WEST SEATTLE, Wash. – Battling the wind and rain as much as their competition, the Evergreen Geoducks put forth a solid effort at the Club Northwest Spring Break Open on Saturday at West Seattle Stadium in West Seattle, Wash.

Junior Wes Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) took care of the field in the 800m run, winning the race by over a second over second-place Alex Horton of Seattle Pacific.  Jones finished the two lap race in 1:58.52.

Senior Zephyr Forest (Fairfax, Calif./Sir Francis Drake HS) improved his Cascade Conference Championship qualifying time in the 400m Hurdles, taking fifth in a time of 1:00.89. Forest also teamed up with Wes Jones, Les Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) and Steven Pressley (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) in the 4x400m relay for the first time this season, running a 3:36.72 as the only team competing.

Sophomore Anthony Johnson (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS/Pima CC) won the high jump for the third time this season, clearing 2.05m (6-8.75) to finish four inches better than Western Washington’s Logan Myers.

The Geoducks will take next week off from competition before returning to Seattle on April 12 for the Washington Open at Husky Track on the campus of University of Washington.

Results: Men/Women

PORTLAND, Ore. – Improving his NAIA-best in the high jump and setting a new school record in the long jump, sophomore Anthony Johnson (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS/Pima CC) led the Evergreen Geoducks at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open in Portland, Ore.

Johnson won the high jump by over four inches, clearing 2.10m (6-10.75) to best Kelson Kawai of Pacific (Ore.).  The leap was nearly two inches better than he previous outdoor best of 6-9, set last week at the Hub City Open in Centralia.  He currently leads the NAIA by nearly three inches over Culver-Stockton’s Jermaine Jones and Indiana Wesleyan’s Michael Moffitt.

In the men’s long jump, Johnson broke his own school record by nearly a foot, jumping 6.83m (22-5) to take second to Jeremy Parkinson of Pacific (Ore.), who outleaped Johnson by three-quarters of an inch to earn the win.  Johnson’s mark leads the Cascade Conference by over eight inches.

Junior Les Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) took 10th in the 400m dash, finishing the one-lap race in a time of 52.27.  Freshman William Rhodes (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma CC) took 13th in the 100m dash, with a time of 11.79, less than four-tenths of a second off the school record of 11.4, set by David Henderson in 1985.

The Geoducks are back in action on March 29 when they head north to West Seattle Stadium for the Club Northwest Spring Break Meet.

Results

CENTRALIA, Wash. – Taking on a collection of local rivals, the Evergreen Geoducks opened up the 2014 outdoor track and field season on Saturday at the Hub City Open, hosted by Centralia High School at Tiger Stadium in Centralia.

Sophomore Anthony Johnson (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS/Pima CC) became the first high jumper in the NAIA to qualify for the 2014 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, clearing 6-9 (2.06m) to win the event by over four inches and meet the national automatic qualifying mark.

Junior Wes Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) qualified for the 800m at the CCC Championships, running a 1:55.89 to win the race by nearly two seconds.

The Geoducks will be back in action on Friday and Saturday when they take part in the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open in Portland, Ore.

Results

GENEVA, Ohio – Competing on the national stage, a trio of Geoducks took part in the 2014 NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championship on Friday at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

In the men’s high jump, freshman Anthony Johnson (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS) became the first track and field All-American in school history after taking fifth place.  Johnson, the NAIA leader coming into the championship, cleared 2.06m (6-9) to earn honors. Davenport sophomore Tori Brooks won the event, clearing 2.09m (6-10.25).

Junior Wes Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) competed in the 800m run prelims, taking fifth in heat one with a time of 1:55.02 but failing to advance to Saturday’s final.  Despite not advancing, he shaved eight-tenths of a second off his seed time and will have a good chance at advancing to the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this spring.

Junior Les Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) was the last Geoduck to compete, taking part in the 1000m run.  He took 10th in the first heat with a time of 2:39.35, finishing 19th overall.

The Geoducks open up the 2014 outdoor season next Saturday at the Hub City Open at Tiger Stadium in Chehalis, Wash.  The first event is set for 9:30 a.m.

Results