SPOKANE, Wash. – The Western Washington University Track & Field team is off to a good start as defending champions at the 2025 GNAC Indoor Championships after the first day of competition at The Podium.

 

The Viking men hold the first day lead with 50 points for a seven-point advantage over Central Washington and the WWU women are in 2nd place with 36 points, nine back of Western Oregon. A full slate of events wrap up the 2025 indoor championships Tuesday with competition beginning at 8:30 am.

 

WWU's first-day performances included a pair of relay teams earning All-GNAC honors, one event victory, 18 personal-best marks and three podium trips for the Viking men. One school record and nine new entries were entered into the WWU Indoor Record Book.

 

Senior Kevin McDermott provided another big highlight in his illustrious WWU career racing to a 1st place finish in the 5000m with a time of 14:38.56. McDermott ran with ease on the way to the title, running in a tight pack until jumping into the lead in the final 500 meters for his third GNAC indoor 5000m title and eighth overall individual gold medal combined between indoor and outdoor track and cross country.

 

Senior Miller Campbell (Weight Throw) and junior Kurt Montero (Pole Vault) also earned podium 3rd-place finishes to earn All-GNAC honors. The women's DMR (2nd place) and men's DMR (3rd place) also earned all-conference honors with a trip to the podium.

 

With only a handful of events scored during the first day, the Vikings had many noteworthy performances during the preliminary rounds to advance to Tuesday's finals.

 

Junior Bec Bennett advanced to the finals in the 200m (setting a school record) and 400m (setting a meet record), with senior sprint teammate Caitlyn Cheney also advancing to the finals in the 60m and 200m races. Freshman Kennedy Cook was the No. 2 qualifier in the 400m behind Bennett clocking a personal-best time of 55.46 to move into No. 7 in GNAC history.

 

The trio 800m trio of Emmy Kroontje, Mia Crocker and Sophie Wright earned the top three qualifying spots for Tuesday's final. 

 

The men's sprint group sends three to the finals in the 400m, led by freshman twins Isaac Ford and Evin Ford, and senior Brian Le. Freshman Cameron Trichel recorded a pair of personal-best and program top 10 marks while advancing to the finals in the 60m (6.93) and 200m (21.93). Evin Ford also qualified for the finals in the 200m with Trichel. Junior Jonah Bloom will race in the 800m final in his hometown qualifying 5th in 1:54.34.

 

The Vikings will also have three hurdlers in Tuesday's final, with senior Hunter Flick and freshman Corbin Herron representing the men's squad and freshman Ari Nguyen representing the women.

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Here is a look at the GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships team scoring through the first day of competition, with 6 of 17 men's events scored and 5 of 17 women's events:

 

 

The 2025 GNAC Indoor Track & Feld Championships features live results and a webcast for fans to follow the action from The Podium in Spokane:

 

• Live Results
• Meet Schedule
• Watch Live on RunnerSpace.com (pay-per-view)
• GNAC Championships History

 

Here is a look at the All-GNAC performers from Monday's competition by placing in the top three to earn a podium spot at the conference championship:

 

• Kevin McDermott (5000m): Repeated as the GNAC indoor 5000m champion in a time of 14:38.56 for 8th individual GNAC title of his career including cross country, indoor and outdoor track…fourth time winning the 5000m race at a GNAC Championships with his third indoor title. 
• Kurt Montero (Pole Vault): Earned bronze medal with personal-best mark (indoor or outdoor) clearing 4.50m/14-9 to earn six points for the Vikings.
• Miller Campbell (Weight Throw): Senior placed 3rd in the Weight Throw with a big toss of 17.33m/56-10.25 nearing PR. His effort gave the Vikings six points.

