SPOKANE, Wash.—Juniors
Emil Miller and
Evan Markelz both earned top-three finishes on Saturday, to help Lewis & Clark College men's track & field finish Day One of the 2026 Northwest Conference Championship Meet in fourth place.
THE BASICS
Men's Track & Field – 4
th out of 9 Teams – 24 Points
HOW IT HAPPENED
Five River Otters scored points and four advanced to Finals on Saturday, to lead Lewis & Clark at the Puryear Field/Boppell Track at Whitworth Pine Bowl.
Miller earned a career-best finish in the 3,000M Steeplechase to close out the day. After finishing in 18
th place as a first year and eighth as a sophomore, he came across in second-place, to earn his first career All-Conference honors. He posted a career-best time of 9:21.94. His time moved him into seventh-place in program history. The junior ran in second place through the first four of 7.5 laps, before moving up to first after the fifth lap. He would dip to third place on the second-to-last lap but posted a final lap of 1:09.87 to easily outpace the third-place finisher. Senior
Joseph Naylor finished 18
th overall in the 3K Steeplechase with a time of 10:29.73. Junior
Gavin Sellers came in 20
th place with a mark of 10:53.36
Markelz opened the day on a high note for Lewis & Clark. The junior repeated as the third-place finisher in the 10,000M to pick up his second career All-Conference honors in track & field. Markelz led for seven laps in the middle of the race, before falling back to third at the 5,200M mark. He never fell out of the top-three the rest of the way and crossed the line in 31:39.06. Senior
Theron Plumb placed 14
th in the 10K with a time of 33:55.18.
Senior
Andrew Baum earned a fourth-place finish in the shot put. The senior posted his best mark on his second throw, when he launched the implement 14.71M (48-03.25 Feet) to earn a spot in the finals.
Junior
Keegan Zaso and first year
Zane Bryant both scored points for Lewis & Clark in the long jump. Zaso, who was seeded 12
th coming into the event, placed fifth overall. He leapt 6.62M (21-08.75 Feet) to earn a spot in the Finals. Bryant posted a PR leap on his third jump in prelims to earn a spot in his first career conference finals. Bryant was sitting 17
th after his second jump, but posted a PR mark of 6.44M (21-01.50 Feet) to grab the second-to-last spot in the Finals. He ultimately finished eighth overall.
Baum added an 11
th-place finish in the hammer throw. The senior launched the hammer 45.81M (150-03 Feet).
PRELIMS
Senior
Jordan Lahusky finished top-eight in a pair of preliminaries, to punch his ticket to two finals on Saturday.
Lahusky placed third overall in the 400M Prelims with a time of 49.75. First year
Forrest Holt will join him in Sunday's 400M Finals, after notching a PR time of 50.84.
Senior
Jon Fritz comfortably qualified for the Finals in the 110M Hurdles. Fritz crossed the line in 16.02 to finish sixth overall.
Junior
Harrison Fung will have a chance to defend his NWC Title in the 400M Hurdles, after placing seventh on Saturday. Fung cruised to a time of 57.85.
Lahusky added a season-best time in the 200M to earn a spot in the Finals. The senior recorded a time of 22.34 to place eighth overall.
Sophomore
Jaden Mwendapole made his NWC Championship Meet debut on Saturday. Mwendapole notched a time of 11.27 to finish 16
th in the 100M.
First year
Dustin Widrig and junior
Colin Shimabukuro represented Lewis & Clark in the 800M. Widrig posted a PR time of 1:58.01 to place 18
th overall. Shimabukuro crossed the line in 2:02.14 to come in 22
nd place.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Miller's time in the 3K Steeplechase moved him up to 35th in NCAA DIII this season.
- Bryant's PR leap in the long jump (6.44M) helped him push him to 33rd in program history.
- Holt cracked the top-50 in program history in the 400M (50.84). He now ranks 42nd in program history.
- Widrig moved up to 46th in program history in the 800M (1:58.01).
WHAT'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will compete on Day Two Of the NWC Championship Meet on Sunday with the first events scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
