The NNU track and field team made the trip up to Spokane, Wash. this week to compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships at The Podium indoor track facility. The Nighthawks competed against 10 other NCAA Division II teams in the northwest — accumulating personal records, runner-up awards, new school records, and a few championship titles.
On Monday, Colton Burr became a 2022 GNAC Champion when he snagged the title in the men's weight throw with a toss of 17.53 meters — over a meter farther than second place.
"I'm still processing it. I would sum it up as pure happiness," said Burr about his final winning throw. "Going in I was ranked number one, but being able to actually pull it off is huge. Had you told freshman me — who didn't even know what the weight throw was — that I would be GNAC Champion my senior year, I wouldn't have believed you. I am super thankful for the team, coaches, and my family for supporting me."
Head Coach Danny Bowman was elated for the senior. "Over the last couple of years, Colton has been working tirelessly to perfect his technique in the shot and weight. In addition to this, he has been working on controlling his mental and emotional state during competition. He demonstrated that Monday and Tuesday by throwing a lifetime PR in the shot and throwing at his PR in the weight to win that event. I'm very proud of this senior captain . . . going out on top!"
Dreams finally came to fruition on Monday when junior Abbey Wood broke the NNU women's 60m school record after coming short just hundredths of a second a few times this indoor season. During the prelims of the 60m dash, she crossed the line in 7.68 seconds — breaking the previous record of 7.71 by a healthy amount.
"I was super excited when I saw that I broke the record!" said Wood. "This whole season has been pretty crazy and I've definitely exceeded my expectations. I was trying not to think too much about breaking the record and was more focused on what I could do to improve upon my previous races.
"I couldn't have done it without my teammates and coaches and all of their amazing support. My whole family has also been rooting me on and it was really cool to see all of this pay off for them, too. This season really has been a blessing and I'm excited for what is to come."
Bowman was excited to witness Wood make history. "By making a few adjustments in her transition to max velocity, she was able to get that record! I'm very excited to see how this translates into outdoor."
Senior Tyler Shea also went on to break his own program record in the 3000m with a time of 8:28.81.
"I was pretty tired coming off of a tough 5000m the night before, so I was just focused on competing and scoring as many points as I could for the team," said Shea. "I tried to run smart and move up in the second half. I wasn't paying attention to the clock until I finished and saw that it was a PR. It was really cool to finally break 8:30."
"Tyler had an amazing double at our championships," said Bowman. "He ran the 5k Monday night and turned around the next day to perform a new school record in the 3k. He has worked incredibly hard to get to where he is at today."
In the 200m finals, Hunter Braseth surprised the competition with his 21.91 second run, good enough for GNAC Runner-Up. The freshman broke his previous personal record of 22.14 and is currently tied for the second fastest time in NNU history.
"As a freshman, Hunter came into this program hungry to learn his events and to work hard to achieve his goals. Well, he did just that. We are very happy with his five performances over the last two days," said Bowman.
"When I saw I was runner-up, I was super pumped!" said Braseth. "But more than anything, I was just happy to achieve my indoor season goal of running under 22 seconds. I think what helped me get here would be our amazing men's team and how we push each other and care for each other every day. Couldn't do it without those guys."
Kinsey Langin also secured the GNAC Runner-Up title in the women's pole vault event with a vault of 3.53m.
"I am really glad I could snag second place for the team!" said the sophomore. "I was hoping for a higher height, but I still felt proud of myself for being consistent and clearing the bars on my first attempt. Being confident, calm, and trusting my training is the key to consistency and success."
"It was a good battle in the vault and she did well to get second for our program," Bowman said about Langin's performance. "I'm excited to see how she does in the next couple of months with outdoor."
Junior Destany Herbert also claimed the GNAC Runner-Up title in the women's shot put event with a throw of 13.13m.
"I was happy to get second and get close to my PR, especially after being disappointed in my performance in weight," said Herbert. "I think just working hard and having a great team to support me was so important to how this season turned out."
"I am proud of how Destany handled herself," mentioned Bowman. "From not having the performance she wanted on Monday to coming back and placing second in the shot! It was a pretty cool bounce back for her."
To top it all off, NNU's Steven Schmidt became a very well-decorated athlete during his first conference championships. First, the freshman achieved personal records in the shot put, 60m hurdles, and pole vault events. Then, he went on to become the GNAC Runner-Up in the open high jump with a mark of 2.05 meters.
Schmidt's athletic prowess bode well for his overall heptathlon score of 4588 points, earning him the GNAC Heptathlon title. Just for good measure, he was subsequently voted 2022 GNAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet.
"The heptathlon was exciting because it was very close. I only won by seventeen points; had I run a few seconds slower in the 1000m I would have gotten second," explained Schmidt. "I was pretty surprised to win Field Athlete of the Meet — that was really special. Coach Mar and Coach Peterson have been great, and so has training with Turner [Nye] — he's helped me out a ton."
Bowman has been impressed with the freshman's hard work every meet. "This young man has worked a lot on his multiple events. It seems like all year he has had a PR at every meet, and it all came together for him at GNACs.
"He took a break from the vault event to high jump, where he was attempting to clear 2.10m . . . then he ran back over to the vault and PR'd. That is the type of person he is! Placing first and second in those two events was awesome to see," said Bowman.
The 2022 GNAC Championship meet was a great end to the indoor season for the Nighthawks. Now, they set their sights on building on this foundation of achievements for the 2022 outdoor season.
