BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A trio of Western Washington University Track & Field senior student-athletes have been selected as Great Northwest Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week for March 11-17.
 
Maddie Taylor (high jump), Savannah Smith (400m) and Dylan Hayes (3,000m steeplechase) had standout performances over the weekend to gather three of the four weekly awards distributed by the GNAC for outdoor track & field.
 
Taylor (Seattle, WA/Auburn Mountainview) won the high jump at the Doris Heritage Track Festival setting a school record by clearing 1.74m/5-8.5. The senior broke the 35-year-old outdoor school record previously set by Kristy Dees at 1.73m/5-8.25 in 1984. Taylor's jump at West Seattle Stadium is also tied for the 5^th-best mark in GNAC history, obtained an NCAA II championships provisional mark and is currently the top jump in all of NCAA II.
 
Smith (Renton, WA) won the 400m at the Doris Heritage Track Festival in a time of 56.96, the top time in the GNAC season and 9^th-best in the nation.
 
Hayes (Seattle, WA/Garfield) finished 3^rd in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open in Portland. He was the top NCAA II finisher in the event in a time of 9:25.37, the leading mark in the GNAC and No. 9 in NCAA II this season.
 
The GNAC Athlete of the Week selections for Taylor, Smith and Hayes are all the first of their career. This marks the second consecutive week WWU has had multiple student-athletes selected for the weekly awards, with hurdlers Cordell Cummings and Molly House earning honors last week. Junior javelin thrower Raquel Pellecer was also named GNAC Field Athlete of the Week for Feb. 25-March 3.
  The Vikings are taking this week off for final exams and return to competition the weekend of March 28-31 at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic in Hayward, CA and the UBC Open in Vancouver, BC.
  WWU will again host two home events, beginning with the WWU Team Invitational on April 5 and the Ralph Vernacchia Track & Field Meet on April 27. Both home events will be held at Civic Stadium in Bellingham.