Wildcats finish second in GNAC Indoor Championships
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 3 weeks AGO
Emy Ntekpere leaps through the air during the GNAC Indoor Championships. Ntekpere brought home three gold medals following the event.
COURTESY PHOTO/LOREN ORR/CWU ATHLETICS
SPOKANE — The Central Washington University track and field team had a strong performance at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Championships at The Podium. The women scored a total of 152 points, and the men scored 102.5 points, earning both teams second place out of the nine teams that participated.
On the women’s side, reigning national Champion Emy Ntekpere brought home three gold medals and earned Female Field Athlete of the Meet and Female High Point Scorer honors. Ntekpere won the long jump with a leap of 5.81 meters and the high jump with 1.71 meters and secured the triple jump with 12.81 meters, which not only shattered the meet record for triple jump but also ranks second in NCAA Division II this season.
Another medal winner in the triple jump was Azariah Miller, who recorded a personal-best of 12.05 meters for a bronze medal.
Elise Hopper earned bronze in the 200 meters with 24 seconds for a personal best that ranks ninth in NCAA Division II. Hopper followed that with a silver medal finish with 54.93 seconds in the 400 meters.
Carley Huber earned silver in the pentathlon with 3,424 points and remained consistent through all five events. Adalynn Claybrook cleared 3.5 meters for a silver medal and Maddy Harrison got a gold medal finish in the 3K with a time of 10:02.34.
In the weight throw, Maliyah Gordon claimed a gold medal after throwing for 17.91 meters while teammate Kamila Salanoa took silver in the shotput with a personal record of 13.62 meters. The women’s 400-meter relay team of Huber, Donna Marie Harris, Ashlyn Nielsen and Elle Degroot took bronze with a final time of 3:45.54.
For the men, freshman Colton Magruder won gold with a record-breaking 6.62 seconds in the 60 meters, which ranks first in the NCAA Division II. Magruder also added a bronze medal in the 200 meters with a time of 21.49.
Another Wildcat gold went to Drew Klein in the heptathlon with 5,149 points across the seven events. David Brown followed that up with a gold medal in the 60-meter hurdles with 8.07 seconds.
Cal’von Baker won the high jump with a 2.04-meter vertical for a new personal best and Ian Calhoon earned bronze in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.25 seconds. In throws, Wes Kriete earned silver in the shot put with a personal best of 16.5 meters to round out the strong performance from the Wildcats.
Western Washington became the team champion in both men’s and women’s divisions, earning 191 points with the men and 163 points for the women.
The Wildcats await official confirmation of accepted entries for the USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships scheduled for Feb. 28-March 1 at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in New York. Following this, CWU shifts into the outdoor season with its home opener March 6-7 at the Tomlinson Stadium and Nicholson Athletics Complex.
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