ELLENSURG, Wash. – As she headed to the starting line for the100-meter hurdles finals, Hannah Chang's race plan was all of four words:
 
First place …
 
… or nothing.
 
Talk about a perfect plan.
 
The Seattle Pacific sophomore burst into the lead coming out of the blocks and kept it all the way to the wire, winning the title at the Great Northwest Athletic Championships on Saturday afternoon in 13.88 seconds – the fourth-fastest time in school history.
 
"Sometimes, you can see it coming in practice, and she certainly has been trending the right way," Falcons head coach Karl Lerum said. "But she still has to come out here and do it on the day and do something she has never done before. She had to find a completely different rhythm to run that pace. Fantastic."
 
Chang came into the title race as the No. 4 seed among the eight finalists with the 14:41 that she posted in Friday's preliminaries. Her best-ever time was 14.30, recorded on this same track at the Central Washington Recreation Sports Complex just three weeks ago at the Wildcat Invitational.
 
Having earned a bronze medal in last week's GNAC heptathlon – seven events over the course of two days – Chang came into this week's competition with only the 100 hurdles on her docket.
 




She certainly was not the favorite. That status belonged to defending champion Lauryn Chandler. She already had a pair of sub-14s this season, with a best of 13.95 in late March. Chandler had the top time in Friday's prelims at 14.10.
 
Also seeded ahead of Chang in the finals were No. 2 Liv Heite of Alaska Anchorage (14.32) and Maliyah Thompson of Western Oregon (14.34).
 

Chang outsprinted all of them. She had the only sub-14 on a warm, gusty day when all times were wind-aided. Coming closest to her 13.88 was Heite at 14.28. Chandler was third at 14.30. Thompson did not start.

"When I was visualizing my race last night and today, I really just told myself it's first place or nothing," Chang said, "because I kept getting fourth place last year indoors and outdoors. So I was just going to give it my all today. Karl said just be first to the hurdles and sprint all the way through."
 
Chang burst out of the starting blocks, had the lead at the first hurdle and stayed in front all the way to the finish line.
 
"It was like my best start all season," Chang said. "I think I hit Hurdle 2 looking at the video, but I just pushed through."
 
Anchorage's Heite started to close the gap approaching the final few meters, but Chang had enough to get there first.
 
"I was just trying to black out what was going on around me and just focus on getting to the finish line," Chang said.
 
All spring, she had said that her goal time was 14.22, which was the NCAA qualifying standard. Turns out she had something else in mind … something faster.
 
"I've been telling myself 13.99 all season – that was my secret goal behind the 14.22," Chang said. "(Going) 13.8 – I couldn't even imagine that."
 




A GOLD FOR ESVELT – AND SOMETHING MORE
The plan all along had been for Annika Esvelt to run one race – the 5000 meters – and win it.
 
She did, and with plenty of space to spare.
 
But a few days ago, Esvelt told assistant coach / distance coach Eric Hansen she wanted to run the 1500, too. She talked him into it – then went out and pulled out third place in that one.
 
Esvelt was in complete command of the 5000 before the runners had even completed a full lap. She stretched out her lead from there, winning in 17 minutes, 6.73 seconds. She was almost 54 seconds in front of runner-up Alexandra Otto of Alaska Anchorage. Otto clocked 18:00.13.
 
"Honestly, I was running scared because even though I was so far ahead … you never know if someone will come up on you and  beat you, and I just wanted to not let that happen," Esvelt said. "
 
Esvelt jockeyed for the lead in the 1500 through the first two laps before Simon Fraser's Megan Roxby moved in front and went on to win, as expected, in 4:37.60.
 
After having dropped back to fifth, Esvelt made a move going into the final turn, moved up to fourth, then surged past Cassidy Walchak-Sloan of Saint Martin's in the final 10 meters to grab third in 4:41.77. Walchak-Sloan finished in 4:41.96.
 
"I thought it would be really cool to be I the top three, but I knew the girls in the field are really good so I knew they could push me," Esvelt said. "I was not expecting to be that close, but when I had that shot, it was really exciting to pass a girl in the end."
  
NJERI TAKES BRONZE IN TRIPLE JUMP
After not competing for a month while dealing with a hamstring injury, David Njeri was just trying to feel connected with the runway again.
 
But six jumps wasn't quite enough to do it.
 
 

Njeri finished third in the triple jump, going 46 feet, 6¼ inches. The Falcons senior was seeking a third title to go along with those he won in 2021 and 2023. But Western Washington's Gabe Menicke went home with this one, leaping 49-1 ½.
 
Prior to Saturday, the last triple jump competition for Njeri was on April 13 at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
 
"Physically, I was OK; I was doing well," Njeri said. "Mentally, I was like, 'I still have a hammy.'. Then Coach (Karl Lerum) came up and said, 'Forget about the hamstring stuff' Then I kind of warmed up a little bit, and my first jump I the finals was pretty decent." (That was the 46-6 ¼).
 