 

The following Vikings had standout performances Monday in the preliminary events and qualified for the finals on Tuesday securing to-be-determined points for the team standings. A full meet schedule of when the qualifiers race Tuesday is available at GNACSports.com:

 

WWU Men Finals Qualifiers:

• Evin Ford (400m): 2nd-fastest qualifying time in 48.63 (48.625) for No. 2 time in WWU history.
• Isaac Ford (400m): Qualified 3rd with time of 48.63 (48.627) just off his school-record time of 48.51.
• Brian Le (400m): Finished 4th in prelims with time of 48.75 to earn spot in finals.
• Cameron Trichel (60m): Finished 6th in prelims in PR time of 6.93, 5th-fastest in WWU history.
• Hunter Flick (60m Hurdles): 3rd in prelims with time of 8.29.
• Corbin Herron (60m Hurdles): 6th in prelims with time of 8.48.
• Cameron Trichel (200m): Set PR and recorded 6th-best qualifying time in 21.93 for No. 3 mark in WWU history.
• Evin Ford (200m): Earned No. 8 qualifying spot with time of 21.99.
• Jonah Bloom (800m): Running in his hometown qualified for finals with No. 5 prelim time of 1:54.34. 

 

WWU Women Finals Qualifiers:

• Bec Bennett (400m): Set meet record in 54.85 with fastest prelim time (PR/WWU record is 54.40).
• Kennedy Cook (400m): 2nd-best qualifying time setting PR with 55.46 to improve No. 2 time in WWU history and move into No. 7 spot in GNAC history.
• Bec Benett (200m): Broke own WWU record with 24.50 to qualify 4th in the 200m.
• Caitlyn Cheney (200m): Set PR improving No. 2 mark in WWU History with 24.89.
• Caitlyn Cheney (60m): Placed 6th with team of 7.62, just off her school record time of 7.57.
• Emmy Kroontje (800m): Top qualifying time of 2:15.01 in 800m.
• Mia Crocker (800m): No. 2 qualifying time with mark of 2:15.41 after running 2:10.12 Saturday at UW Classic.
• Sophie Wright (800m): No. 3 qualifying time finishing in 2:16.50.
• Ari Nguyen (60m Hurdles): Qualified for finals placing 7th in prelims in time of 9.24.

 

Here is a look at the performances Monday that also earned the Vikings points by placing in the top 8, with All-GNAC performers (top 3) listed above in this news release:

 

WWU Men's Point Scorers:

• Gabe Menicke (Long Jump): Finished 5th in long jump to earn four points with PR mark of 6.88m/22-7 to move into No. 10 spot in WWU indoor history.
• Hewie Nguyen (Long Jump): Recorded season-best mark of 6.72m/22-0.75 to finish 7th earning two points.
• Andrew Oslin (5000m): Just missed podium spot finishing 4th in 14:51.55 for five points.
• Ryan Clough (5000m): 5th in the 5000m to earn four points with time of 14:53.36.
• George Fernandez (5000m): Completed 21-point event finishing 7th for two points in 15:04.89.
• Angelo Ramos (Weight Throw): Placed 4th just off the podium with season-best throw of 17.19m/56-4.75.

 

WWU Women's Point Scorers:

• Kathryn Chapin (Weight Throw): Set big PR in the WT with a mark of 15.42m/50-7.25 to become fourth Viking over 15 meters in the event…earned five team points placing 4th in the event.
• Emma Smith (5000m): Led a group of four Vikings combining for 11 points with a 4th place finish just off the podium with a time of 18:02.49.
• Alexis Parker (5000m): Running near her hometown of Mead, recorded a massive indoor PR with a time of 18:04.30 placing 6th for three points.
• Ella Edens (5000m): Finished 7th in 18:06.06 to earn two points.
• Laura Halsell (5000m): Placed 8th in 18:13.47 to fall just short of a season PR.
• Hannah Polkinghorn (Long Jump): Led group of three scoring Vikings in the event with a 5th-place finish to earn four points with a leap of 5.49m/18-0.25.
• Kora Cook (Long Jump): Set PR with the No. 8 mark in WWU indoor history with a leap of 5.47m/17-11.5 to score three points with a 6th-place finish.
• Nicole Avery (Long Jump): Bettered her PR in the event from the morning pentathlon, leaping 5.37m/17-7.5 to place 7th and earn two points.

 

Sophomore Nicole Avery placed 6th in the women's pentathlon, finishing the five-event gauntlet with 2,946 points to fall just short of her season and lifetime PR of 2,972 points set earlier this season. Avery earned three points towards the team score with her finish, highlighted by a 3rd-place finish in the long jump setting an indoor PR with a jump of 5.36m/17-7 (660 points) to rank 9th in program history (at the time). Avery also turned in a season-best 9.56 in the 60m hurdles for 5th place (796 points).

 

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)

 

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.