NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Washington University Track & Field program wrapped up a successful 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Championships with the men's team taking home its fifth title in program history at the two-day event held at the Jacksons Indoor Track and Sports Complex at the Ford Idaho Center.
 
A total team effort by the Vikings recorded six individual titles, 11 All-GNAC performances for top-3 finishes and 26 new entries were made into the all-time program top-10 record book.
 
The Viking men rallied around individual titles by Cordell Cummings in the 60m hurdles, Kyler Sager in the 800m, Seren Dances in the long jump and J.T. Konrad in the pole vault to record 138.5 team points, 24 points better than second-place Alaska Anchorage with 114.5 points. WWU also won team titles in 2005, 2006, 2013 and 2014.
 
The women's team placed 4^th with 79 team points, just behind third-place Alaska Anchorage with 83 points. Anna Paradee won her second indoor pole vault title and Maddie Taylor took home the women's high jump title.
 
"It was an all-around great team effort during the championships," said 32^nd-year head coach Pee Wee Halsell. "If they weren't competing they were cheering…and they all fed off each other's performances. I couldn't be prouder of how they competed and battled this week. It was a phenomenal team atmosphere to be part of."
 

Men's Standings		Points	Women's Standings		Points
1.	Western Washington	138.5	1.	Seattle Pacific	154
2.	Alaska Anchorage	114.5	2.	Central Washington	150
3.	Central Washington	97	3.	Alaska Anchorage	83
4.	Northwest Nazarene	71	4.	Western Washington	79
5.	Simon Fraser	66	5.	Simon Fraser	70
6.	Western Oregon	55	6.	Concordia	49
7.	Saint Martin's	49.5	7.	Western Oregon	29
8.	Concordia	45	8.	Northwest Nazarene	28
9.	Montana State Billings	14.5	9.	Saint Martin's	17
10.	Seattle Pacific	11	10.	Montana State Billings	3

  The following WWU student-athletes earned All-GNAC honors by placing in the top 3 in their event. There were nine additional 4^th-place finishes just outside of All-GNAC consideration.
 

• Cordell Cummings: 60m Hurdles (1^st)
• Bryant Welch: 200m (3^rd)
• Kyler Sager: 800m (1^st)
• Tupre Wickliff: High Jump (2^nd)
• J.T. Konrad: Pole Vault (1^st)
• Seren Dances: Long Jump (1^st)
• Sophia Galvez: 5000m (2^nd)
• Maddie Taylor: High Jump (1^st)
• Heather Faretta: High Jump (2^nd)
• Anna Paradee: Pole Vault (1^st)
• Chanelle Eddy: Shot Put (3^rd)

Junior Cordell Cummings added another hurdles title to his personal trophy case, bringing home the trophy in a PR time of 8.33 in the 60m hurdles. Cummings was the outdoor champion in the 110 high hurdles in 2018 and the 400 hurdles champion as a freshman in 2017. He became the third Viking to win the indoor 60m hurdle title, joining Travis Milbrandt (2015-16) and Josh Freeman (2004). Freshman Koby Okezie placed 6^th (8.53) and redshirt freshman Seren Dances placed 8^th (9.03) as the Vikings picked up 14 points in the event.


  Senior Kyler Sager won the 800m in a school-record time of 1:53.29, edging out Western Oregon's Curt Knott by nearly two seconds. Sager becomes the second Viking to win the 800m indoor title, joining Keith Lemay in 2008.
 

T&F | Congrats to Kyler Sager on his 800m title and SCHOOL RECORD in 1:53.29 at the #GNACTF Indoor Championships!

📊 https://t.co/RvrrM1622Z pic.twitter.com/S3k3fB5Hjf

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) February 16, 2019

  Junior Cordell Cummings helped the Vikings to 23 team points, winning the 60m hurdles (10 points), placing 4^th in the 400m (5 points) and was part of the 2^nd-place 4x400 relay (8 points). Redshirt freshman Seren Dances helped the Vikings with 14 points, winning the long jump (10 points), placing 6^th in the triple jump (3 points) and was 8^th in the 60m hurdles (1 point). Dances also finished 9^th in the high jump just outside of the points.
  Senior Anna Paradee made the most of her last GNAC competition, winning the pole vault competition clearing 3.84m/12-7.25. She cleared the winning height in her first chance, while Central Washington's Halle Irvine too three tires at the same height to finish in 2^nd. 
 

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Congrats to @ajparadee on winning the #GNACTF Indoor Championships Pole Vault, her second title (also 2017) and fourth time to earn All-GNAC honors . . . . . #VIKtorious #VaultingViks

