BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University Track & Field program is poised to make another run at a pair of team titles at the GNAC Indoor Championships held Monday and Tuesday at The Podium in Spokane.

 

Point predictions show the Viking men are a heavy favorite to win their eighth indoor team title and fourth in the last five seasons and it looks like the Western women will go head-to-head against Central Washington looking for the programs first indoor team title.

 

WWU has had a short, but successful, indoor season with the team combining for seven school records, 40 program top 10 marks and 12 NCAA II provisional qualifying marks in three indoor meets spread across January and early February.

 

The two-day GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships begins Monday with the men's heptathlon and the women's pentathlon at 9 am. The official opening ceremony is set to begin at 2 pm with field and running events beginning shortly after the national anthems. All the action can be followed online via links at GNAC.live.

 

The Vikings are led by interim head coach Ben Stensland, throws coach Damien Fisher and distance coaches TJ Garlatz and Haley Stensland. A strong set of program coaching additions have formed one of the most talented coaching staffs in the nation.

 

More information on the 2024 GNAC Track & Field Indoor Championships can be found online at GNACSports.com.

 

Here is a look at where WWU is listed in the current USTFCCCA National Rankings:

 

 

Below are links on how to follow the Vikings at the GNAC Indoor Championships. The complete 2024 WWU Track & Field schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/TF, with links to season results, meet recaps and national rankings:

 

2024 GNAC Indoor Championships

• Date: Feb. 19-20 (Monday-Tuesday)
• Location: Spokane, WA
• Venue: The Podium
• GNAC Championships Preview
• Live Results
• Championship Information
• Webcast via RunnerSpace ($) 
• Meet Schedule
• Tickets

 

Seattle Pacific Assistant Sports Information Director Mark Moschetti is always on top of projecting out team scores for the conference championships. His prediction this year shows that the women's title could come down to the 4x400 relay to decide a team champion. Based on entry marks and applying the appropriate team points for the top eight, Central Washington is seeded for 135.5 points and WWU is seeded for 131.5. The only other team seeded for triple digits is Simon Fraser with 109. The Vikings look primed to record an eighth indoor title with the team seeded for 193 points, with No. 1 seeds in five of the 17 events and No. 2 seeds in six events. A distant second is defending champion Western Oregon, seeded for 125.

 

Here is a look at WWU's finishes in the 19 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 seven top three finishes and six runner-up honors:

 

 

Here is a look at where the Vikings rank nationally during the 2024 indoor season with WWU student-athletes achieving 12 NCAA II provisional qualifying marks:

 

• Kevin McDermott: 5000m (No. 7, 13:50.77), 3000m (No. 10, 7:59.27), Mile (No. 14, 4:02.13)
• Marian Ledesma: 800m (No. 10, 2:10.13)
• Katie Potts: Shot Put (No. 34, 13.82m/45-4.25)
• Emmy Kroontje: 800m (No. 36, 2:21.70)
• Sophie Wright: Mile (No. 37, 4:52.96)
• Ila Davis: 3000m (No. 37, 9:45.70), Mile (No. 48, 4:55.00)
• Hunter Flick: 60m Hurdles (No. 37, 8.11)
• Ashley Reeck: 5000m (No. 41, 17:06.33)
• Sten Brakstad: 3000m (No. 62, 8:17.67)

 

While the Vikings have had a limited regular-season indoor schedule this season with three meets all at Dempsey Indoor at the University of Washington, the team has made the most of its opportunities setting seven school records and achieving 40 program top 10 marks. Visit the updated WWU Indoor Track & Field Record Book to view all the standout performances this season.

 

WWU Program Records Broken This Season:

• Kevin McDermott: Mile (4:02.13), 3000m (7:59.27), 5000m (13:50.77)
• Caitlyn Cheney: 60m Dash (7.71)
• Marian Ledesma: 800m (2:10.13)
• Sophie Wright: Mile (4:52.96)
• Katie Potts: Shot Put (13.82m/45-4.25)

 

Junior Kevin McDermott is enjoying one of the best individual season performances in WWU Track & Field and Cross Country history in 2023-24. McDermott was the individual champion at the GNAC Championships last October and earned All-West Region honors. The graduate student has carried his cross country success into the indoor season where he has already set three program records in the mile (4:02.13), 3000m (7:59.27) and the 5000m (13:50.77). McDermott has also set three GNAC top-10 indoor marks this season ranking 3rd in the 5000m and 4th in the mile and 3000m.

