BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University Track & Field head coach Ben Stensland has been voted as the GNAC Coach of the Year for the 2026 season.
 
Stensland and his coaching staff once again piloted the Vikings to a pair of GNAC trophies at the outdoor championship in Ellensburg. The team titles extended the Vikings streak of team wins across the sports of outdoor track & field, indoor track & field and cross country to 20 in-a-row dating back to the spring of 2023.
 
The 2026 conference meet came down to the narrowest margin in conference history on the women's side, but the Vikings held of Central Washington 208.5-206.5 to win the GNAC trophy for the fourth consecutive season. It was another blowout victory on the men's side, as WWU racked up 254 points to win by 128.25 points ahead of runner-up CWU.
 
The men's victory marked the seventh consecutive outdoor trophy dating back to the 2019 season and its conference-record 13th overall. Stensland joined former Viking head coach Pee Wee Halsell as the second men's coach to win four straight awards, and it marks the first time in league outdoor history a women's coach has received four consecutive honors.
 
Stensland and the coaching staff have combined to win the last 20 GNAC Coach of the Year awards coinciding with the string of consecutive conference titles. The WWU grad completed his fourth season as the head coach of the cross country and track & field program and 16th overall as a coach in Bellingham since joining the staff in 2009-10.
  The 2026 season feature many historic achievements for the WWU Track & Field program during the outdoor season. The Vikings swept the GNAC team titles, extending a string of 20 consecutive conference trophies stretched across the cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons dating back to the spring of 2023. The 2026 season featured 36 All-GNAC performances, 39 All-West Region awards, 14 All-America honors, 14 school records and 67 entries into the program all-time top 10.