By: Burke De Boer Sports Editor
Western Oregon runners won a national championship and set a national record at the Division II Indoor National Championships in Birmingham, Alabama.
The men’s distance medley relay team had a photo finish victory, beating Adams State across the finish line by .001 second. The team, composed of juniors David Ribich, AJ Holmberg and Josh Dempsey and sophomore Dustin Nading, set another school record in a record-setting indoor track season for the Wolves.
Their final time of 9:40.144 set the new benchmark for NCAA Division II.
The championship final came after a Thursday qualifier that saw Western Oregon advance in all five competitions. The team then went five for five again, earning All-American marks across the board.
Ribich and Nading both ran the men’s mile qualifier, coming in first and ninth, respectively. They went on to both garner points for Western Oregon on title day. Ribich had a third place finish with a time of 4:06.72. Nading finished right behind Ribich with a time of 4:06.85 for fourth place.
Josh Dempsey qualified for the 800 meter race with a second place finish on Thursday. He completed the Saturday race in 1:51.20 to claim sixth place.
The four finishes brought the Western Oregon men’s team 24 points, bringing them to a tie for sixth place with Azusa Pacific.
Two Western Oregon women were competing in Birmingham, as junior Suzanne Van De Grift and sophomore Olivia Woods both ran the 800 meter.
Woods previously claimed the school record in the 800 meter at the Seattle Pacific Final Qualifier on Feb. 25. Van De Grift then set the new record in the preliminary with a time of 2:09.63.
The championship race saw Van De Grift extend her school record with a fifth place finishing time of 2:09.10. Olivia Woods finished sixth place with a personal best 2:09.26.
With only two runners competing, the women’s team recorded seven points to finish in 29th place.
The championship weekend concludes the 2017 indoor track season. Western Oregon track and field now sets its sights on the outdoor track season, which opened on March 4.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
