By Rachel Shelley Staff Writer
Three Wolves competed at the Indoor National Track meet in Birmingham, Alabama as Badane Sultessa raced towards becoming the third NCAA Division II Indoor All-American
in Western’s track and field history.
Sultessa finished the preliminary 800 meter as the top ranked runner finishing in 1 minute, 0.73 seconds Friday, March 13, setting himself up to join former Wolves Zeke Van Patten and Chris Olsen who became NCAA Division II All-Americans in the 800 in 2009 and 2013, respectively.
On Saturday, March 14, Sultessa finished fourth in 1:51.36, becoming an All-American and came within 0.66 seconds of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference record which he set during his preliminary performance, also a lifetime best in the event.
“It was a great experience and makes me want to work harder to become a better athlete,” Sultessa said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to race at the National meet, and I attribute hard work to my success.”
Brady Beagley ended his last season as a Wolf racing the mile at nationals. In the preliminaries, Beagley finished 12th overall in 4:14.84 during the first heat, finishing fourth in his heat.
“The indoor national meet was where my eyes have been set for the last eight months,” Beagley said. “It is the only reason I decided to extend my schooling another two terms. I wanted to end my career at Western with a nationals experience in all three of the sports I have competed in at least once and with this final indoor season I accomplished just that. I am very happy with my career as a Western Oregon student athlete, and cannot wait to use what I have learned from this institution in my future endeavors starting with the assistant cross country/track and field coaching position I have been appointed,” Beagley said.
Stephanie Stuckey competed for the women in the mile. Coming off a personal record to qualify for the national meet, Stuckey finished ninth in 4:54.79, another personal record, and qualified her for finals the following day. In the finals, she raced towards a 5:00.85 finish in her first ever appearance at nationals.
