-3 podium finish.
 
In fact, a place on the podium was SPU's primary aim. The school record was the icing.
 
 

"I didn't even know what the 4-by-4 record was," said Archer, who was just a few months old when the previous record was set. "We just wanted to get out there and get a medal. I didn't want to lose that medal contention, so I just wanted to hang onto third place.
 
"I was just really happy for all the guys – they all ran really well."
 
For head coach Karl Lerum, what the relay runners did was one thing. How they did it is what ultimately made it a memorable moment.
 
 

"Those guys called their shots, and they said they were going to do it," Lerum said. "Watching them running their best time of the year and rubbing shoulders with a couple other very good relays was absolutely the highlight of the day for me.. (Central Washington won in 3:19.15; Western Washington was second in 3:19.20.) They had done pretty well, but this was significantly better than that."
 
Archer got his day started with his record-setting race in the 400. Competing in the first of the two-section finals, each with four runners, Archer won his in 48.78 seconds, erasing the mark of 49.15 that he set on Feb. 11 at the Husky Classic. On Tuesday, he wound up second overall, as Alaska Anchorage's Kevin Angarita won the second section in 48.70.
 
"I didn't run as fast as I wanted to yesterday (49.75 in the prelims)," Archer said. "I got to the break a little faster today, then me and the Central guy (Austin Albertine) just kind of battled it out the last 200."
 
TAKING A BIG LEAD, THEN KEEPING IT
Njeri effectively put the triple jump title into his pocket with his very first attempt, as he went 48 feet even.  No one else ever came close, as runner-up Gabe Menicke of Western Washington was two feet behind him at 46-0¾. That was still well behind Njeri's second-best jump of the day, 46-10¼.
 
 

"I felt really good and just expected to come I and go off on that first jump," Njeri said. "I had a low shin injury, and I wasn't landing well on my other jumps. It always takes the pressure off (with a solid first jump)."
 
On Monday, Njeri went a personal-best 22-7 ¼ for fifth place in the long jump. He did just the three preliminary rounds, then passed on the final three to shift his focus back to the triple.
 
"Coach said just do three just to get a feel for the runway," Njeri said. "It was still an indoor personal best, so I'll take that."
 
 

Aniteye, as expected, literally ran away from everyone in the 800 meters. She was three-plus seconds ahead of Simon Fraser's Megan Roxby after the first of four laps, and stretched it out from there. She got to the finish line in 2:08.71, with Roxby next in 2:14.22.
 
"I think that was the plan for the day, to take the race from the start and get out fast, and I did that," Aniteye said. "That was the plan, but I did think someone would maybe push me a little more."
 
The next stop for Aniteye will be the NCAA Division II nationals on March 10-11 in Virginia Beach, Va.
 
"All of the work has been done. Now it's just executing it and fine-tuning some things and working on being mentally tough," she said in looking ahead to NCAAs.
 
 

It was a doubly good day for senior distance runner Libby Michael. She made the top-3 awards podium in both of her races. Michael started off with a second-place finish in the mile, clocking 5:06.96, and giving Roxby a run for it. Roxby crossed the line in 5:05.63.
 
"The mile was definitely a surprise, but I ended up feeling really good during the race," Michael said. "I had expected the top-seeded girls to take it out fast. But instead, they sat behind and it was more of a tactical race. I was able to put myself in a good position and get second."
 
Michael then raced to third place in the 3000 meters, going the distance in 10:18.94.
 
"I know I was seeded pretty well for the 3K (No. 2), but I was also pretty tired after running the mile, so that was a fight," Michael said.

AND THAT'S NOT ALL
-- SPU finished fifth in the women's team standings with 60 points. The men were seventh with 38½. Western Oregon won both titles, edging Western Washington for both: 122-117 on the women's side, 131-125 on the men's.
-- Coming off a long day on Monday when she did seven events (the pentathlon, plus the long jump and the open 60-meter hurdles), freshman Hannah Chang came up with a personal-best time of 9.10 seconds in the hurdles finals to take fourth place. She was the No. 7 seed coming into the title race. Chang and Alaska Anchorage;s Blanca De Arvizu Saarios were both listed at 9.10 on the final results, but the UAA runner got the third-place spot by a scant one-thousandth of a second – 9.096 to 9.097.
-- The women's 4-by-400 relay made the podium with a third-place finish. Aniya Green, Marissa Crane, Johanna Brown, and Vanessa Aniteye went 3:53.54
-- Green timed a personal-best 25.63 to take sixth place in the women's 200-meter dash.
-- Jeff Gordon placed eighth in the men's 200 meters in 22.46.
-- Brad Bowman and Kainoa Lee got into the points for the men's pole vault, both by clearing 14 feet, 1¾ inches. Bowman tied for fourth place, and Lee was sixth, based on the fewer-misses tiebreaker. Bowman's mark was his first indoor 14-footer.
-- Darius Holmes completed his first multi-event competition taking eighth in the men's heptathlon. Holmes totaled 3,861 points. On Tuesday, he was ninth in the 60-meter hurdles, fifth in the pole vault, and sixth in the 1,000-meter run.
 