But Njeri fouled on his last two attempts. He also had fouls on his first two in the preliminaries and was down to his final attempt just to get into finals, and he came through with a 46-4.
 
"Just to kind of get back on the runway, I was pretty confident," Njeri said. "But I feel like, disconnected – I hadn't even done a run-through for a month. I'm definitely thankful to Coach Eric (Hansen, SPU's assistant coach) for rehabbing me. It's all part of the process, but you can't cut corners on this stuff.
 
"I'm glad I'm back and competed and I'm just going to keep going through," he added. "I still medaled. It kind of sucks because that's not my caliber of performance, 46 feet and a short approach. I'm just thankful to be here."
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL

-- After starting the season in the worst possible way – out with an injury – freshman Mason Hrcek finished in the best possible way by getting onto the awards podium in the men's pole vault with a bronze medal. Hrcek cleared 15 feet, 6 1/4 inches. That was easily his outdoor personal beat, topping the 14-0 he went at last Saturday's Linfield Open. That also topped the 15-5 ¾ that he went in January to set the school indoor record.
-- Freshman Mikel Saxon cleared a career-best 13-6 1/2 to snag eighth place and one team point. It was the first outdoor 13-footer of his careeer. He cleared 13-1 1/2 in his college debut last Dec. 9 at the Spokane Invitational indoor opener.
-- Marissa Crane was fourth (57.42) and Johanna Brown sixth (58.02) in the women's 400-meter dash finals.
-- Crane and Brown teamed up with Aniya Green and Charisma Smith for a fourth-place finish in the 4-by-400 relay.
-- SPU finished fifth in the women's team standings with 71 points. Western Washington won easily, 212-146 ahead of second-place Central Washington. The Falcon men were ninth with 15 points. Western also beat Central for the title on that side, 238-185.
 
UP NEXT
The entries for the NCAA Division II Championships will be announced on Tuesday by 3:00 p.m. Pacific time. The nationals at Emporia State University's Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas, are set for Thursday through Saturday, May 23-25.


NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Championships
Friday, May 10, 2024
CWU Recreation Sports Complex / Ellensburg, Wash.
 
Final team scores (through 21 of 21 events) – 1, Western Washington 212; 2, Central Washington 146; 3, Western Oregon 117; 4, Simon Fraser 98; 5, Seattle Pacific 71; 6, Northwest Nazarene 68; 7, Alaska Anchorage 59; 8, Montana State Billings 31; 9, Saint Martin's 14.
 
SATURDAY FINALS
100 – 1, Marie-Eloise LeClair (Simon) 11.19#.  No SPU.
200 – 1, Marie Eloise LeClair (Simon) 23.68#.  No SPU.
400 – 1, Claire Bosma (Simon) 55.76#.  SPU – 4, Marissa Crane 57.42; 6, Johanna Brown 58.02.
800 – 1, Marian Ledesma (WWU) 2:12.83.  No SPU.
1500 – 1, Megan Roxby (Simon) 4:37.60.  SPU – 3, Annika Esvelt 4:41.77.
5000 – 1, Annika Esvelt (SPU) 17:06.73.  Other SPU – 9, Maya Ewing 18:38.45; 13, Matise Mulch 18:43.33.
100 hurdles – 1, Hannah Chang (SPU) 13.88#.  No other SPU.
400 hurdles – 1, Madeline Lambing (WOU) 1:02.02#.  No SPU.
4x100 relay – 1, Central Washington 45.76#.  SPU – DQ (exchange zone violation).
4x400 relay – 1, Simon Fraser 3:47.10#.  SPU – 4, Seattle Pacific (Aniya Green, Johanna Brown, Charisma Smith, Marissa Crane) 3:53.84.
High jump – 1, Amity Deters (WOU) 5-5 ¾ / 1.67m#.  SPU – 11, Paige Kessler 4-11 ¾ / 1.52m.
Triple jump – 1, Emy Ntekpere (CWU) 40-5 / 12.32m#.  No SPU.
Discus – 1, Katie Potts (WWU) 146-11 / 44.80m.  No SPU.

 
FRIDAY FINALS
3000 steeplechase – 1, Ila Davis (WWU) 10:41.15#.  SPU – 6, Maya Ewing 11:30.69; 16, Katelyn Flolo 12:50.50.
10,000 – 1, Meaera Nystrom (WWU) 37:01.22.  SPU – 5, Matise Mulch 37:58.94.
Pole vault – 1, Lizzy Daugherty (SPU) 12-4½ / 3.77m#.  Other SPU – 2, Emily Thomason 12-4 ½ / 3.77m# (Daugherty gets higher spot on fewer-misses tiebreaker).
Long jump – 1, Ujunwa Nwokoma (WOU) 19-2 / 5.84#.  SPU – 11, Sophie Mock 16-4¼ / 4.98m; 15, Paige Kessler 15-10½ / 4.84m.
Shot put – 1, Katie Potts (WWU) 46-4¾ / 14.14m#.  No SPU.
Hammer – 1, Destany Herbert (NNU) 162-7 / 49.57m.  No SPU.
Javelin – 1, Kaylee Wright (WOU) 153-3 / 46.71m#.  No SPU.
 
