BELLINGHAM, Wash. – With the GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships set for early next week, a handful of Western Washington University student-athletes are set to compete Friday and Saturday at the Husky Classic in Seattle.

 

The Vikings limited crew includes four distance runners looking to improve their provisional qualifying marks ahead of the GNAC Championships.

 

Senior Kevin McDermott will race in the 3000m an event he currently ranks No. 13 in the nation (NCAA II) with his top time of 8:02.90 set at the UW Preview on January 17.

 

Senior Mia Crocker (No. 20) and junior Emmy Kroontje (No. 26) will both race in the 800m and senior Sophie Wright (No. 24) will look to move up in the mile after setting a school record in 4:52.16.

 

Additional men's competitors include Jaden Johnson in the 60m and 200m races, Ethan Hong in the 200m and 60m hurdles, Augustas Haynes in the 60m hurdles, Tristan Bahm in the weight throw and Liam Wall, Nathan Simicich and Alex Pytte in the shot put. Sophomore Ari Nguyen will race in the women's 60m hurdles.

 

Competition at the Husky Classic spans Friday and Saturday at Dempsey Indoor on the University of Washington campus.

 

The Vikings travel to Spokane Sunday with the GNAC Championships opening competition Monday morning at The Podium. More information on WWU defending its men's and women's indoor title will be sent out later this week.

 

The Husky Classic features live results and a webcast for fans to follow the action from Dempsey Indoor:

 

• Live Results
• Meet Schedule
• Watch Live on RunnerSpace.com (pay-per-view)
• Accepted Entries

 

Here is a look at when WWU will have competitors at the Husky Classic:

 

Friday, February 14:

• 2:30 pm – Men's Weight Throw (Bahm)
• 2:30 pm – Women's 60m Hurdles (Nguyen) – finals at 3:30 pm
• 2:45 pm – Men's 60m Hurdles (Haynes, Hong) – finals at 3:30 pm
• 3:15 pm – Men's 200m (J. Johnson, Hong)
• 4:45 pm – Men's 3000m (McDermott)

 

Saturday, February 15:

• 10 am – Men's Shot Put (Wall, Simicich, Pytte)
• 10:10 am – Men's 60m dash (J. Johnson)
• 10:55 am – Women's Mile (Wright)
• 12:45 pm – Women's 800m (Crocker, Kroontje)

 

Heading into this weekend's competition and the GNAC Championships, here is where the Vikings rank in the USTFCCCA polls:

 

• Women: National (#18), West Region (#2), GNAC (#1)
• Men: National (#46), West Region (#1), GNAC (#1)

 

Through the first three indoor meets of the season, WWU has established 10 school records:

 

• 60m (women) – Caitlyn Cheney (7.57)
• 200m (women) – Bec Bennett (24.89)
• 400m (men) – Isaac Ford (48.51)
• 400m (women) – Bec Bennett (54.40)
• Mile (women) – Sophie Wright (4:52.16)
• Shot Put (women) – Jessica Polkinghorn (14.03m/46-0.5)
• High Jump (women) – Kora Cook (1.76m/5-9.25)
• 4x400 Relay (women) – Hannah Polkinghorn, Caitlyn Cheney, Kennedy Cook, Bec Bennett (3:45.10)
• 4x400 Relay (men) – Evin Ford, Brian Le, Maurice Woodring, Isaac Ford (3:13.10)
• DMR (women) – Sophie Wright, Bec Bennett, Emmy Kroontje, Ila Davis (11:26.85)

 

A total of 19 NCAA Division II provisional qualifying marks have been achieved heading into the final two weeks of the indoor season. Here is where the Vikings rank nationally among NCAA II competitors:

 

• Women's DMR – 11:26.85 – No. 4
• Kora Cook – High Jump (1.76m/5-9.25) – No. 4
• Men's DMR – 9:46.21 – No. 5
• Bec Bennett – 400m (54.40) – No. 5
• Kennedy Cook – 400m (56.02) – No. 36
• Women's 4x400 Relay – 3:45.10.31 – No. 13
• Kevin McDermott – 3000m (8:02.90) – No. 14 & Mile (4:06.20) – No. 33
• Men's 4x400 Relay – 3:13.10 – No. 16
• Jessica Polkinghorn – Shot Put (14.03m/46-0.5) – No. 20
• Mia Crocker – 800m (2:11.11) – No. 20 & Mile (4:55.37) – No. 45
• Sophie Wright – Mile (4:52.16) – No. 24 & 800m (2:12.34) – No. 31
• Emmy Kroontje – 800m (2:11.63) – No. 26 & Mile (4:55.11) – No. 44
• Ryan Clough – 5000m (14:18.47) – No. 30
• Caitlyn Cheney – 60m (7.57) – No. 33
• Hunter Flick – 60m Hurdles (8.16) – No. 50

 

The Vikings are the defending conference champions from last year's indoor championships, marking the first indoor title sweep in program history. Dating back to the 2022 calendar year, the WWU men have won eight of nine possible titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor, while the women have combined for six of nine titles. The Western track & field and cross country program has a current string of 10 consecutive team titles across men's and women's dating back to the 2023 outdoor championships.

 

WWU is set to defend the men's and women's team titles at the 2025 GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships February 17-18 (Monday-Tuesday) at The Podium in Spokane. The complete indoor schedule is available online at WWUVikings.com.