The best student-athletes from Evergreen State College Outdoor Track & Field Team competed in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) T&F Championships last May 10 and 11 at Moehl Stadium of Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Despite the challenging terrain conditions at 4,340 feet above sea level, the Geoducks performed their heart out as the men’s team finished 11th while the women’s team finished 9th overall in the two-day championship event.
Leading the way for the Greeners were national qualifiers Alauna Carstens and River Scheuerell. Carstens showed again why she’s one of the top distance runners in Cascadia as she finished 5th in the conference for the women’s 1500 meters after clocking at 4:42.38, before a podium finish at 2nd in the women’s 5000 meters after a recorded time of 17:44.80.
Carstens qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the women’s 5000 meters after her 17:11.81 personal best time in the Oregon Preview last March and is in contention for another spot in the nationals in the 1500 meters, after hitting another PR last April at 4:34.92.
After getting the NAIA ‘B’ standard just a week ago, River Scheuerell easily beat his PR and the school record again to achieve the NAIA ‘A’ standard in championship performance, breezing past the men’s 5000-meter racewalk with 24:31.93 and a first-place finish in the CCC final.
Other commendable performances for the Geoducks in the championships include that of speedster Braxton Claridy, who was consistent in his pace after sprinting the second fastest times in school history, with the men’s 400 meters on Day 1 in a time of 49.39 good for 9th place, and the 200 Meters in 21.94 on Day 2 placing 7th.
Corona Parker, who just narrowly missed out on the nationals in the heptathlon after her 4131 points were not enough for the NAIA standard set at 4340, closed her outdoor season in the CCC Championship as she finished 8th in the women’s high jump by clearing a max height of 1.59 meters.
Other Geoducks who performed in the conference championships include Abigail Strickland in the women’s 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles, Jaclyn Sackrider in women’s discus, Claire Ryan in the women’s hammer, Paul Stewart in the men’s hammer, and Mark Tiersma in the men’s 5,000 meters and men’s 10,000 meters.
"It was great seeing the efforts of our conference qualifiers putting in their last performances ahead of the nationals. The season is over for many of our athletes, and I am proud of the results we've seen so far and looking forward to what our qualifiers will do at nationals," said T&F Assistant Coach Katie Burnett.
Carstens and Scheuerell will represent the Evergreen State College T&F on the national stage as they will compete in their respective events in the upcoming NAIA National Track & Field Championships on May 22nd to 24th at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana, at their Track & Field Complex.
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