TRK: Westmont men make it 2 in a row in GSAC

A year after securing its first Golden State Athletic Conference Championship, Westmont Men’s Track and Field repeated as the 2014 conference champions.

The Warriors scored 298 points to Concordia’s 219 and Biola’s 169.

Westmont Women’s Track and Field claimed second place, scoring 206.25 points to Biola’s 249.5. Concordia finished third with 155.75 points.

Also for the second straight year, Westmont’s Russell Smelley was named the GSAC Men’s Track and Field Coach of the Year.

Westmont’s Evan Bradford won the 1500 meter run in a time of 4:03.09 to secure 10 points for the Warriors. Christian Hatchett won the men’s 400 meter dash in a time of 49.03 and the 200 meter dash in a time of 22.20.

Shane Rowan claimed the GSAC championship title in the long jump, recording a mark of 6.85 meters (22-5.75) and in the triple jump with a mark of 14.38 meters (47-2.25). The latter mark also earned him a provisional qualification into the NAIA Outdoor National Championship.

Dan McCollum threw the javelin for 56.01 meters (183-9) to claim first place. His elder brother Ben took first place in the high jump, clearing 1.86 meters (6-1.25).

Kyle Kemper took first place in the decathlon, tallying 5,084 points. Westmont’s 4 x 800 meter relay team of Nathan Evans, Evan Bradford, Evan Kramer and David Donner won in a time of 7:48.

In the women’s events, Elysia Hodges ran an automatic qualification time of 55.89 in winning the 400 meters. She also won the 200 meters, posting a provisional qualification mark of 24.84.

Ceci Adams, Kaylin Koopmans, Ali Johnson and Sarai Mitchell teamed up to win the women’s 4 x 400 meter race in a time of 4:06.48. Kristan Holding’s leap of 5.42 meters (17-9.2) earned her a first place finish in the long jump.

Becky Collier cleared 1.63 meters (5-4.25) in the high jump to win the first of two events and then jumped 11.14 meters (36-6.75) in the triple jump to claim that individual championship as well.