NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Washington University Track & Field officially opened the postseason Monday and Tuesday with four student-athletes competing at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Combined Championships at the Bohner Track on the campus of Northwest Nazarene University.
 
WWU was represented by sophomore Ryan Kenny and freshman Austin Seals in the men's decathlon (10 events) and junior Matty Lagerwey and freshman Nicole Avery in the seven-event women's heptathlon (7 events).
 
Lagerwey (La Conner, WA) earned her second silver medal of 2023 in the multis, placing 2nd in the heptathlon with a personal-best 4,495 points. Lagerwey also placed 2nd in the pentathlon at the GNAC Indoor Championships in February. With her personal-best score, Lagerwey moved up to No. 6 in the WWU outdoor record book. Her two-day performance was highlighted by a 2nd-place finish in the shot put (10.45m/34-3.5), 3rd-place in the javelin (35.11m/115-2) and 4th in the 200m (26.29). The runner-up finish earned the Vikings eight points towards the team standings at the GNAC Outdoor Championships.
 
Avery (Pullman, WA) set a PR with 4,125 points to earn one team point towards the GNAC Outdoor Championships. The freshman bettered her previous high of 3,876 points set at the UBC Open in late March. Avery's placed 2nd in the javelin competition with a PR throw of 36.62m/120-2.
 
Kenny (Everett, WA/Archbishop Murphy) placed 7th in the decathlon with a personal-best score of 6,056 points to better his No. 9 listing in the WWU record book. Kenny was in 5th place through the first five events, which included a winning time of 11.23 in the 100m dash. He also placed third in the long jump (6.68m/21-11) and 2nd in the high jump (1.88m/6-2). His Tuesday performance was led by a pair of sixth-place finishes in the pole vault (3.76m/12-4) and the discus (32.69m/107-3). Kenny eclipsed his previous PR of 6,053 points set at last year's combined championships while placing 4th. The performance earned the Vikings two points towards the GNAC Outdoor Championships team totals.
 
Seals (Lynnwood, WA/Meadowdale) competed in his first GNAC Combined Championships setting a personal best with 5,546 points. Seals won the final event of the championship crossing the line first in the 1500m in a time of 4:40.55. Seals' first-day highlights included the top time in the 400m with a personal-best time of 51.31 and a 4th-place finish in the high jump clearing 1.85m/6-0.75. The 8th-place performance earns the Vikings one team point for the GNAC Outdoor Championships.
 
Steven Schmidt of Northwest Nazarene repeated as the GNAC Decathlon champion with 7,047 points and Jenelle Hurley of Western Oregon won the heptathlon with 4,03 points.