May 13, 2016 Photo Gallery 
MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Washington University Men's Track & Field team is in first place after the first day of the 2016 GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships held Friday at McArthur Field on the campus of host Western Oregon University.
The Vikings men's squad picked up 50 points on the first day of competition, 3 points ahead of second-place Alaska Anchorage, as they seek its fifth consecutive and seventh overall team title. The women's squad is tied for fourth place with Concordia scoring 32.5 points (Central Washington leads with 65 points).
Junior Megan Mortensen (Tacoma, WA/Franklin Pierce) repeated as the champion in the women's discus competition, setting a meet record with a throw of 46.08m/151-2.5. The old meet record was recorded by WWU's record holder Jessica Telleria (45.52m) in 2006. Mortensen also finished 5th in the shot put with a PR of 12.95m/42-6 for the 2nd-best mark in school history. She accounted for 14 points towards the team total.
The trio of junior Andrew Wise (Denver, CO/East), Matt Lutz (Bremerton, WA/Olympic) and Noah Ripley (Wasilla, AK) combined to record 17 team points in the 3,000m Steeplechase. Wise (9:05.64) and Lutz (9:13.00) finished 1-2 in the race, while Ripley set a PR by over 12 seconds to claim 6th place.
Junior Kevin Yates (Snohomish, WA) and junior Jasmine McMullin (Sequim, WA) both placed 2nd in the high jump in their respective competitions.
A number of WWU runners also fared well in the prelims on Friday, with senior Alex Donigian (Mission Viejo, CA/ Trabuco Hills/Saddleback JC/Northern Colorado) qualifying first in the 100m (10.65) and 200m (21.44). Donigian will defend his title in both events tomorrow with the 100m scheduled for 12:10 pm and the 200m at 1:00 pm.
Senior Travis Milbrandt (Longview, WA/Mark Morris) will also be defending his title in the 110m Hurdles after qualifying first with a time of 14.48.
The GNAC Championship will conclude tomorrow with field events starting at 9 am (Men's Hammer Throw) and track events at 11 am (Men's 4x100 Relay). The event can be tracked online via Live Results at GNAC.live.
The following are the team scores and WWU highlights from the first day of the two-day Championship:
Men's Team Scores:
1. Western Washington - 50
2. Alaska Anchorage - 47
3. Central Washington - 37
4. Northwest Nazarene - 32.5
5. Concordia (OR) - 30
6. Western Oregon - 27
7. MSU Billings - 14
8. Seattle Pacific - 14
9. Simon Fraser - 9
10. Saint Martin's - 8.5
Women's Team Scores:
1. Central Washington - 65
2. Northwest Nazarene - 48.5
3. Seattle Pacific - 43.5
4. Western Washington - 32.5
Concordia (OR) - 32.5
6. Alaska Anchorage - 25
7. Western Oregon - 15
8. MSU Billings - 8
9. Simon Fraser - 3
10. Saint Martin's - 0
3,000m Steeplechase
In the men's race junior Andrew Wise (Denver, CO/East) and senior Matt Lutz (Bremerton, WA/Olympic) placed 1-2 respectively, and senior Noah Ripley (Wasilla, AK) placed 6th to pick up 17 team points in the event. Wise recorded a PR of 9:05.64 for the 2nd-fastest time in WWU history and improved his NCAA II provisional qualifying mark. Ripley set a PR by over 12 seconds to pick up important team points.
In the women's race junior Brittany Grant (Port Townsend, WA) placed 4th in a PR 10:44.38, besting her old mark by over 8 seconds.
Long Jump
Junior Kevin Yates (Snohomish, WA) finished 2nd with a leap of 7.14m/23-5.25 and senior Nate van Tuinen (Yakima, WA/Riverside Christian/Spokane CC) was 4th with a jump of 6.86m/22-6.25 in the men's competition. The duo combined for 13 points in the competition.
Junior Jasmine McMullin (Sequim, WA) placed 2nd in the women's competition setting a PR with a jump of 5.56m/18-3. She moved up to 7th in WWU history with her mark.
Men's Pole Vault
Junior pole vaulters Gordie Kordas (Blaine, WA) and J.T. Konrad (Mead, WA/Mt. Spokane) picked up 9 team points by placing 4th and 5th respectively. Kordas cleared 4.66m/15-3.5 on his first attempt, but could not go over 4.81m.
Brandon Pless
Sophomore Brandon Pless (Sedro Woolley, WA) picked up 8 team points by finishing 6th in the discus (45.15m/148-1.75) and 4th in the shot put (15.95m/52-4). His throw in the shot moved him up to 5th in WWU history.
Women's High Jump
Freshman Bridget Henry (Bellingham, WA/Sehome) tied for 3rd in the women's high jump with a PR of 1.62m/5-3.75 to earn 5.5 team points. Junior Miranda Osadchey (DuPont, WA/Steilacoom) entered the meet ranked 13th in NCAA II, but did not clear the bar in any of her attempts.
Men's 10,000m
Senior Ryan Peterson (Seattle, WA/Garfield) and freshman Peter Butler (Port Angeles, WA) placed 7th and 8th in the 10,000m to close out the running events for the day.
2016 GNAC Track & Field Championships
May 13-14, 2016
Monmouth, Oregon // McArthur Stadium (host: Western Oregon University)
#GNACTF // @GNACSports // @WWUTFXC
