SPOKANE, Wash. – The Western Washington University Track & Field team is off to a good start at the 2023 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Championships with the first day of competition wrapped up Monday at The Podium.

 

The Viking women hold the first-day lead with 66 points, 14 ahead of second-place Western Oregon, with three event wins and five All-GNAC performances leading the way. WWU got event wins from Raine Westfall in the weigh throw, Meaera Shannon in the 5000m and the distance medley relay team. Four WWU runners combined for 18 points in the 5000m and the Vikings went 1-2 in the weight throw.

 

The Western men recorded 44 points during the first day of competition, with five of 17 events scored, five back of first-place Northwest Nazarene. The three-time defending indoor team champion was led by a strong showing from the distance crew, with four runners combining for 14 points and an All-GNAC third-place finish from sophomore Andrew Oslin. Sophomore Miller Campbell placed 2nd in the weight throw for the highest finish by a Viking on the men's side Monday.

 

WWU's strong showing Thursday included 15 program top-10 marks and 29 personal-best performances.

 

Several Vikings also qualified for finals in their events, finishing in the top eight in the prelims on Monday. A total of 10 men and four women will race in the finals tomorrow, including four men's 800m runners, three in the men's 60m dash and a pair in the men's 200m.

 

The final day of the 2023 GNAC Indoor Championships begins for the Vikings at 9:30 am with the women's high jump and the men's mile at 11 am. Comprehensive coverage of the championship can be found online at GNACSports.com with live results available at GNAC.live.

 

Here is a look at the GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships team scoring through the first day of competition, with six of 17 women's events completed and 5 of 17 men's events:

 

 

Here is the listing of WWU student-athletes that earned All-GNAC honors for top-3 individual finishes or by being part of a winning relay team:

 

WWU Women – All-GNAC Award Winners:

• Meaera Shannon (5000m, 1st Place)
• Raine Westfall (Weight Throw, 1st Place)
• Mia Crocker (DMR, 1st Place)
• Sophie Wright (DMR, 1st Place)
• Marian Ledesma (DMR, 1st Place)
• Ila Davis (DMR, 1st Place)
• Matty Lagerwey (Pentathlon, 2nd Place)
• Katie Potts (Weight Throw, 2nd Place)

 

WWU Men – All-GNAC Award Winners:

• Miller Campbell (Weight Throw, 2nd Place)
• Andrew Oslin (5000m, 3rd Place)
• Ryan Greenwalt (Long Jump, 3rd Place)

 

Below are links on how to follow the Vikings at the GNAC Indoor Championships:

 

• Date: Feb. 20-21 (Monday-Tuesday)
• Location: Spokane, WA
• Venue: The Podium
• Live Results
• Championship Information
• Webcast via RunnerSpace ($) 
• Meet Program
• Meet Schedule
• Tickets

 

Raine Westfall became the first Viking to win the weight throw competition, and combined with teammate Katie Potts on a top-of-the-podium sweep to record 18 team points. After third last year at the indoor championships, Westfall won the gold medal with a top throw of 16.62m/54-6.5. Potts set a PR in the event, maintaining her No. 2 spot in WWU history behind Westfall with a throw of 16.07m/52-8.75.

TF🎽 | Raine Westfall and Katie Potts go 🥇 and 🥈 in the women's weight throw at the #GNACTF Champioships to pick up 18 points for the Vikings! pic.twitter.com/qI4F89ornh
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) February 20, 2023
  

Sophomore Meaera Shannon won the women's 5000m in 17:55.64 to become the first Viking to win the event at the GNAC Indoor Championships since Sarah Porter won in back-to-back years in 2010-11. Shannon recorded a massive indoor PR to rank 8th in WWU indoor history. In addition to Shannon's nearly nine-second victory, the Vikings picked up 18 team points in the event with freshmen Alanna Parker placing 5th (18:31.86), Ashley Reeck 6th (18:32.29) and Alexis Parker 8th (18:44.11).

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Sophomore Andrew Oslin led four Vikings in the top eight in the men's 5000m, earning All-GNAC honors with a third-place finish in 14:41.01. WWU totaled 14 points in the event, with sophomore George Karamitsos in 5th (14:49.22), junior Jeret Gillingham in 6th (14:50.53) and sophomore Ryan Clough in 8th (14:56.79). 

 

WWU is primed to pick up some big points on Tuesday in the men's 800m, with four Vikings advancing to the finals. Junior Drew Weber was the top qualifier in the prelims with a time of 1:51.08 and freshman Jonah Bloom was second in 1:53.69, with both winning their heats to automatically move to the finals. Freshman Connor Palmen was 7th in 1:54.30 and Will Henry also made the cut in 1:55.63 after initially being disqualified for impeding a runner.

 

The women's Distance Medley Relay team closed out the first day of competition winning the final event of the day, recording a time of 11:59.03 to finish well ahead of second-place Simon Fraser (12:21.55). The quartet of Sophie Wright (1200m), Marian Ledesma (400m), Mia Crocker (800m) and Ila Davis (mile) crossed the line with the 5th-fastest time in program history.

Junior Matty Lagerwey finished second in the pentathlon with 3,129 points, just missing her PR of 3,138 points while finishing third at last year's championships. Lagerwey's silver medal earned eight points for the team, tying for the highest finish in the GNAC indoor multis with Aliyah Dawkins from last season (pentathlon started in 2011). Lagerwey's performance was highlighted by a win in the shot put setting an indoor PR of 10.92m/35-10 and placing second in the 60m hurdles (9.25) and long jump (5.49m/18-0.25). Freshman Nicole Avery made her multis debut placing 10th with 2,841 points to move into the No. 9 spot in WWU history.

TF🎽 | Matty Lagerwey places 2nd in the #GNACTF pentathlon with 3,129 points, just missing a PR, gaining 8 points for @wwutfxc. Matty becomes just the third Viking to earn All-GNAC honors in the indoor multis since first event in 2011. pic.twitter.com/2u4p0uNvVH
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) February 20, 2023
  

A trio of men's sprinters advanced to Tuesday's final in the 60m dash, with three program top-10 times entering the WWU record book. Junior Noah Johnson cracked the 7-second mark for the first time in his career running 6.98 to qualify third and move up to No. 5 in WWU history. Sophomore Nolan Mickenham ran a season-best 6.99 to qualify fourth and sophomore Ethan Johnson was 7th in the prelims running a PR time of 7.02 to tie for 8th in program history. WWU had five runners in the top 10 in the 24-runners field, with sophomore Tyrone Woodard (7.04) and junior Ryan Greenwalt (7.07) just missing the top eight to qualify.

 

Here is a look at WWU's finishes in the 18 GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships since the first meet in 2004. The WWU men have won seven indoor titles and placed in the top three in all but two of the GNAC indoor championships, while the women have six top three finishes and five runner-up honors:

 

 

Following the GNAC Championships, the Vikings will have one more chance to up their marks to qualify for the NCAA Championships Ken Shannon Last Chance Invite February 24-25 at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle. The NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships will be held March 10-11 at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The field for the NCAA Championships will be announced on Tuesday, February 28. The complete 2023 WWU Track & Field schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/TF, with links to season results, meet recaps and national rankings.