AZUSA, WALNUT & LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Western Washington University Track & Field program had seven student-athletes in competition at three meets in Southern California on Thursday.
 
Here is a recap of the performances by the Vikings at the West Coast Intercollegiate in Long Beach, Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut and the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California.
 
WWU will be back in action Friday at the Bryan Clay Invitational and the Beach Invitational.
  Amanda Short placed 5th out of 32 competitors in the javelin competition at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate on the Long Beach State University campus. Short recorded a top throw of 45.95m/150-9 to finish 2nd among non-Division I competitors. Short's season-best throw of 47.48m/155-9 entered the week ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division II. Kari Wolfe of North Dakota State won the competition with a throw of 52.49m/172-2.
  Kevin McDermott set a PR in the 5000m, placing 20th in his section Thursday evening at the Bryan Clay Invitational. McDermott ran 14:29.29 to edge his previous best of 14:30.22 by nearly a second to improve his No. 5 time in WWU history.
  WWU had three competitors in the men's 3,000m steeplechase at the Mt. Sac Relays, with Jeret Gillingham leading the way placing 24th in the 69-competitor field in a time of 8:59.42. Gillingham was 4th among non-NCAA Division I competitors in the field. WWU record holder Mac Franks placed 41st in 9:08.31 and Kaleb Korta was 66th in 9:30.78.
  Ila Davis placed 52nd out of 73 competitors in the steeplechase at the Mt. Sac Relays. Davis entered the meet with the No. 7 time in NCAA Division II in 10:51.21, but wasn't able to match that mark with her time of 11:04.41 on Thursday. The freshman from Spokane was 10th among non-Division I competitors in the field.
  Matty Lagerwey toughed out the final three events of the heptathlon in Group C at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Making her outdoor multis debut, Lagerwey finished with an unofficial score of 3,112 points in the seven-event competition. Hampered by a sore hamstring, Lagerwey started the long jump and 800m, but did not complete them. Her final day performance was highlighted by winning her group in the javelin with a personal-best throw of 36.60m/120-1 (previous best was 32.34m/106-1). Lagerwey recorded four PR's in the five events she was able to finish in the two-day competition.
  A large contingent of WWU Track & Field student-athletes will compete in two meets over the next two days in Southern California at the Bryan Clay Invitational (Azusa, CA) and the Beach Invitational (Long Beach, CA). Links to all results and live coverage will be posted on WWUVikings.com/Live.