MONMOUTH, Ore. – Alaska Anchorage's
Cody Thomas came away victorious in the decathlon at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Multis Championships Tuesday, while
Karolin Anders furnished runner-up honors in the heptathlon.
Thomas (Blenheim, New Zealand) collected his first GNAC crown with a winning-point total of 6,392, outdistancing Western Oregon's Eric Gaines (6,057) by 335 points to give UAA 10 points at the GNAC Championships that will be contested May 10-11. Anders (Berlin, Germany) moved into second after the final event for a school-record 5,034 points.
Both Thomas and Anders will likely compete at the NCAA Div. II Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 23-25, as Thomas currently ranks eighth, while Anders advanced to No. 4 with today's result.
Throughout the two-day event, Thomas collected five first-place finishes, winning the discus with a personal- best toss of 120-2.75 and the javelin at 153-11 in the second half of the decathlon. On Day 1, Thomas won the 100 meters, high jump and 400 meters. The Kiwi also earned three runner-up positions.
An All-American in the pentathlon this winter, Anders set the UAA record in the heptathlon by besting the
Kelsea Johnson's previous record of 4,940, set May 1, 2012. Anders used a second-place finish in the javelin with a personal best of 119-6.5 and a third-place finish in the long jump (17-9) to overtake Seattle Pacific's Katy Gross (4,992).
Winning the women's event was Seattle Pacific's Ali Worthen with 5,390 points. Currently, Worthen is the only Div. II athlete to register an automatic NCAA mark in the heptathlon this season, leading the nation at 5,492.
Also competing for the Green & Gold was junior
Haleigh Lloyd and sophomore
Grace Morgan. Lloyd finished fourth with 4,618 points, while Morgan was 10th at 3,791. Lloyd collected a second-place result in the 800 meters at 2:18.00, while Morgan finished fourth in the same event at 2:23.81.
SPU holds a 19-13 lead over UAA going into the league championships on the women's side.
The Seawolves conclude the regular season this Saturday with the Occidental Invitational.
