Eagles Qualify Two For NAIA Nationals
BELLINGHAM, WA – Northwest University's Shayna Prause (Arlington, WA) achieved the NAIA A-standard in the javelin with her throw of 132' 5", good enough for 4th in the WWU Twilight meet Friday, qualifying her for the NAIA Outdoor Championships in St. Louis, MO in May. Prause’s mark, a personal best by over 4 feet, is 2nd all-time for Northwest U. and just one foot short of the school record. Shayna is the 8th woman in the Cascade Conference to reach the A-standard in the javelin. No other Cascade Conference women's event has more than three automatic qualifiers. Shayna also moved to 5th all-time for the Eagles in the 100 hurdles with her time of 18.32 seconds.
Senior Beth Knudtson (Issaquah, WA) was 0.11 seconds shy of the A-standard, but was easily below the B-standard in the 5,000 meter run also earning her a spot in the NAIA Outdoor Championships. Knudtson ran 18:05.61 placing 2nd in the event behind WWU All-American Sarah Porter. It was Beth's first competition since suffering a foot injury at the end of the indoor track season.
On the men's side, Eagle Alex Croutworst's (Sophomore, Mountlake Terrace, WA) time of 15:39.37 was his season's best by 20 seconds in the 5,000 meter run and a lifetime best by 9 seconds. Croutworst took the lead in his heat after the first lap, and held it throughout the remaining 11 and a half laps, extending his gap to over 100 meters by the finish. Sophomore Jimmy Reed (Bothell, WA) took 3rd in a deep 400 meter dash field with a time of 50.13 seconds while freshman Greg Peters (Belmont, St. Vincent) moved to 4th all-time for NU in the long jump with his jump of 5.70 meters (18' 8.5").
Next up for the Eagles is the Cascade Conference Championships, May 8, 9 and 10 in Portland, Oregon.