SPOKANE, Wash. – Led by an impressive performance by the throws crew, the Western Washington University Track & Field program had a successful indoor season opener at Saturday's Spokane Invitational.
 
The Vikings set a pair of school records and marked up the program indoor record book with 21 top-10 performances. The throws crew highlighted the top performances for Western combining to set 11 top-10 marks in the men's and women's shot put and weight throw events.
 
Sophomore Calvin Gutierrez won the men's weight throw competition with a school-record of 18.92m/62-1, the No. 2 mark in GNAC history and an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark well under the standard of 18.25m.
 
Sophomore All-American Jessica Polkinghorn bettered her own school record in the shot put with a winning park of 15.19m/49-10, blowing past her previous top indoor mark of 14.09m/46-2.75 set while winning the GNAC indoor title in February. Polkinghorn's throw is tied for third-best in GNAC indoor history.
 
Freshman Connor Inman and junior Noah Turner placed 2-3 in the men's shot put, with Inman setting a WWU indoor freshman record with a throw of 16.71m/54-10 for the No. 2 mark in program history. Turner set an indoor PR with a throw of 16.50m/54-1.75 while nearly crossing the 17-meter mark on a foul.
 
Sophomore Kathryn Chapin placed third in weight throw (16.57m/54-4.5) and shot put (13.40m/43-11.75) while setting a pair of indoor PR marks, both in the top three in program history.
 
Freshman sprinter Quinn Manley had a standout collegiate debut placing 8th in the 200m in 25.72 for the No. 10 mark in program history and 12th in the prelims of the 60m dash in 7.88 for the No. 7 mark in WWU history. Sophomore Ari Nugyen advanced to the finals of the 60m hurdles, setting a pair of PR marks, including running 8.99 in the final to place 5th and earn the No. 3 mark in program history.
 
Sophomore Kennedy Cook won the 400m in 56.93, junior Kora Cook won the high jump clearing 1.66m/5-5.25 and sophomore Isaac Ford won the 200m in 21.75.
 
Senior Jaden Johnson led a strong group of men's sprinters placing 7th in the 60m dash, advancing to the final with a PR time of 6.88 to rank 3rd in program history and just outside the GNAC all-time top 10.
 
Event Winners:

• 4x400 Relay (Men) – 3:19.29
• 4x400 Relay (Women) – 3:54.52
• Isaac Ford (200m) – 21.75
• Kennedy Cook (400m) – 56.93
• Kora Cook (High Jump) – 1.66m/5-5.25
• Jessica Polkinghorn (Shot Put) – 15.19m/49-10
• Calvin Gutierrez (Weight Throw) – 18.92m/62-1

  The Vikings will take the next month off for the holidays, returning to action January 16-17 at the UW Preview at Dempsey Indoor on the University of Washington campus in Seattle. Links to follow results from all competitions are listed on the 2025-26 schedule at WWUVikings.com.