MONMOUTH, Ore. – MSU Billings track and field finished up their 2015 outdoor season at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships at MacArthur Field on the campus of Western Oregon University,Saturday, May 9.
 
Today the MSUB men's team added 12 points to their team score. Junior Robert Peterson came through for his team with a third place result in the men's 1500m. After sustaining an injury at the end of the indoor season, Peterson has been slowly working his way back onto the track. Last week Peterson ran a 4:00.38 in Missoula and on the track in Monmouth the Billings native bettered his time with a finish in 3:51.58; a new school record, a personal best for Peterson, a national provisional qualifying time, and an all-conference performance for the runner who just barely qualified for the conference championships last week in Missoula.
 
"It is really great to see him back," MSUB head coach Dave Coppock said. "He has been fighting this nagging injury all spring, and because he just barely qualified for the conference meet last week, he was in the slow 1500m heat to start. He basically ran by himself after the first 400m, finishing first and was third overall in the qualifying round. I think he is just a couple weeks from returning to his top form, so to see him compete so well at the championships was really great. I know he will be glad to take some time this summer to rest for a few weeks and then will be right back to training for the cross country season this fall."
 
The MSUB men's 4x400 also broke the MSUB school record today. The team of Nate Vanderby, Tyler Delaney, Cameron Stanek, and Peterson completed the relay in 3:21.60 for a sixth place finish. The team broke the record of 3:23.46 set in 2011.
 
In the women's 1500m race senior Nocona Frame had a standout day. Needing a wildcard entry to be in the race, Frame stepped up finishing in sixth place in 4:40.19. For the second consecutive year, Frame has entered the event as a wild card and came out of the conference championships with points for her team. "Nocona really stepped up big time today," Coach Coppock said. "This being the final meet of her career, she has been struggling this spring with illness, but for the second year in a row really came through for her team. She did the same thing last year placing fifth and she really deserves a lot of credit for peaking at the right time. I am really proud of her and glad she was able to finish on such a high note."
 
 
After starting off the day with just two points on the women's side and five on the men's MSUB added 11 more points to the women's total and 12 points to the men's team.
 
"We maybe all felt a little down after the first day, we didn't have too many points, but heading into today everyone really stepped up on the second day and we were able to gather up quite a few more points," Coach Coppock said. "It is a really tough field to compete in, there are a lot of nationally-ranked and qualified top-10 performers out there; the GNAC is a really tough competitive conference."

"Along with the men's 4x400, the women's relay team also did a really good job today," Coppock continued. "They have really improved this season."
 
Hope Reid placed sixth in the women's high jump with a height of 1.57m. Yesterday, Reid finished seventh in the pole vault for MSUB. "Hope Reid had a really great meet," Coppock commented. "She finished with points for her team on both days."
 
Nate Vanderby placed seventh in the men's 400m in 49.30 and Nels Flanagan added another point for the MSUB men's team with his second eighth-place finish of the conference meet, this time in the hammer throw with a distance of 44.97m.
 
In the team scores, Western Washington edged-out Alaska Anchorage by two points (176-174) for the men's team title. Seattle Pacific held a 29-point advantage for the win over second-place Alaska Anchorage for the women's team title.
 
Men's Final Team Scores – Western Washington 176, Alaska Anchorage 174, Central Washington 109 ½, Western Oregon 88, Northwest Nazarene 85, Simon Fraser 85, Saint Martin's 54 ½, Seattle Pacific 21, MSU Billings 17.
 
Women's Final Team Scores - Seattle Pacific 183, Alaska Anchorage 154, Central Washington 90, Western Washington 88, Western Oregon 82, Northwest Nazarene 74, Simon Fraser 74, Saint Martin's 59, MSU Billings 13.