California Baptist University
WAC Track Championships
Lancers Keep Impressive Run at 2021 WAC Track Championships Going
5/14/2021 7:59:00 PM | Cross Country & Track
All five Lancers who ran the steeplechase finished all-conference on Friday night at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Soccer & Track and Field Complex.
It was Giedrius Valincius provided the big highlight when he won the 3,000 meter steeplechase in dramatic fashion. Greta Karinauskaite led CBU's women with a runner-up finish in her first time running the event this year to make the All-WAC First Team.
🥇🥇🥇
— CBU XC & Track (@CBUXCTF) May 15, 2021
Giedrius Valincius wins the 2021 @WACsports championship in the 3,000 meter steeplechase❗️ He takes it in a stadium record 9:09.58, which ranks him seventh in CBU history.#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/BtdILKZaTg
Arturs Medveds and Karin Gosek each took fourth place in the men's and women's steeplechase, respectively, while Emilia Mikszuta took fifth place to qualify for the All-WAC Second Team.
Valincius and Medveds were both in the lead pack for most of the race. It became a two-man race late between Valincius and Grand Canyon's Landon Rast.
It was Rast who had a step on Valincius down the stretch. Valincius even stumbled on the final water obstacle but recovered quickly and sped past Rast after the final steeple for the big win in nine minutes, 9:58 seconds in his season debut in the event.
𝗔 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗦
— CBU XC & Track (@CBUXCTF) May 15, 2021
Take a look back at the final kick that made Giedrius Valincius a WAC champion in his steeplechase debut. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/OLYvoWjnVz
Valincius' time demolished the previous stadium record of 9:18.52 and was more than one-second cushion over Rast (9:10.72). Medveds finished in fourth place in his season debut in the steeplechase, too, in 9:31.27.
Karinauskaite, a true freshman, looked like a veteran in the steeple, despite it being her first time running the race, as well. She jumped out to an early lead and stayed there, as she made up a top four that that separated themselves quickly, including Gosek and Mikszuta.
🏅 𝗔𝗟𝗟-𝗪𝗔𝗖 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 🏅
— CBU XC & Track (@CBUXCTF) May 15, 2021
Greta Karinauskaite makes her season debut in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and finishes runner-up in the conference to make the All-WAC First Team. She finished in 10:25.82, which ranks her fourth in CBU's individual top 10.#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/VCerNB28DO
Grand Canyon's Paige Hildebrandt (10:23.05) pulled away late, but Karinauskaite was the only close second in 10:25.82. It ranks her fourth in the Lancers' top-10 individual history, with both times crushing the previous stadium record of 11:00.09.
Gosek took fourth place in 10:43.50, as she was not far off her season best of 10:42.19. Mikszuta took fifth place in 11:06.05.
🏅 𝗔𝗟𝗟-𝗪𝗔𝗖 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 🏅
— CBU XC & Track (@CBUXCTF) May 15, 2021
Three Lancers earned all-conference second-team honors in the steeple. Arturs Medveds (9:31.27) and Karin Gosek (10:43.50) both took fourth place in their respective races, while Emilia Mikszuta finished fifth (11:06.05).#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/5nFl2UESj1
Anneken Viljoen advanced to the 800-meter finals on Saturday, as she took second place in her heat and fourth in the prelims overall with a time of 2:15.48.
The Lancers go into Saturday's third and final day in fourth place on the men's side with 35 points and fifth place among the women with 24 points. The WAC Championships will wrap up Saturday, with CBU running the 800 finals, 1500, 5000 and 4x400 relay. The Lancers' day will begin with the 1500 at 3:15 p.m. Pacific. The meet is being streamed live on the WAC Digital Network and ESPN+ with live results available at MileSplit.
Players Mentioned
