Zook leads Yellowjacket track with 2 GNAC titles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, May 13, 2017 Zook leads Yellowjacket track with 2 GNAC titles

Sam Zook wins the 100-meter and 200-meter titles at the 2017 GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday.

MONMOUTH, Ore. – In the blink of an eye Sam Zook sped his way to a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference Track and Field titles on Saturday at McArthur Field, sprinting past the competition for first place in both the 100-meters and 200-meters.

Zook grabbed 20 total points at the championship event, hosted by Western Oregon University, and the Yellowjacket men finished in seventh place overall with 58 points. MSUB’s women’s squad finished in 10th place with seven total points at the event.

“We had pretty balanced scoring across all our events, which was really good to see,” said MSUB head coach Dave Coppock. “That was the most points we have ever scored at the conference meet, so that is a big accomplishment for the guys.”

After winning both preliminary heats on Friday, Zook ran a time of 10.84 second in the 100-meters and a mark of 21.86 seconds in the 200-meters.

The wins gave the junior three total GNAC titles this year, after he claimed the GNAC Indoor 60-meter dash crown in February.

Zook then helped the ‘Jacket men’s 4x100-meter relay squad net five points with a fourth-place finish, as the trio of Kaelen Shay, Beau Ackerman, and Braden Rykal joined him to run a time of 41.93 seconds.

Ackerman also highlighted the men’s performance Saturday, by taking third place in the javelin with a throw of 57.76 meters. Beau Peaslee was also in the top-10 at the event, just missing out on a point with a throw of 50.26 meters to take ninth.

More points for the ‘Jackets came from hurdler Austin Lindquist, who took fifth in the 110-meter high hurdles. The senior finished his career snagging four points for MSUB in a strong showing, as he was just 0.2 seconds off the next two sprinters.

Josey Smiedala contributed points to MSUB’s women’s team on the 4x100-meter relay squad.

After placing third in the 3,000-meter steeple chase on Friday, junior Jorey Egeland got back into the scoring column with a strong time of 15:35.25 in the 5,000-meters. Egeland wound up in sixth place, adding on three more points to MSUB’s team score. Tyus Mendoza and Garrett Love also competed in the event, taking 14th and 23rd place, respectively.

The relays were a success for MSUB’s women’s team as well, with Katelyn Eastburn, Michaela Johnson, Brenna Beckett, and Josey Smiedala teaming up for four points with a fifth-place finish. The squad covered the distance in 49.57 seconds.

Janessa Williams was MSUB’s top jumper Saturday, finishing in 12th place in the triple jump with a leap of 10.83 meters.

“We have a lot of potential on the women’s side, and they are still very young,” said Coppock. “We are excited to see how the group progresses and what they can achieve next year.”

The University of Alaska Anchorage won both the men’s and women’s team titles, with 134 points to edge Western Washington University on the men’s side. The Seawolves ran away with the title on the women’s side with 158 points.

NCAA Division II record-breaking thrower McKenzie Warren of Concordia University was picked as the Female Athlete of the Meet, and Payton Lewis of Northwest Nazarene University won the award on the men’s side.

THE BUZZ: Zook and Williams were picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Players of the Day…Zook, Ackerman, and Egeland each earned all-conference honors by virtue of finishing within the top-3 in their respective events.

--@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--