CHENEY, Wash. – Two members of the Western Washington University Track & Field team opened the 2021-22 indoor season competing in the Heptathlon at the Candy Cane Invitational on Friday at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse.
 
Through the first four events (out of seven) WWU freshman Ryan Kenny is in 4th place out of 13 competitors with 2,455 points. Junior Cooper Cummings is in 8th place with 2,305 points.
 
"Ryan and Cooper both had solid first days for this early season opportunity," said WWU assistant coach and leader of the multis group Ben Stensland. "Cooper is right on pace to match in heptathlon personal best and Ryan is very close to his predicted scoring. I'm excited to see how we do on day two."
 
Kenny, who placed 7th in the 2021 GNAC Outdoor Championships in the Decathlon, made his indoor debut by finishing in the top three in two of the four events. Kenny was 3rd in the 60m dash finishing in 7.30 and tied for 3rd in the high jump clearing 1.82m/5-11.5. He was also 6th in the long jump (6.08m/19-11.5) and 11th in the shot (9.04m/29-8).
 
Cummings, the 4th-place finisher at the 2020 GNAC Indoor Championships with 4,412 points (4th in WWU history) in the Heptathlon, sits in 8th place with 2,305 points. His best performance of the day was a 7th-place finish in the long jump (6.06m/19-10.75).
 
The Heptathlon competes in the final three events (60m Hurdles, Pole Vault, 1000m) beginning Saturday morning.
 
The women's Pentathlon will feature three WWU student-athletes in the five event competition (60m Hurdles, High Jump, Shot Put, Long Jump, 800m). Juniors Aliyah Dawkins and Leanne Kibbee, and sophomore Matty Lagerwey will represent WWU in the season-opening competition.
 
Friday's competition marked the first time the Vikings were involved in an indoor meet since February 2020 prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a span of 21 months.