UP NEXT
The outdoor season begins on Saturday, March 4, in the Ed Boitano Invitational at the University of Puget Sound. First events are at 11:00 a.m.


NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Championships
Monday, Feb. 20, 2023
The Podium / Spokane, Wash.
 
Final team scores (through 17 of 17 events) – 1, Western Oregonn 122; 2, Western Washington 117; 3, Simon Fraser 110; 4, Central Washington 90; 5, Seattle Pacific 60; 6, Northwest Nazarene 54; 7, Saint Martin's 39; 8, Alaska Anchorage 36½; 9, Montana State Billings 31½..
 
TUESDAY FINALS
60 – 1, Marie-Eloise Leclair (Simon) 7.33 (GNAC record and GNAC meet record, breaks old records of 7.38 set by Leclair in Monday's preliminaries).  No SPU.
200 – 1, Marie-Eloise Leclair (Simon) 23.63 (GNAC record, breaks old record of 23.80 set by LeClair in 2023; GNAC meet record, breaks old record of 24.09 set by Jamie Ashcroft of UAA in 2017).  SPU – 6, Aniya Green 25.63.
400 – 1, Claire Bosma (Simon) 57.90.  No SPU.
800 – 1, Vanessa Aniteye (SPU) 2:08.71.  No other SPU.
Mile – 1, Megan Roxby (Simon) 5:05.63.  SPU – 2, Libby Michael 5:06.96; 18, Maya Ewing 5:36.05; 19, Katelyn Flolo 5:36.90.
3000 – 1, Ila Davis (WWU) 10:14.61.  SPU – 3, Libby Michael 10:18.94; 11, Matise Mulch 10:36.20.
60 hurdles – 1, Lauryn Chandler (CWU) 8.57.  SPU – 4, Hannah Chang 9.10.
4x400 relay – 1, Simon Fraser 3:48.10.  SPU – 3, Seattle Pacific (Aniya Green, Marissa Crane, Johanna Brown, Vanessa Aniteye) 3:53.54.
High jump – 1, Jenelle Hurley (WOU) 5-5 ¼ / 1.66m.  No SPU
Triple jump – 1, Ana Popchock (WOU) 38-2 ¾ / 11.65m.  No SPU.
Shot put – 1, Destany Herbert (NNU) 44-7 / 13.59m.  No SPU.
  
MONDAY FINALS
5000 – 1, Meaera Shannon (WWU) 17:55.64.  SPU – 7, Matise Mulch 18:36.06.
4000 distance medley relay – 1, Western Washington 11:59.03.  SPU – 8, Seattle Pacific (Maya Ewing, Marissa Crane, Charisma Smith, Katelyn Flolo) 13:05.29.
Pole vault – 1, Kinsey Yenor (NNU) 12-2 ¾ / 3.73.  SPU – 2, Kayla Tassara 11-9 / 3.58m; 3, Lizzy Daugherty 11-9 / 3.58m (Tassasra gets higher place on fewer misses); 4, Charlie Hill 10-9 / 3.28m.
Long jump – 1, Ujunua Nowkoma (WOU) 19-0 / 5.79m.  SPU – 23, Hannah Chang 15-1 ¼ / 4.60m.
Weight throw – 1, Raine Westfall (WWU) 54-6 ½ / 16.62m.  No SPU.
 

PENTATHLON
Final standings – 1, Jenelle Hurley (WOU) 3,585; 2, Matty Lagerwey (WWU) 3,129; 3, Sarah Sewell (CWU) 3,003; 4, Amity Deters (WOU) 2,979; 5, Ellie DeGroot (CWU) 2,964; 6, Macy Clemens (WOU) 2,922; 7, Carly Huber (CWU) 2,889 8, Amaryah Clay (WOU) 2,861; 9, Hannah Chang (SPU) 2,852; 10, Nicole Avery (WWU) 2,841; 11, Emily Powers (NNU) 2,650.
 
Pentathlon 60-meter hurdles – 1, Jenelle Hurley (WOU) 9.16 (877 points).  SPU – T2, Hannah Chang 9.25 (858).
Pentathlon high jump – 1, Hurley (WOU) 5-4 ½ / 1.64m (783 points).  SPU – 10, Chang 4-7 / 1.40m.
Pentathlon shot put – 1 Matty Lagerwey (WWU) 35-10 / 10.92m (590 points).  SPU – 10, Chang 26-3 / 8.00m (399).
Pentathlon long jump – 1, Hurley 18-5 ¼ / 5.62m (735 points).  SPU – 10, Chang 15-9 / 4.80m (506).
Pentathlon 800 – 1, Sarah Sewell (CWU) 2:21.90 (798 points).  SPU – 6, Chang 2:39.62 (577).
 
 
NCAA MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Championships
Monday, Feb. 20, 2023
The Podium / Spokane, Wash.
 
