MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Washington University distance runners were not able to have a cross country season, but the hard work without competition is paying off.
 
WWU's distance crew once again paved the way with solid results during the first day of competition at the John Knight Twilight hosted by Western Oregon University Friday evening at McArthur Stadium.
 
The Vikings recorded two top-10 times in the 1500m in program history and another top-10 mark in the 3,000 steeplechase to highlight the performances from the first day of the weekend meet.
 
A week after setting the 1500m school record, senior Calahan Warren won the event in a time of 3:48.42 (ran 3:44.82 at the WWU Invitational for the No. 2 time in NCAA II). Junior Mac Franks finished 3^rd in an NCAA II championships provisional qualifying mark of 3:49.57, good for No. 6 WWU outdoor history. Freshman Kevin McDermott placed 5^th in 3:52.87 for the No. 9 time in WWU history.
 
In the men's 3,000m Steeplechase, junior transfer Kaleb Korta placed 2^nd in 9:12.73 for a provisional time and moved up to No. 7 on the WWU all-time top-10 list. Korta was the 2017 GNAC champion in the steeplechase as a freshman at Alaska Anchorage.
 
For the fourth consecutive meet to open the 2021 season, senior Hannah Nienaber recorded a personal-best mark winning the javelin competition with a throw of 47.52m/155-11 to top the 12-competitor field. The two-time GNAC Women's Field Athlete of the Week improved her No. 10 mark in WWU history and moved up to No. 16 in GNAC history. She entered the week ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II with her previous best throw of 47.08m/154-5 set last Saturday at the WWU Invitational.
 
Second-place finishes by Aliyah Dawkins (High Jump) and Raine Westfall (Hammer Throw) also highlighted more solid performances for the women's squad on Friday in Monmouth.
 
The two-day meet concludes Saturday with the first events beginning at 10 am. WWU will also have a small contingent of competitors at the PLU Invitational in Tacoma on Saturday. Live result links for both meets can be found by visiting WWUVikings.com/Live.
  Senior Calahan Warren recorded his fifth event win of the season pacing the 16-runner field in the men's 1500m in a time of 3:48.42. While just off his school-record time of 3:44.82 set last Saturday at the WWU Invitational, he held off Western Oregon's Hunter Hutton (3:49.24) for the victory.
 
Junior Mac Franks placed 3^rd in a provisional-qualifying time of 3:49.57 to move up to No. 6 in WWU history and freshman Kevin McDermott recorded a personal-best time of 3:52.87 to rank 9^th in program history. Senior Eric Hamel, who holds a provisional mark in the 10,000m, placed 6^th in 3:57.21.
  Senior Hannah Nienaber won the women's javelin competition with a throw of 47.52m/155-11 to record a personal-best mark for the fourth consecutive week. Entering the week in the top five nationally, Nienaber improved her mark to move up to No. 16 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history. Senior Amanda Short, who was a two-sport volleyball and track & field student-athlete at Western Oregon before transferring to WWU, placed 3^rd with a throw of 40.83m/133-11 and senior Natalie Vetto placed 4^th with top mark of 40.72m/133-7.  

TF🎽 | Stop us if you've read this before ... but for the fourth consecutive week @wwutfxc senior javelin thrower Hannah Nienaber records a PB winning the John Knight Twilight with a throw of 47.52m/155-11 (10th in WWU history/16th in #GNACTF history). pic.twitter.com/CttIlUsgVz
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) April 10, 2021

  Junior Kaleb Korta placed 2^nd in the 3,000m Steeplechase clocking 9:12.73 to record an NCAA II Championships provisional qualifying mark (under 9:13.76). The time moved Korta up to No. 7 in WWU history in the event and closed in on his personal-best time of 9:06.69 accomplish when he won the GNAC Championships in the steeple as a freshman for Alaska Anchorage in 2017.
 
Freshman Jeret Gillingham placed 3^rd in a personal-best time of 9:16.03, just off the WWU all-time top-10 list, and junior Ian Fay was 4^th out of five runners in 9:26.99.

TF🎽 | Congratulations to Kaleb Korta of @wwutfxc on running the 7th-fastest 3,000m steeplechase in program history...and obtaining an NCAA II provisional-qualifying mark! pic.twitter.com/tZR8Um6D6o
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) April 10, 2021

  Sophomore Aliyah Dawkins placed 2^nd out of eight competitors in the women's high jump, clearing 1.59m/5-2.5. She obtained the No. 2 spot after clearing the mark on her first jump, with Alaska Anchorage's Elena Cano clearing the same height on her second jump. A nationals qualifier for the 2020 NCAA II Indoor Championships in the high jump, Dawkins just missed obtaining her personal outdoor best mark of 1.63m/5-4.25. Teammate Leanne Kibbee placed 7^th clearing a personal-best 1.49m/4-10.5.
  Freshman Trent Kibler won the men's high jump clearing a personal-best 2.00m/6-6.75, finishing ahead of Western Oregon's Devin Hasher (1.95m/6-4.75). Kibler went past his season-opening top mark of 1.95m/6-4.75 and is nearing the WWU top-10 list with his performance. Second-year freshman Damian Mercado equaled his personal best clearing 1.90m/6-2.75 to finish 5^th in the seven-athlete competition.
  Led by a 2^nd-place performance by Raine Westfall, WWU hammer throwers placed 2-3-4 in Friday's competition that featured nine competitors. Westfall had a top throw of 45.20m/148-3 to trail only Western Oregon's Moana Gianotti (46.02m/151-0). Katie Potts placed 3^rd with a mark of 42.75m/140-3 and Mattison Crook was 4^th in 40.70m/133-6.
  Sophomore Jaydon Tryon recorded a personal-best mark of 55.23m/188-2 to placed 3^rd in the men's javelin competition. Tryon, a transfer from Everett CC, bested his previous top collegiate mark of 55.01m/180-6 set at the 2019 NWAC Championships. Freshman Sean Witters placed 4^th out of six competitors with a personal-best mark of 54.03m/177-3.
  The Vikings are back in action Saturday with a full slate of events during the second day of the John Knight Twilight and are also sending a contingent down to Tacoma to compete in the PLU Invitational.
 
Following the John Knight Twilight and the PLU Invitational this weekend, the Vikings will cross the state for the CWU Track & Field Meet that is scheduled to be held April 16-17 (Fri-Sat) in Ellensburg. This will be the first opportunity for WWU's multi athletes to be in action prior to the GNAC Multi Championships that will be held May 3-4 at the same CWU Recreation Sports Complex venue.