FRIDAY PRELIMINARIES
100 – 1, Marie-Eloise LeClair (Simon) 11.51.  No SPU.
200 – 1, Marie-Eloise LeClair (Simon) 23.21#.  SPU – 11, Aniya Green 25.53.
400 – 1, Kennedy Cook (WWU) 55.99.  SPU finals qualifiers – 4, Johanna Brown 57.31; 6, Marissa Crane 57.85.  Other SPU – 9, Aniya Green 58.31; 14, Charisma Smith 59.74.
800 – 1, Marian Ledesma (WWU) 2:11.48.  No SPU.
100 hurdles – 1, Lauryn Chandler (CWU) 14.10.  SPU finals qualifier – 4, Hannah Chang 14.41.  No other SPU.
400 hurdles – 1, Liv Heite (UAA) 1:02.96.  No SPU.
 
# NCAA provisional qualifying.

 
NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Championships
Friday, May 10, 2024
CWU Recreation Sports Complex / Ellensburg, Wash.
 
Final team scores (through 21 of 21 events) – 1, Western Washington 238; 2, Central Washington 185; 3, Western Oregon 120; 4, Simon Fraser 67.5; 5, Northwest Nazarene 67; 6, Alaska Anchorage 66; 7, Montana State Billings 31.5; 8, Saint Martin's 23; 9, Seattle Pacific 15.

SATURDAY FINALS
100 – 1, Joshua Caleb (UAA) 10.28#.  No SPU.
200 – 1, Josh Green (CWU) 20.87#.  No SPU.
400 – 1, Brennen Murphy (WOU) 48.09.  No SPU.
800 – 1, Johan Correa (CWU) 1:50.82#.  No SPU.
1500 – 1, Kevin McDermott (WWU) 3:51.45.  No SPU.
5000 – 1, Cole Nash (UAA) 14:38.37.  No SPU.
110 hurdles – 1, Aiden Wise (CWU) 14.47.  No SPU.
400 hurdles – 1, Josh Boast (CWU) 54.13.  No SPU.
4x100 relay – 1, Central Washington 40.88.  No SPU.
4x400 relay – 1, Western Washington 3:17.35.  No SPU.
Pole vault – 1, Drew Klein (CWU) 15-10 / 4.83m#.  SPU – 3, Mason Hrcek 15-6 ¼ / 4.73m; 8, Mikel Saxon 13-6½  / 4.13m; Kainoa Lee no height.
Triple jump – 1, Gabe Menicke (WWU) 49-1 ½ / 14.97m.#.  SPU – 3, David Njeri 46-6 ¼ / 14.18m.
Shot put – 1, Wes Kriete (CWU) 52-7 ½ / 16.04m.  No SPU.
Hammer – 1, Mark Warren (WOU) 187-6 / 57.16m.  No SPU.
 

FRIDAY FINALS
3000 steeplechase – 1, Jeret Gillingham (WWU) 8:45.40# (meet record, breaks old record of 8:47.26 set by Ryan Brockerville of Simon fraser in 2012; overall GNAC record, breaks old record of 8:45.63 set by Micah Chelimo of Alaska Anchorage in 2012).  SPU – 7, Brennan LeBlanc 9:44.49; 13, Silas Demmert 10:22.42.
10,000 – 1, Brody Kemble (NNU) 30:46.90.  SPU – 10, Isaac Venable 33:23.07; 13, Gabe Endresen 33:52.44; 16, Nathaniel Gale 34:30.64.
High jump – 1, Jonah Groce (NNU) 6-6 / 1.98m.  No SPU.
Long jump – 1, Isaiah Webster (CWU) 23-11½ / 7.30m#.  No SPU.
Discus – 1, Liam Wall (WWU) 167-2 / 50.95m#.  No SPU.
Javelin – 1, Jarrett Chong (Simon) 210-9 / 64.25m#.  No SPU.
 
FRIDAY PRELIMINARIES
100 – 1, Joshua Caleb (UAA) 10.41#.  No SPU.
200 – 1, Joshua Caleb (UAA) 21.04#.  No SPU.
400 – 1, Lucan Brenek (WWU) 48.05.  SPU – 11, Evan Carpenter 51.70.
800 – 1, Drew Weber (WWU) 1:51.09#.  No SPU.
110 hurdles – 1, Aiden Wise (CWU) 14.68.  No SPU.
400 hurdles – 1, Josh Boast (CWU) 54.13.  No SPU.

# NCAA provisional qualifying.


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