 

Junior Caitlyn Cheney set the WWU record in the 60m dash clocking 7.71 seconds at the Husky Classic to break the previous record of 7.77 by Macie Allen in 2017. Cheney has also set program top-10 indoor marks in the 200m (No. 4, 25.53) and 400m (No. 4, 57.86) this season. The Ellensburg native heads into the GNAC Championships ranked No. 4 in 400m and No. 6 in the 60m and 200m among conference runners.

 

Senior Marian Ledesma looks primed for another trip to the NCAA National Championships ranking No. 10 in the nation with a time of 2:10.13. Ledesma broke one of the longest standing records in the WWU Indoor Record Book when she set the 800m mark at the Husky Classic, bettering the previous mark of 2:11.82 set by Rachael Johnson in 2009. Ledesma has competed at NCAA II nationals five times during her student-athlete career at WWU and Azusa Pacific, earning All-America honors as a Viking in the 800m at the 2023 NCAA II Outdoor Track & Field Championships and as part of the 3rd-place 4x400 relay team with APU at the 2022 NCAA II Indoor Track & Field Championships.

 

The WWU sprinting crew has had a breakout indoor season, with the program combining for 12 top 10 marks between the men's and women's 60m, 200m and 400m races. Junior Caitlyn Cheney set the women's 60m dash record in 7.71 seconds and senior Ryan Greenwalt has a pair of 6.87 performances in the men's 60m dash to rank 2nd in program history behind the record of 6.72 set by All-American Alex Donigian in 2015.

 

The WWU men had their run of three consecutive indoor titles snapped last season placing 2nd and won seven total GNAC indoor team titles. The Viking women placed 2nd last season tying for the highest team finish in indoor program history.

 

The WWU Track & Field program has experienced unparalleled success dating back to the 2019 season, with the Vikings combining for 14 of 24 team titles across the GNAC men's and women's cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field championships. The Viking men have won 10 of the 12 team titles dating back to the 2019 season with four consecutive outdoor titles and three each indoor and cross country titles. The WWU women have won three of the last four cross country conference titles – and became the first GNAC XC program to win a regional title in 2023 – and won its first outdoor title last season.

 

GNAC Team Titles Since 2019:

• Men's Outdoor Track & Field (4 of 4): 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
• Men's Indoor Track & Field (3 of 4): 2019, 2020, 2022
• Men's Cross Country (3 of 4): 2019, 2022, 2023

 

• Women's Outdoor Track & Field (1 of 4): 2023
• Women's Indoor Track & Field (0 of 4): ---
• Women's Cross Country (3 of 4): 2019, 2022, 2023

 

WWU has had four GNAC Athlete of the Week selections during the 2024 indoor season, led by a pair of selections by junior distance runner Kevin McDermott. Here is a listing of the week-by-week GNAC Athletes of the Week:

 

 

Here is a listing of the WWU Indoor Track & Field schedule this season with a direct link to the results. WWU is scheduled to compete in one more regular-season meet February 23-24 at the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invitational at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle.

 

 

This marks the third consecutive season The Podium will host the GNAC Track & Field Indoor Championships in Spokane. The Podium continues the region's long-standing history with the sport of running. The venue features a state-of-the-art, 200-meter six-lane hydraulic banked track with a Beynon rubberized surface and fixed seating for 3,000 athletes and fans. The track is one of the few 200-meter hydraulic banked tracks in the U.S. and is the first in the western U.S. In its first year of operation, The Podium hosted the GNAC Indoor Championships, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships and the USA Track and Field National Indoor Championships. In addition to the hydraulic track, The Podium boasts two throwing cages, two horizontal jump pits, high jump and pole vault pits and an eight-lane 60-meter sprint straightaway on the infield. The venue will be outfitted with Gill equipment. The facility also includes a temperature-controlled warm-up track on the lower level, a spectator level with concessions, and an entire floor dedicated to media, press and timing. Read More About The Podium.