AZUSA & LONG BEACH, Calif. – Western Washington University junior Cordell Cummings has been knocking on the door for a breakthrough performance, and today was the day at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Cougar Athletic Stadium on the Azusa Pacific University campus.
Cummings moved up to 2nd in the WWU all-time top 10 in both the 110m and 400m hurdles. Early in the day he finished 10th out of 60 competitors in the 110 hurdles finishing in 14.52, blowing past his previous PR of 14.81 set earlier this season to move into 2nd in WWU history and 3rd in GNAC history. In doing so he passed his father, Trey, who ran a 14.76 as a Viking in 1986. Cummings now trails just the school and GNAC-record mark of 14.19 set by Travis Milbrandt in 2016.
Later in the afternoon, Cummings had a dominating performance in the 400m hurdles, placing 2nd out of 43 runners finishing in 51.95. His time is both the 2nd-best in WWU and GNAC history. Both of his marks in the 110m and 400m hurdles were NCAA Division II Championships provisional marks.
While Cummings provided two big highlights, the Vikings had several standout performances during the final day of the Bryan Clay Invitational. Here is a rundown of solid marks by WWU student-athletes on Friday:
JAVELIN U LIVES UP TO ITS NICKNAME
WWU had eight competitors in the javelin competition at the Bryan Clay Invitational, with five women and three men. The Vikings had four top-10 finishers in the women’s javelin competition, with junior Raquel Pellecer placing 3rd out of 42 competitors with a top mark of 46.88m/153-9. Senior Amanda Short recorded a personal best with a throw of 44.84m/147-1 to become the fifth Viking to obtain an NCAA provisional qualifying mark this season. Sophomore Hannah Nienaber also set a PR while finishing 10th with a top throw of 43.40m/142-4. Freshman Paige Shimkus finished 8th at 44.59m/146-3.
In the men’s competition, junior Costel David led the Vikings with a 4th-place finish throwing 57.47m/188-6. Sophomores Cooper McNatt (54.15m/177-8) and Mason Salley (52.50m/172-3) placed 7th and 8th respectively amongst the 33-thrower field.
THE NIGERIAN FLASH
Freshman sprinter Karlington Anunagba turned some heads in his first big-meet experience, placing 8th out of 108 runners clocking a speedy 10.47 in the 100m (+2.3 wind). Anunagba, a 17-year-old from Lagos, Nigeria, has now turned in performances of 10.77, 10.33 and 10.47 in his first three collegiate races in the 100m.
SMITH SETS PR IN 200m
Senior Savannah Smith already owned the second-fastest time in WWU history in the 200m, but moved a little closer to setting the school record turning in a 24.78 to finish 42nd out of 135 runners. Her previous PR was 24.83 set in 2018, and she is now chasing the 24.32 school record set by Hollie Watson set in 1987. Smith also finished 30th out of 74 runners in the 400m at 56.50, falling just 1/100th short of her PR of her PR of 56.49.
BRADLEY SPRINTS TO 3rd-BEST MARK IN WWU HISTORY
Junior Hannah Bradley set a PR in the 100m, finishing 52nd out of 112 runners with a time of 12.19. She moved up to No. 3 in WWU history, besting her previous mark of 12.24 set in 2018. She also finished 73rd out of 135 runners in the 200m turning in a time of 25.29 (PR is 25.20).
TAYLOR JUMPS TO 5TH-PLACE FINISH
Senior Maddie Taylor placed 5th clearing 1.71m/5-7.25. Taylor made three attempts at breaking her own school record of 1.74m/5-8.5 set earlier this season, but didn’t clear the bar to settle for the 5th-place finish out of 52 competitors. Sophomore Heather Faretta placed 26th clearing 1.61m/5-3.25.
MAKRAKIS GOES 3-FOR-3 IN PERSONAL BESTS
Junior Nick Makrakis had a busy day competing in the high jump, long jump and triple jump, an set personal best marks in each event. He placed 25th out of 46 competitors in the high jump clearing 2.01m/6-7, 43rd out of 78 in the long jump with a top mark of 6.78m/22-3 and 25th in the triple jump at 13.79m/45-3.
RINGOLD CRACKS TOP 10 IN TRIPLE JUMP
Senior Jacob Ringold moved into 10th in WWU history in the triple jump, placing 16th with a personal-best mark of 14.24m/46-8.75. His previous personal best was 13.86m/45-5.75 set earlier this season at the WWU Team Invitational.
THE BEACH INVITATIONAL
A handful of Vikings competed in the first day of The Beach Invitational on Friday. Senior Dylan Hayes led the WWU contingent placing 3rd out of 20 runners in the 5,000m with a time of 15:10.58.
