By: Jeff Evans, Assistant AD for Athletic Communications
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Led by a bronze medal performance from freshman
Kaden Miller in the decathlon, the Western Washington University Track & Field program hosted a successful GNAC Combined Championships Monday and Tuesday at Civic Stadium.
Miller (Cashmere, WA) recorded four PR marks during the 10-event, two-day event recording 5,860 points to place third among 11 competitors. Miller had his best results placing 2nd in the long jump (6.37m/20-10.75), pole vault (3.80m/12.5-5) and 1500m (4:35.04). He earned six points towards the Vikings team total for the GNAC Outdoor Championships that will be held May 9-10 in Bellingham.
Sophomore
Owen Windrope (Olympia, WA) placed 5th with 5,608 points to also set a PR in the decathlon, earning four points towards the Vikings team score. Windrope set a PR mark winning the discus competition with a throw of 32.68m/107-3 and won the 1500m in 4:33.16.
Junior
Nicole Avery (Pullman, WA) placed 6th in the women's heptathlon, scoring 4,072 points across the seven events in the GNAC Combined Championships. She fell just short of her PR of 4,137 points set earlier this season at the Brutus Hamilton Multis in Berkeley, California. Avery's highlight performance was a 3rd-place finish in the long jump leaping 5.23m/17-2.
Sophomore
Karma Walker started the competition placing 8th in the 100m hurdles (16.30) and 10th in the high jump (1.49m/4-10.5) before pulling out of the heptathlon due to injury.
Emy Ntekpere of Central Washington and Tobin Schmidtke of Alaska Anchorage emerged as the individual champions at the 2025 GNAC Combined Event Championships.
UP NEXT FOR THE VIKS
The Vikings will send a small group of athletes to the OSU High Performance Meet in Corvallis, Oregon on Saturday, with a majority of the team resting up for the GNAC Outdoor Championships that will be held May 9-10 at Civic Stadium in Bellingham. The complete 2025 WWU Track & Field schedule can be viewed online at
wwuvikings.com/TF.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
The Vikings swept the team titles at the 2025 GNAC Indoor Championships earning the title of conference indoor champions for the second consecutive season. Dating back to the 2022 calendar year, the WWU men have won nine of 10 possible titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor, while the women have combined for seven of 10 titles. The Western track & field and cross country program has a current string of 12 consecutive team titles across men's and women's dating back to the 2023 outdoor championships.
