ELLENSBRUG, Wash. (Apr. 25) ­ Despite finishing first in four of the seven events, Kelsey Cooley of Seattle Pacific University took second to Western Oregon's hard-throwing Bridget Johnson in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference heptathlon Tuesday at Tomlinson Stadium.

Cooley (So., Missoula, Mt.) and the Falcons' Linda Blake (Sr., Richland, Wa.) , who was third, each moved up the qualifying list for NCAA Division by significantly improving their season-best scores.

Johnson won her second straight GNAC crown with 5053 points. She won just two events­the shot put and javelin­but did so by large margins over Cooley, who scored 4880.

The runner-up for the second year in a row, Cooley started the second day with a win an personal-best mark of 18 feet, 3 inches in the long jump. She also was a clear winner in the final event, the 800 meters (2:24.86). Her javelin sailed 99-1.

Blake, the 2004 conference champion, added 400 points to her season-high score and finished wit ha PR count of 4694. She had won the 100 hurdles Monday and her second day marks were 16-3¼ in the long jump, 108-10 in the javelin and 2:26.84 in the 800.

Cooley's score rates No. 4 on the national qualifying list and Blake's is seventh.

Seattle Pacific takes 14 points into the GNAC Championships, which will be May 6 in Monmouth, Or.

No SPU men competed in the decathlon, which was won by Central Washington's Cresap Watson with 6044 points.

2006 GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MULTI-EVENT CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 24-25, 2006
At Ellensburg, WA (Tomlinson Stadium)

WOMEN'S HEPTATHLON
1. Bridget Johnson, Sr., Western Ore., 5053
2. Kelsey Cooley, So., Seattle Pacific, 4880
3. Linda Blake, Sr., Seattle Pacific, 4692
4. Amanda Merrell, So., Northwest Nazarene, 4653
5. Jacque Postlewait, Fr., Western Ore., 4386
6. Ashley Wornell, Jr., Northwest Nazarene, 4348
7. Nini Callan, Sr., Western Ore., 4191
8. Jackie McCall, Sr., Western Wash., 4008

MEN'S DECATHLON
1. Cresap Watson, Sr., Central Wash., 6044
2. James Turner, Jr., Western Wash., 5336
3. Brandon Zueger, So., Central Wash., 5090
4. Scott McCoy, So., Central Wash., 4927
5. Ryan Johnson, Fr., Central Wash., 4775

TEAM SCORES THROUGH MULTI-EVENTS
(go toward GNAC Championship totals)
MEN: Central Washington 25, Western Washington 8
WOMEN: Western Oregon 16, Seattle Pacific 14, Northwest Nazarene 8, Western Washington 1