By: Burke De Boer Sports Editor
Western Oregon track and field traveled to Southern California, where the team continued to find success in the face of Division I and II competition.
Most Wolves competed in the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, where junior David Ribich broke his own school record and senior Wesley Gray grabbed Western Oregon’s one event win. A smaller group of Wolves attended the Beach Invitational hosted by Long Beach State.
In Azusa on April 14, Ribich proved the fastest of all Division II competitors in the men’s 1,500-meter. His time of 3:42.21 set a new record for himself. His old time of 3:43.41 was the fastest in both Western Oregon and GNAC history.
The stacked race against Division I schools put Ribich in a 17th place finish, and automatically qualified him for the NCAA championship competition.
Wesley Gray won the men’s triple jump, going a distance of 14.85 meters. The distance was a Division II provisional qualifier, one of five from the meet.
The women’s 800-meter race had three Wolves post NCAA provisional marks, as sophomore Olivia Woods and juniors Suzanne Van De Grift and Megan Rose all finished in the top 10 of Division II runners.
Junior AJ Holmberg posted a provisional time in the men’s 800-meter, finishing in 18th place.
The following day, nearby in Long Beach, two more provisional marks were set.
Olivia Woods grabbed her second of the weekend, as she ran the 800-meter in 2:12.70.
First-year student Alani Troutman made the other provisional qualifier, with a long jump mark of 7.28 meters to a 15th place finish, the best of all Wolves in Long Beach.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
