MONMOUTH, Ore. – Michael Russell entered the GNAC Outdoor Championships looking for a podium finish in the sprints, and he did just that. In the 200m dash, Russell earned second place, tied for the highest finish of any Saint at the Championships on Saturday.
 
COMPLETE RESULTS

DAY ONE RECAP
 
After finishing third in the prelims, it could not have been any closer in the finals for Russell. He edged out his competition by only 0.01 of a second to take over second place in the 200m at 22.01 seconds. Russell also earned points in the 100m finals, placing sixth overall with a time of 10.96 seconds. Russell combined for 11 points individually.
 
Makiya Worthy also earned a spot in the 100m and 200m dash, where she placed third on the podium in the 200m at 24.76 seconds. Worthy nearly earned a second place finish, missing by just 0.02 of a second. In the 100m, Worthy earned fifth overall at 12.19 seconds. Worthy garnered 10 points individually.
 
In the 800m races, Nicholas Sarysz and Cassidy Walchak-Sloan both placed sixth in their respectively races, with times of 1:57.17 and 2:21.55 minutes. Walchak-Sloan's day began with a podium finish in the 1500m race with a time of 4:37.94 seconds, earning All-GNAC, and crushing her PR by nearly 10 seconds.
 
Andrew Boyd in the 110m hurdles finals took sixth overall with a time of 15.46 seconds, earning SMU three more points. Boyd's day continued in the 400m hurdles, placing sixth with a time of 56.89 seconds, five total points on the day.
 
Andrew Oslin earned the Saints another three points with his sixth place finish in the 5,000m with a time of 14:57.87 minutes.
 
In the women's 100m hurdles, Gabriela Cintron placed eighth overall with a time of 15.15 seconds. In the 400m hurdles, Eden Mortensen was seventh overall at 1:06.74 minutes.
 
Over in the hammer, the Saints took seventh in both events with Johanna Zilla on the women's side at 143-05 feet, and Noa Peralta in the men's at 157-04 feet.
 
Continuing in the field events, Josh Schulz earned fourth overall in the triple jump with his best of 45-04.25 feet. In women's pole vault, Kierrla Yates placed fifth overall with her best of 10-6 feet, clearing on the first attempt.
 
Concluding the championships, the Saints took fourth in the men's 4x400 relay with a time of 3:20.75 minutes. The women in the 4x100 were fifth at 50.30 seconds, and sixth in the 4x400 at 4:05.69 minutes. In the men's 4x100, the Saints were eighth at 43.82 seconds.
 
Overall for the GNAC Championships, the Saints earned 61 points for a fifth place finish on the men's side, and 45.5 points on the women's side for a seventh place finish.