A post shared by WWU Athletics (@wwuathletics) on Feb 16, 2019 at 2:06pm PST

 
Paradee was the 2017 GNAC Indoor champion and the 2016 GNAC Outdoor champion. She became an eight-time All-GNAC selection, earning top-3 finishes four times in each the outdoor and indoor championships during her WWU career. WWU had nine competitors in the pole vault competition, with Rachael Roberts placing 4^th (3.44m/11-3.5), Jewels Oliquiano placing 6^th (3.44m/11-3.5) and Lexi Perry 7^th (3.29m/10-9.5).
  Senior Tupre Wickliff finished 2^nd in the high jump clearing 2.03m/6-7.75, leading five Vikings in the top 10. Despite not defending his GNAC indoor title from last season, Wickliff still set a PR to move into 3^rd in the WWU top-10 record book. Junior Nick Makrakis set a PR clearing 1.93m/6-4 to finish 6^th and freshman Ethan Sterkel placed 8^th also at 1.93m/6-4.
  The Vikings picked up 15 team points in the men's triple jump, with Nick Makrakis, Jacob Ringold, Seren Dances, Somit Chhim and Jeremiah Duckworth taking home places 4-8 in the competition. Makrakis finished 4^th recoding a massive PR in the vent at 14.13m/46-4.25 to move into 5^th in WWU history. Ringold (14.11m/46-3.5) and Dances (14.07m/46-2) also jumped over 46 feet to move up to 6^th and 7^th in the WWU top-10.
  Junior Chanelle Eddy and sophomore Maya McFadden finished 3^rd and 4^th respectively in the women's shot put. Eddy earned All-GNAC honors setting a PR with a throw of 11.91m/39-1 remaining at No. 3 in the WWU indoor top 10. McFadden placed 4^th with a throw of 11.84m38-10..25, just off her PR of 11.87m/38-11.5.
  Junior Hannah Bradley placed 4^th in the 60m in a personal-best time of 7.80. Bradley moved up to No. 2 in WWU indoor history after qualifying 6^th in the event with a previous PR of 7.84 in Friday's prelims.
  Senior Savannah Smith finished 4^th in the 200m in 25.07, setting a personal best and recording the 2^nd-best time in WWU indoor history. She just missed out on the school record of 25.03 set by Ellie Siler in 2010. Smith also placed 8^th in the 400m, an event where she also holds the 2^nd-fastest time in program history.
  Freshman Koby Okezie had a solid first GNAC Championships, placing 4^th in the 60m (7.12), 6^th in the 60m hurdles (8.53) and was part of the 2^nd-place 4x400 relay team. Okezie helped the Vikings to 17 team points with this performances.
  Senior Dylan Hayes had a pair of standout performances in the GNAC Indoor Championships, placing 5^th in the 3000m on Saturday (8:46.84) and 6^th in the 5000m on Friday (15:16.90).
  Freshman Ian Rinefort placed 6^th in the men's heptathlon, finishing with 4,644 points. Freshman Cooper Cummings finished in 9^th place with 4,240 points, 4^th-most in WWU history. Central Washington's Kodiak Landis, a two-time First Team All-American in the event, won the heptathlon with 5,228 points to lead him to the Field Athlete of the Meet award.
  The following are additional highlights by WWU student-athletes during the final day of competition at the 2019 GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships:
 

• 4x400 Relay – WWU's entry in the 4x400 relay placed 2^nd finishing in 3:20.13, the 3^rd-fastest time in WWU history…Myles Smith, Cordell Cummings, Koby Okezie and Bryant Welch formed the relay that finished less than a half-second behind first-place Central Washington.
• James Jasperson – Placed 4^th in the men's mile finishing in 4:17.71, 7^th-fastes in WWU history.
• Bryant Welch – Placed 3^rd in the 200m in 22.21, after setting a PR of 22.17 in the prelims
• Myles Smith – Set a PR in the 200m in 22.34 to finish 6^th, recording the 8^th-fastest time in WWU history.
• Ben Malquist – Placed 6^th in the men's shot put with a throw of 15.29m/50-2 for the 7^th-best mark in WWU indoor history.
• Koby Okezie – Placed 4^th in the 60m (7.12) and 6^th in the 60m Hurdles (8.53).
• Shawnee Konrad – Placed 6^th in the 800m finishing in 2:19.28 (set PR on Friday in 2:17.95).
• Devon Olson – Finished 11^th in the women's triple jump with a mark of 10.73m/35-2.5.
• Sophia Galvez – Finished 8^th in the 3000m (10:34.08)…also earned All-GNAC honors with a 2^nd-place finish in the 5000m (18:15.80) on Friday.

  All the highlights from Friday's first day of events can be viewed online via WWUVikings.com. The event recap highlights the performances from the first day of competition at the GNAC Indoor Championships, including event victories by J.T. Konrad in the pole vault, Maddie Taylor in the high jump and Seren Dances in the long jump.
  WWU had recorded 51 new entries into the program's indoor top 10 record book this season, including 26 during the two-day GNAC Indoor Championships. There were 15 new entries into top-10 record book on Saturday, including Kyler Sager racing the fastest time in indoor WWU history in the 800m.
 

• WWU Indoor Record Book
• GNAC Indoor Top 10 Marks – Men
• GNAC Indoor Top 10 Marks – Women

  The Vikings complete the 2019 indoor regular season next week at the SPU Final Qualifier on Saturday, Feb. 23 at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle. The NCAA Division II Championships March 8-9 at the Robert W. Plaster Center on the Pittsburg State University campus in Pittsburg, Kansas.
 

Meet	Date	Location
Candy Cane XI	Nov. 30-Dec. 1	Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse – EWU (Cheney, WA)
UW Preview	Jan.12	Dempsey Indoor - UW (Seattle, WA)
UW Invitational	Jan. 25-26	Dempsey Indoor - UW (Seattle, WA)
Cougar Indoor	Feb. 2	Indoor Practice Facility – WSU (Pullman, WA)
Husky Classic	Feb. 8	Dempsey Indoor - UW (Seattle, WA)
GNAC Championships	Feb. 15-16	Jacksons Indoor Complex (Nampa, ID)
SPU Final Qualifier	Feb. 23	Dempsey Indoor - UW (Seattle, WA)
NCAA Championships	March 8-9	Robert W. Plaster Center (Pittsburg, KS)