BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University junior Tupre Wickliff has been honored as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Male Newcomer of the Year for the indoor track & field season, announced Friday by the conference office.

Wickliff (Vancouver, WA/Evergreen/Clark College) recently completed his first season of competition with the Vikings after transferring from Clark College. To be eligible for the GNAC Newcomer of the Year award, a student-athlete must be of sophomore eligibility or higher and in a first season of competition with a school. Wickliff became the fifth WWU men's track & field student-athlete to earn the honor for the indoor season, joining Alex Donigian (2013), Anthony Zackery (2010), Augustine Agyei (2009) and Mark Mellein (2004).

The WWU men placed 5th at the GNAC Indoor Championships, with Wickliff becoming the indoor conference high jump champion at a height of 2.01m (6-7). He outlasted Alaska Anchorage's Chris Brake in a close battle at the conference meet to take home the title.

The leap for Wickliff at the conference championships was a personal-best mark tied for No. 3 on the WWU top-10 list and the 4th-best mark in the GNAC during the season. He became the fifth WWU jumper to win the conference indoor high jump (sixth overall WWU indoor high jump title) and first since Brett Watson won in back-to-back years during 2014-15.

Wickliff was one of eight Vikings to earn U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-West Region honors for the indoor season. All-Region honors are earned by recording a top-5 regional performance for a USTFCCCA member school, along with top-3 relay teams in each region.

With the indoor season concluded, WWU has competed in two outdoor meets during 2018 and will continue the season on Saturday at the Seattle Pacific University Doris Heritage Track Festival, hosted at West Seattle Stadium (pole vault held at University of Washington's Husky Track). The Vikings will be in action during the outdoor season each week leading up to the GNAC Outdoor Championships (May 11-12, Monmouth OR).