Liessfeld Wins Pentathlon, UAA Competes at GNAC Indoor Championships – Day 1

SPOKANE, WASH. – Vivien Liessfeld of the University of Alaska Anchorage captured the GNAC title in the pentathlon on Monday, the first day of the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. Liessfeld’s performance led the Seawolves, with several other athletes also achieving personal bests and All-GNAC honors.

Liessfeld amassed a total of 3,467 points in the five-discipline event. Her strong showing included 889 points in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.10 seconds, and 759 points in the long jump, where she leaped 5.70 meters (18 feet, 8.5 inches). This victory marks the first pentathlon championship for the Seawolves in six years.

Also making her mark was Sarah Dittman, who earned All-GNAC honors with a personal-best score of 3,291 points in the pentathlon, finishing third overall. Dittman’s score ranks fifth in UAA history. She achieved 822 points in the hurdles, clocking 9.43 seconds, and 712 points in the high jump after clearing 1.58 meters (5 feet, 2.25 inches).

Daisy Macias finished eighth in the pentathlon with a total of 2,459 points, highlighted by 610 points in the high jump after clearing 1.49 meters (4 feet, 10.5 inches).

On the men’s side, Anders Larsen is leading the heptathlon after day one, with 2,945 points. He recorded a personal-best time of 7.02 seconds in the 60-meter dash, earning 875 points, and 750 points in the long jump with a leap of 6.73 meters (22 feet, 1 inch). Larsen also cleared a personal-best 1.89 meters (6 feet, 2.25 inches) in the high jump, tying for fifth-best all-time at UAA.

Tobin Schmidtke currently sits in fourth place in the heptathlon with 2,571 points, achieving 732 points in the long jump (6.65 meters/21 feet, 10 inches) and 706 points in the 60-meter dash (7.52 seconds).

Liessfeld continued her impressive day by securing a second All-GNAC honor, finishing as the runner-up in the long jump with a distance of 5.76 meters (18 feet, 10.75 inches).

Mya Campbell also earned All-GNAC honors in the long jump, finishing third with a jump of 5.61 meters (18 feet, 5 inches). She also placed fourth in the high jump, clearing 1.60 meters (5 feet, 3 inches), a height tied for fourth-best in UAA history.

In the men’s long jump, Tyler Drake finished fifth with a jump of 6.82 meters (22 feet, 4.5 inches), while Schmidtke was seventh at 6.66 meters (21 feet, 10.25 inches).

The UAA men’s distance medley relay team, comprised of Stephen Zukowski, Brian Morris, Hunter Taddy, and Ethan Ackroyd, finished fourth in a time of 10:18.30, the eighth-fastest time in school history.

Ty Elliott finished fifth in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 14:47.04.

The Seawolves also saw success in the qualifying rounds for the 60-meter hurdles. Liv Heite qualified as the top seed with a time of 8.63 seconds. Blanca De Arvizu Sarrias qualified fourth (8.85 seconds), and McKinley Eddington seventh (9.12 seconds), the 10th-best time in school history.

Jessica Chisar qualified as the second-seed in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:15.46.

At the close of the first day, the UAA women’s team is currently in third place, while the men’s team is tied for fifth place out of nine teams. The GNAC Championships will conclude on Tuesday.