Final team scores (through 17 of 17 events) – 1, Western Oregon 131; 2, Western Washington 125; 3, Northwest Nazarene 121; 4, Central Washington 76½; 5, Simon Fraser 65; 6, Alaska Anchorage 53; 7, Seattle Pacific 38½; 8, Montana State Billings 31; 9, Saint Martin's 22.
 
TUESDAY FINALS
60 – 1, Dominique Loggins (WOU) 6.87.  No SPU.
200 – 1, Jesaiah Penson-Mccoy (Simon) 21.77.  SPU – 8, Jeff Gordon 22.46.
400 – 1, Kevin Angarita (UAA) 48.70.  SPU – 2, Isaiah Archer 48.78 (school record, breaks old record of 49.15 set by Archer on Feb. 11, 2023).
800 – 1, Drew Weber (WWU) 1:52.53.  No SPU.
Mile – 1, Charlie Dannatt (Simon) 4:06.21.  SPU – 16, Jon Owen 4:27.53.
3000 – 1, Cole Nash (UAA) 8:18.32.  SPU – 20, Colin Boutin 8:58;95; 26, Brennan LeBlanc 9:18.52; 27, Rory McClelland 9:21.88.
60 hurdles – 1, Justin Conklin (WOU) 8.33.  No SPU.
4x400 relay – 1, Central Washington 3:19.15.  SPU – 3, Seattle Pacific (Julius Shepherd, Evan Carpenter,  Jeff Gordon, Isaiah Archer) 3:20.86 (school record, breaks old record of 3:21.25 set by Micah Kellcy, Scott Van Hess, Chris Randolph, Paul Mach in 2003).
Pole vault – 1, Braydon Maier (CWU) 15-5 ¾ / 4.72m.  SPU – T4, Brad Bowman 14-1 ¾ / 4.31m; 6, Kainoa Lee 14-1 ¾ / 4.31m.
Triple jump – 1, David Njeri (SPU) 48-0 / 14.63m.  No other SPU.
Shot put – 1, Dayne Gordien (WOU) 53-2 ¾ / 16.22m.  No SPU.
.
MONDAY FINALS
5000 – 1, Cole Nash (UAA) 14:17.09.  SPU – 13, Colin Boutin 15:57.53.
4000 distance medley relay – 1, Simon Fraser 10:12.48.  SPU – 8, Seattle Pacific (Jon Owen, Evan Carpenter, Kade Franco, Brennan LeBlanc) 10:54.30
High jump – 1, Georhm Rihari (NNU) 6-6 ¼ / 1.99m.  No SPU.
Long jump – 1, Steven Schmidt (WOU) 22-10 ¾ / 6.98m.  SPU – 5, David Njeri 22-7 ¼ / 6.89m
Weight throw – 1, Dylan Hendry (NNU) 57-6 ½ / 17.54m.  No SPU.
 

HEPTATHLON
Final standings (through 7 of 7 events) – 1, Steven Schmidt (NNU) 5,386; 2, Braydon Maier (CWU) 4,831; 3, Drew Klein (CWU) 4,540; 4, Andrew Boyd (STM) 4,451; 5, Gabe Burchfield (WOU) 4,399; 6, Brennen Sorah (WOU) 4,037; 7, Ty Abernathy (WOU) 3,935; 8, Darius Holmes (SPU) 3,861; 9, JJ Walker (WOU) 3,459.
 
Monday standings (through 4 of 7 events) – 1, Steven Schmidt (NNU) 3,079; 2, Braydon Maier (CWU) 2,678; 3, Gabe Burchfield (WOU) 2,598; 4, Darius Holmes (SPU) 2,594; 5, Andrew Boyd (Saint Martin's) 2,575; 6, Brennen Sorah (WOU) 2,533; 7, Drew Klein (CWU) 2,414; 8, JJ Walker (WOU) 2,372; 9, Ty Abernathy (WOU) 2,129.
 
MONDAY EVENTS
Heptathlon 60-meter dash – 1, Darius Holmes (SPU) 7.14 (833 points).
Heptathlon long jump – 1, Steven Schmidt (NNU) 21-7 ½ / 6.59m (718 points).  SPU – 4, Darius Holmes 21-2 / 6.45m (686).
Heptathlon shot put – 1, Schmidt (NNU) 41-1 / 12.52m (638 points).  SPU – 7, Holmes 34-5 / 10.49m (515).
Heptathlon high jump – 1, Schmidt (NNU) 7-0 ¼ / 2.14m (934 points).   SPU – 7, Holmes 5-7 ¾ / 1.72m (560).
 
TUESDAY EVENTS
60-meter hurdles – 1, Braydon Maier (CWU) 8.43 (877 points).  SPU – 9, Darius Holmes 12.89 (129).
Pole vault – 1, Maier (CWU) 14-3 ¼ / 4.35m (716 points).  SPU – 5, Darius Holmes 12-7 ½ / 3.85m (576).
1000 – 1, Ty Abernathy (WOU) 2:45.65 (812 points).  SPU – 6, Holmes 3:10.83 (562).