BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University Track & Field program wraps up the regular-season portion of the indoor season Saturday with 13 student-athletes set to compete in the SPU Final Qualifier at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle.
 
WWU is coming off a successful trip to Spokane for the GNAC Championships earlier this week, with the men winning their third consecutive indoor team title and the women battling for the title until the last event and finishing third. The Viking men have now won seven indoor titles for the most in conference history and have claimed the last five GNAC track team titles between indoor and outdoor dating back to the 2019 season.
 
The SPU final qualifier is a chance for athletes to get one last crack at obtaining or improving their mark with the chance of qualifying for the NCAA Championships or to get in one more competition before outdoor season.
 
Results and a full recap will be posted on wwuvikings.com/TF following the completion of events on Saturday evening.
  Here is the list of Vikings that are set to compete Saturday at the SPU Final Qualifier, with events scheduled to start close to 4:30 pm following the Pac-12 Invitational:
 

• Women's Mile: Mia Crocker, Sophie Wright, Brook Wedin
• Men's Mile: Nick McIver, Alec Ritter
• Men's 800m: Mac Franks, Drew Weber, Alec Ritter
• Women's 3000m: Ila Davis
• Men's 3000m: Quinn Wilcox, Sean Sands
• Men's Long Jump: Ethan Sterkel
• Women's High Jump: Aliyah Dawkins
• Men's High Jump: Beah Sheeran

  The SPU Final Qualifier serves as the final regular-season meet of the year for the Vikings. The field for the NCAA Division II Championships will be announced on Monday afternoon and the 2022 NCAA II Indoor Championships will be held March 11-12 at the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, Kansas.
  While the indoor season is coming to a close, the 2022 outdoor season is right around the corner. The Vikings are set to make their outdoor season debut March 5 at the Ed Boitano Invitational on the University of Puget Sound campus in Tacoma.
  Here is a look at where top WWU individuals and relays rank in NCAA Division II by recording a provisional qualifying mark. The 2022 NCAA II Indoor Championships will be in at the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, Kansas March 11-12.
 

• Beau Sheeran: High Jump – No. 9 (2.10m/6-10.75)
• Mac Franks: Mile – No. 11 (4:02.28), 800m – No. 27 (1:51.07), 3000m – No. 28 (8:09.40)
• Will Henry: 800m – No. 59 (1:52.82)
• Drew Weber: 800m – No. 30 (1:51.55)
• Kevin McDermott: 5000m – No. 47 (14:26.03), 3000m – No. 71 (8:19.37), Mile – No. 64 (4:10.37)
• Hunter Flick: 60m Hurdles – No. 15 (8.07)
• Ethan Sterkel: Long Jump – No. 24 (7.26m/23-10)
• Aliyah Dawkins: High Jump – No. 31 (1.68m/5-6), Pentathlon – No. 26 (3,340)
• Men's DMR: No. 21 (9:50.83)

  Here is a look at the final team scores from the 2022 GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships with the Vikings winning their third consecutive men's title and the women placing third in a tight race at the top of the leaderboard:
 

MEN'S TEAM SCORES			WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES
	Team	Pts	PL	Team	Pts
1.	Western Washington	171	1.	Simon Fraser	124
2.	Simon Fraser	110	2.	Western Oregon	115
3.	Western Oregon	107.3	3.	Western Washington	113
4.	Alaska Anchorage	83	4.	Central Washington	106
5.	Northwest Nazarene	80.16	5.	Seattle Pacific	79
6.	Central Washington	40.5	6.	Alaska Anchorage	42
7.	Seattle Pacific	29	7.	Northwest Nazarene	31
8.	Montana St. Billings	20	8.	Saint Martin's	30
9.	Saint Martin's	18	9.	Montana St. Billings	19

  Here is a look at the points breakdown for each WWU event to help establish the men's team championship and the women earning a solid third-place finish:
 

WWU MEN'S POINTS		WWU WOMEN'S POINTS
800m	25	High Jump	17
High Jump	20	Pentathlon	15
Pole Vault	17	Weight Throw	14
400m	17	Long Jump	10
5000m	15	3000m	9
Heptathlon	13	Shot Put	9
Mile	12	5000m	8
Long Jump	10	Mile	7
Shot Put	10	Triple Jump	7
60m	8	Distance Medley Relay	6
200m	8	800m	5
Distance Medley Relay	5	4x400 Relay	3
60m Hurdles	5	60m Hurdles	3
3000m	4
Weight Throw	2
Total Points	171	Total Points	113

  Six school indoor records were broken during the 2022 GNAC Championships. Here are a look at the record-breaking performances:
 

• Mac Franks: Mile (4:02.28) – No. 3 in GNAC history
• Beau Sheeran: High Jump (2.10m/6-10.75) – No. 3 in GNAC history
• Ethan Sterkel: Long Jump (7.26m/23-10) - No. 4 in GNAC history)
• Mac Franks: 800m (1:51.07) - No. 6 in GNAC history
• Raine Westfall: Weight Throw (15.64m/51-3.75)
• Aliyah Dawkins: Pentathlon (3,340 Points)

  Here is a look at the All-GNAC performers for individuals placing in the top three in their event with the Vikings earning seven gold medals, six silvers and seven bronze awards for 20 total All-GNAC performances:
 
Tuesday:

