(Gresham, Ore.) - It was all in the numbers for the Sasquatch track and field teams this week at the NWAC Track and Field Championships hosted by Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon. The first NWAC track championships in two years ended up being a record setting event for the teams.
Eighteen student-athletes earned a total of twenty-four NWAC All-American honors by finishing in the top three in their events.
Leading the way once again was Bradley Fillis. Fillis won all three of his events in one of the greatest displays of throwing in NWAC conference history. Bradley won the hammer throw on Monday morning hitting a distance of 175 feet and 5 inches, more than ten feet farther than the second place mark. The afternoon discus competition was close until Fillis launched a huge personal and season best throw of 161 feet.
The Tuesday shotput got off to a rocky start with some early struggles for Fillis until his third throw of the competition, again another huge personal and season best of 54 feet and 10.75 inches. This throw moves Fillis into the number four spot on the school's all time shotput list. His efforts over the two days earned him the meet High Point Award for scoring 30 points, along with the Athlete of the Meet Award.
One of the first sparks for the teams began with the 10k races on Monday morning. Both Tressa Wood and Kaidyn Johnson earned All-American honors by finishing second and third in their event running 41:53.8 and 42:30.53, respectively, and starting the scoring for the championships.
Not to be outdone, was Gideon Swanson who ran his best 10k of the year and also earned All-American recognition by finishing second. Swanson turned on a furious finishing kick over the last lap that had most of the team on their feet yelling and screaming, covering the last lap in sixty-one seconds. It was a great start that created the momentum for the rest of the meet.
Running in just her second 3k steeplechase race of the season, Charlotte Falstad dropped over fifty seconds from her previous best time and picked up the fourth All-American honor for the team by finishing in second place running 13:14.67.
Anthony Carlascio won the conference title in the 3k steeplechase and easily outdistanced the field by over twenty-seven seconds while earning his first All-American award of the meet. In the 1500-meters Carlascio ran a very solid race and finished second running 3:58.12, picking up All-American award number two. The distance running ironman came back later in the day on Tuesday and finished in seventh place in the men’s 5k. Three events in two days, two All-American awards, and a huge twenty points in the team scoring race were a big contribution from Anthony.
The conference number one ranked javelin thrower for most of the season, freshman three-sport super star Maddie Gebers, lived up to the hype and delivered the fifth conference title for the team by winning the javelin throw on Monday morning. The javelin competition was a close one early on with the lead changing hand several times with Gebers steadily improving on each throw until hitting her best and winning throw in the third round of throws at 141 feet and 2 inches, winning by ten feet over second place.
Last but not least by any means, team captain Jaxson Nichols capped an incredible season in winning the sixth individual title of the meet for the Sasquatch in the men’s high jump. With only three inches separating the top five jumpers, Jaxson was stellar in clearing each of his first four height beginnings on his first jump each time without a miss, and putting the pressure on the rest of the field. Jaxson won his title and earned All-American honors clearing 6 feet and 5 inches. Nichols then moved the bar to 6 feet and 6.75 inches and had three very close attempts at his all-time best before bowing out.
It what was truly the best team effort of the season, Coach Andy Munsey’s men throwers scored a total of 66 points toward the team total of 146 point. Here are the event breakdowns:
Shot
(1st Place) Bradley Fillis First, 54 feet and 10.75 inches
(3rd Place) Brooks Michaels, 44 feet and 1.75 inches
(8th Place) Giovanni Nila, 41 feet and 7.75 inches
Discus
(1st Place) Bradley Fillis, 161 feet
(2nd Place) Colby Anderson, 148 feet and 7 inches
(8th Place) Brooks Michaels, 122 feet and 8 inces
Hammer
(1st Place) Bradley Fillis, 175 feet and 5 inches
(4th Place) Brooks Michael, 149 feet and 3 inches
(5th Place) Colby Anderson, 141 feet and 9 inches
(7th Place) Giovanni Nila, 132 feet and 7 inches
Javelin
(3rd Place) Reise Raymond, 188 feet and 2 inches
(7th Place) Joey Woodland, 163 feet and 7 inches
(8th Place) Giovanni Nila, 157 feet and 6 inches
Colby Anderson, Brooks Michaels, and Reise Raymond all picked up All-American honors with their top three finishes in the above events.
Kiley Cutler and Miranda Irwin ran their very best races of the year in a two-three finish in the women’s 400-meter hurdles and earned All-American honors for the first time in their careers. Cutler ran her season and personal best time of 1:04 54. Irwin also took two seconds off her best time of the season while turning her season around in just one race, running a quality 1:08.26. Both also qualified for the final of the women’s 100-meter hurdles and scored more team points finishing in seventh and eighth in that event.
Overall, the women’s team competing with only eight athletes finished a very respectable sixth out of eleven teams scoring 68 points, just 19 points off of third place and collecting a total of six All-American top three finishes.
In perhaps one of the greatest highlights of the meet, the final handoff in the men’s 4x100-meter relay between Preston Dyess and Rodrick Fisher was only inches from failure when Dyess went completely horizontal superman to get the baton to Fisher, allowing the men to complete the race and finishing in second place adding Jon Watkins, Jake Schnatter, Preston Dyess, and Rodrick Fisher to the list of All-American award winners.
Watkins, Kyler Knoll, Michael Byers, and Schnatter added an additional four All-American titles by running a season best by over two seconds in finishing second in the men’s 4x400-meter relay in a season best time of 3:21.64. The men earned a total of 18 of these awards.
The men’s team total of 146 points was the highest since the 2019 championships as they finished in second place out of ten teams. The 2022 season closes as one of the best in recent history. The total team effort and the incredible support that was demonstrated throughout this championship was certainly a highlight that will be remembered for some time to come.
Tags
#Men's Track and Field
#TrackField
#Women's Track and Field