SPOKANE, Wash. – The Western Washington University Track & Field program opened the 2022-23 indoor season Saturday at the Spokane Invitational setting two program records and seven top-10 marks.
 
Sophomore Raine Westfall (Weight Throw) and junior Katie Potts (Shot Put) both established program records with their season-opening performances.
 
It was the WWU throws crew that highlighted the Vikings performances Saturday at The Podium, with four program top-10 marks achieved in the weight throw (men's and women's) and the shot put (women's).
 
"This was a fantastic start to the indoor season," said WWU throws and head strength coach Damien Fisher. "The squad executed their respective technical plans to near perfection, and will only continue to improve from here."
 
Westfall (Port Angeles, WA/Crescent) broke her own school record in the weight throw with mark of 16.75m/54-11.50 to rank No. 10 in GNAC history. She achieved the mark on her sixth and final throw to place 5th in 38-athlete field and finished as the top non-Division I athlete in the competition. Westfall broke her previous career-best mark of 15.64m/51-3.75 set at 2022 GNAC Indoor Championships.
 
Potts (Everett, WA/Glacier Peak) set the WWU indoor shot put record with a throw of 12.73m/41-9.25 to finish in 9th place. She bettered her previous indoor PR of 12.41m/40-8.75 to move up to the top spot in the Western indoor record book breaking the previous record set by Megan Mortensen in 2016 (12.69m/41-7.75).
 
A pair of newcomers recorded top-10 program marks in the men's weight throw with sophomore transfer Miller Campbell (Bremerton, WA/Olympic College) placing third with a throw of 16.26m/53-4.25 for No. 5 mark in WWU indoor history and freshman Angelo Ramos (Auburn, CA/Placer) finished seventh with the No. 7 mark in program history with a throw of 15.10m/49-6.5.
 
Sophomore Caitlyn Cheney (Ellensburg, WA) placed 9th in the 60m prelims in a time of 7.82 to set a PR and the No. 3 mark in WWU women's indoor history. Cheney shattered her previous PR mark of 8.03 set at 2022 GNAC Indoor Championships.
 
Junior Marian Ledesma (Rowland Heights, CA/Azusa Pacific) made her indoor WWU debut placing 4th in the women's 800m, recording the second-fastest time in program history clocking 2:14.48. The transfer from Azusa Pacific University will look to hunt down the school record of 2:13.13 set by Rachel Johnson in 2009. Her mark Saturday was a NCAA II provisional qualifying time ranking No. 4 in the nation during the early part of the season.
 
In the men's 800m the Vikings had a pair of top-five finishers in the 14-athlete competition. Freshman Jonah Bloom led the Vikings with a personal-best time of 1:54.08 by for the sixth-fastest time in program history to finish in fourth place. Junior Drew Weber was right behind Bloom in 1:54.26 to place fifth.
  The WWU Track & Field team returns to action in January competing in the UW Indoor Preview January 13-14 at Dempsey Indoor. The full 2022-23 WWU Indoor Track & Field schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/TF.