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

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Competing against the top high jumpers in the United States, freshman Anthony Johnson (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS/Pima CC) was unable to complete a successful jump at the 2014 USA Track and Field Indoor National Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M.

The competition started at a height of 2.12m (6-11.5) and Johnson was unsuccessful on all three of his attempts.  One of just two collegians competing, Johnson was competing against some of the best high jumpers in the world, including 2012 Olympic silver medalist Erik Kynard, who won the event with a jump of 2.30m (7-6.5).  The only other college athlete in the event was Mark Jones of Colorado, who tied for seventh having cleared 2.12m on his first jump but unsuccessfully attempting 2.17m (7-1.5).

In addition to Johnson’s competing among the top athletes in the world, a small group of Geoducks also ran at the Warner Pacific 50/50 meet at David Douglas High School in Portland, Ore.

The next meet scheduled for the Geoducks in the 2014 NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Geneva, Ohio.  Johnson will be the favorite to win the title in the high jump and will be joined at the national championships by juniors Wes Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) and Les Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS).  Wes met the NAIA automatic qualifying mark in the 800m run while Les will hope to earn an invite with a provisional qualifying time in the 1000m run.

Results: USATF Indoor Nationals/WPC 50-50 Meet

SEATTLE – The Evergreen Geoduck delegation to the 2013 NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships grew on Sunday afternoon as a pair of Geoducks punched their ticket to the national championships with strong races at the UW Open at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle, Wash.

In the 800m run, junior Wes Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma CC) posted a time of 1:55.22 to earn his spot.  He took 15th in the event behind a number of NCAA Division I and II athletes and his time currently ranks 19th in the NAIA this season.

Joining Wes in Ohio will be twin brother Les Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma CC), who took second in the 1000m run with a time of 2:32.57 to earn his trip to the NAIA championships. Jones finished behind Nick Hampton of College of Idaho but ahead of Dean Willis of Northwest in a very Cascade Conference heavy race.

This week, most of the Geoducks will head down to Portland to take part in the Warner Pacific 50/50 Meet as well as the Pilot Indoor meet at University of Portland.  Freshman high jumper Anthony Johnson (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS/Pima CC) will be on his way to Albuquerque, N.M. for the USA Track and Field Indoor Nationals where he will jump on Saturday.

Results

SEATTLE – Two weeks after becoming the first NAIA high jumper of the year to clear seven feet, freshman Anthony Johnson (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS) was at it again on Saturday, clearing 7-2.25 to take second in the men’s high jump at the UW Invitational at Dempsey Indoor on the campus of University of Washington.

In addition to improving his national best in the event, Johnson hit the qualifying standard for the 2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships which will be held later this month in Albuquerque, N.M.  His jump currently ties him for ninth-best among collegians this season at all levels and 14th by any American in 2014.

Johnson cleared 2.19m on this third attempt to improve his school record by two inches in the event as he defeated eight NCAA Division I high jumpers to finish second to only two-time Olympian Mike Mason, who won the even with a jump of 6-3.25.

He wasn’t the only Geoducks to post a strong performance as junior Wes Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) placed second in his heat and sixth overall in the 800m run, posting a time of 1:57.52.  The event was won by Travis Vugteveen of Simon Fraser, who ran a 1:54.56 in the third heat to pull past Demetrius Rhodes of Concordia.

The Geoducks will race again on Tuesday night when they head south for the UP/PSU Tuesday Night Races at the University of Portland.

Results