ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University Track & Field program is off to a great start through the first day of competition at the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships at the CWU Recreation Sports Complex.
Friday highlights for the Vikings included 12 All-GNAC performances (1st, 2nd or 3rd place), 21 personal-best marks, one school record, five program top-10 marks and two marks in the all-time GNAC top-10. An additional 16 performances qualified for the finals in events that will be held Saturday.
Through the first day of competition, the Vikings hold a commanding lead in the men's standings with 82 points (through six scored events) well ahead of second-place Northwest Nazarene with 52 points. WWU is aiming for its third consecutive men's outdoor team title. The WWU women are tied for 1st place with Western Oregon in the team points standings with 61 points with seven scored events. Scores from the men's pentathlon (WWU scored 9 points) and the women's heptathlon (WWU earned 5 points).
The 2022 GNAC Championships wrap up Saturday with events beginning at 10:15 am, with all results available online at
GNAC.live.
WWU MEN'S HIGHLIGHTS
The Vikings men recorded seven All-GNAC performances, led by event wins in the 3,000m Steeplechase by
Mac Franks and in the long jump by
Ethan Sterkel.
Drew Weber was the No. 1 qualifier in the 800m bettering his own school record set last week, clocking 1:49.48 to move up to No. 6 on the GNAC all-time list.
Franks won the steeplechase in 9:00.76, adding to his indoor championship title and outdoor title last season in the 800m. Franks also qualified for Saturday's 800m final running 1:51.28.
Sterkel recorded a personal-best leap of 7.29m/23-11 in the long jump to move up to No. 3 in WWU history. Sterkel added the outdoor title to his two indoor titles achieved in 2020 and 2022.
Jeret Gillingham placed 2nd in the steeplechase in 9:07.43 after winning the event last season and
Ben Malquist was 2nd in the discus with a top throw of 45.54m/149-5.
Bronze medals were earned by
Beau Sheeran in the high jump (1.99m/6-6.25),
Seren Dances in the long jump (7.08m/23-2.75) and
Kevin McDermott in the 10,000m (31:35.74).
In addition to Weber's top qualifying time in the 800m, a total of 15 runners qualified for the finals on Saturday.
Lucas Brenek locked in the top qualifying time in the 400m with a personal-best mark of 48.95.
WWU WOMEN'S HIGHLIGHTS
The first day of the GNAC Championships featured five All-GNAC performances by the WWU women's squad, lead by a winning time in the 3,000m Steeplechase by
Ila Davis. Seven personal-best marks were obtained and two program top-10 marks were also etched into the record books.
Davis led the way with her win in the steeplechase, recording the No. 2 time in WWU history and No. 8 time in GNAC history in 10:31.55. She is the fifth Viking to win the steeplechase, joining Courtney Olsen (2010), Katelyn Steen (2014-15), Brittany Grant (2017) and
Talia Dreicer (2021).
Amanda Short earned runner-up honors in the javelin with a top throw of 45.40m/148-11 for her fourth career All-GNAC award. Short earned 3
rd-place finishes in 2015 (with Western Oregon), 2019 and 2021 to go with this year's silver medal. Short will move on to nationals for the third time in her career as she was ranked 5
th in the nation entering the GNAC Championships.
Katie Potts was 2nd in the discus with a throw of 42.39m/139-1 with teammate
Taliah Coe placing 3rd with a mark of 40.47m/132-9.
Matty Lagerwey continued to contribute to the team score placing 3rd in the long jump with a personal-best jump of 5.80m/19-0.50 for the No. 5 mark in WWU history. Lagerwey placed 5th in the heptathlon at the GNAC Combined Championships to earn four team points.
Sophie Wright qualified for the finals in the 800m with the No. 2 time in the prelims at 2:14.73.
GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION
Additional information on how to follow the 2022 GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships can be found online at
GNACSports.com, with handy links listed below:
GNAC COMBINED CHAMPIONSHIPS
Five Vikings competed in\ the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Combined Championships Tuesday at Civic Stadium last week.
Ryan Kenny led the way with a 4th-place finish in the men's decathlon setting a PR with 6,053 points to rank No. 9 in WWU history. His performance earned the Vikings five team points towards the GNAC Outdoor Championships.
Cooper Cummings also set a PR with 5,987 points, falling just short of the 6,000-point mark to place 5th. Cummings had a strong second day which included a win in the pole vault clearing 4.15m/13-7.25 and a second-place run in the 1500m finishing in 4:42.68.
Matty Lagerwey had a strong second day winning the javelin with a throw of 36.63m/120-2 and placing 2nd in the long jump with a top mark of 5.50m/18-0.5. Lagerwey moved up from her 7th-place standing to open the day to finish in 5th with 4,356 points to rank No. 8 on the all-time WWU heptathlon list. Her final standing will earn the Vikings four points towards the team score at the GNAC Outdoor Championships held May 13-14 in Ellensburg.
TITLE AFTER TITLE
The Viking men not only recorded its third straight team title winning the 2021 GNAC Indoor Championships (2019, 2020, 2022), but also the program's seventh all-time for the most in conference history. Dating back to the 2019 season, WWU has won the last five GNAC Track & Field team titles with three indoor trophies and two outdoor championships (2019, 2021).