• Mac Franks: 1st – 800m (1:51.45)
• Beau Sheeran: 1st – High Jump (2.10m/6-10.75)
• Ben Malquist: 1st – Shot Put (15.57m/51-1)
• Mac Franks: 2nd – Mile (4:02.28)
• Drew Weber: 2nd – 800m (1:51.63)
• Bryant Welch: 2nd – 400m (49.00)
• Ryan Kenny: 2nd – Heptathlon (4,571 Points)
• Brook Wedin: 3rd – 3000m (10:15.18)
• Trent Kibler: 3rd – High Jump (1.95m/6-4.75)

 
Monday:

• Ethan Sterkel: 1st – Long Jump (7.26m/23-10)
• Kevin McDermott: 1st – 5000m (14:52.36)
• Kacey Provo – 1st – Pole Vault (4.65m/15-3)
• Aliyah Dawkins – 1st – High Jump (1.67m/5-5.75)
• Aliyah Dawkins: 2nd – Pentathlon (3,340 Points)
• Jessica Neal: 2nd – High Jump (1.62m/5-3.75)
• Raine Westfall: 3rd – Weight Throw (15.64m/51-3.75)
• Brook Wedin: 3rd – 5000m (18:29.50)
• Matty Lagerwey: 3rd – Long Jump (5.40m/17-8.75)
• Matty Lagerwey: 3rd – Pentathlon (3,138 Points)
• Cooper Cummings: 3rd – Pole Vault (4.45m/14-7.25)

  Here is a look at the top-10 performances in WWU indoor history that were recorded during the 2022 GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. Six school records and 23 total top-10 marks were achieved during the two-day championships at The Podium in Spokane:
 
Tuesday:

• Bryant Welch – 400m, 49.00 (No. 3)
• Mac Franks – Mile, 4:02.28 (No. 1)
• Beau Sheeran – High Jump, 2.10m/6-10.75 (No. 1)
• Aliyah Dawkins – 60m Hurdles, 9.11 (No. 4)
• Ryan Kenny – Heptathlon, 4,571 Points (No. 4)
• Ila Davis – Mile, 5:07.79 (No. 8)
• Lainnie Lyamba – Triple Jump, 10.83m/35-6.5 (T-No. 9)
• Katie Potts – Shot Put, 12.41m/40-8.75 (No. 3)
• Carmen Cleveland Barrera – Shot Put, 11.98m/39-3.75 (No. 6)
• Amanda Short – Shot Put, 11.81m/38-9 (No. 8)

 
Monday:

• Aliyah Dawkins – Pentathlon, 3,340 Points (No. 1)
• Mac Franks – 800m, 1:51.07 (No. 1)
• Ethan Sterkel – Long Jump, 7.26m/23-10 (No. 1)
• Raine Westfall – Weight Throw, 15.64m/51-3.75 (No. 1)
• Bryant Welch – 200m, 22.04 (No. 2)
• Drew Weber – 800m, 1:51.55 (No. 2)
• Katie Potts – Weight Throw, 15.50m/50-10.25 (No. 2)
• Matty Lagerwey – Pentathlon, 3,138 Points (No. 3)
• Tyrone Woodard – 60m, 6.97 (No. 4)
• Mia Crocker – 800m, 2:17.05 (No. 4)
• Jerrod Lee – Weight Throw, 15.01m/49-3 (No. 6)
• Noah Johnson – 60m, 7.03 (T-No. 6)
• Sophie Wright – 800m, 2:18.83 (No. 7)
• Landon Sturdevant – 800m, 1:55.02 (No. 8)

  WWU has had six GNAC Athletes of the Week during the indoor season, including junior Ethan Sterkel winning the award following competition in three consecutive meets. Junior Aliyah Dawkins earned the female track athlete of the week following the first week of the season and was also selected as the GNAC Female Field Athlete of the Meet at the indoor championships:
 

• Cooper Cummings – Men's Track (Nov. 29-Dec. 5)
• Aliyah Dawkins – Female Track (Nov. 29-Dec. 5)
• Mac Franks – Men's Track (Dec. 6-12)
• Ethan Sterkel – Men's Field (Jan. 10-16, Jan. 24-30, Jan. 31-Feb. 6)

  Junior Mac Franks put together another fine performance at the GNAC Indoor Championships, winning the 800m and placing 2nd in the mile. He broke the school record running 4:02.28 to break the previous WWU mark of 4:07.06 by Anthony Tomsich in 2010. Franks has rewritten the WWU indoor record books this season setting program records in the mile, 800m (1:51.07), 3000m (8:09.40) and as the final leg of the DMR (9:50.83). His indoor performance comes after being a key part of the Vikings 2021 GNAC Outdoor Championship squad winning the 800m and reaching the podium with 3rd-place finishes in the 1500m and 3000m Steeplechase. All told, Franks scored 22 points for the Vikings in the outdoor championships. He also earned All-GNAC honors with an 8th-place finish at the 2021 cross country championships and was USTFCCA All-West Region placing 11th at the West Regional.
  Junior Aliyah Dawkins earned the Field Athlete of the Meet award after totaling 25 points across three individual events and the pentathlon. Dawkins broke her own school record in the five-event pentathlon with 3,340 points, won the high jump clearing 1.67m/5-5.75, placed 5th in the long jump (5.45m/17-2.75) and finished 6th in the 60m hurdles with a personal-best time of 9.11.