By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – In record-breaking fashion, Western Washington swept the women’s and men’s team titles at the 2025 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which concluded on Saturday evening at Civic Stadium.
 
Western Washington’s men broke the conference record for points in a championship, racking up 302.5 points across the two-day meet at their home arena. That topped the previous mark of 289 points, achieved by the Vikings at the 2021 GNAC Championships. It proved to be a landslide victory, with second-place Western Oregon totaling 116 points and third-place Central Washington finishing with 105 points. It was the Vikings’ 12th men’s team title and sixth in a row dating back to the 2019 outdoor campaign.
 
The women’s team race was much closer, with WWU emerging with 229 points to hold off second-place Central Washington by 25 points. Western Oregon’s women took third with 101 points. WWU’s women picked up their third overall GNAC team title and third in a row since beginning the streak in 2023.
 
Beginning with a sweep of the 2023 women’s and men’s outdoor team titles, Western Washington has since claimed 14 consecutive team titles across the sports of cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field. In 2023-24 WWU became the first GNAC school to win all six of the available titles across the three sports in a single academic year, and the Vikings repeated the feat in 2024-25 with Saturday’s results. The 14 consecutive team titles are the most ever since the league was founded in 2001-02.
 

Season	Sport	GNAC Team Champion
2023	Men’s Outdoor Track & Field	Western Washington
2023	Women’s Outdoor Track & Field	Western Washington
2023	Men’s Cross Country	Western Washington
2023	Women’s Cross Country	Western Washington
2024	Men’s Indoor Track & Field	Western Washington
2024	Women’s Indoor Track & Field	Western Washington
2024	Men’s Outdoor Track & Field	Western Washington
2024	Women’s Outdoor Track & Field	Western Washington
2024	Men’s Cross Country	Western Washington
2024	Women’s Cross Country	Western Washington
2025	Men’s Indoor Track & Field	Western Washington
2025	Women’s Indoor Track & Field	Western Washington
2025	Men’s Outdoor Track & Field	Western Washington
2025	Women’s Outdoor Track & Field	Western Washington

The Vikings capped their team title sweeps with exciting finishes in the 4x400 meter relays to close out the meet. WWU’s men broke the conference meet record with a time of 3:10.00 minutes, with the squad of Brian Le, Evin Ford, Maurice Woodring and Isaac Ford passing the baton to a gold medal. Northwest Nazarene was second in 3:15.61 minutes and UAA took third with a time of 3:16.43 minutes.
 
The Viking women’s quartet of Kennedy Cook, Annabelle Heiman, Caitlyn Cheney and Bec Bennett also broke the meet record, with a time of 3:41.98 minutes in the final event of the night. Central Washington took the silver medal in 3:45.23 minutes and Seattle Pacific made the podium with a time of 3:53.57 minutes.
 

2025 GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships – Meet Award Winners
Award	Athlete	School
Men’s Track Athlete of the Meet	Joshua Caleb	Alaska Anchorage
Men's Field Athlete of the Meet	Gerohm Rihari	Northwest Nazarene
Men's Performance of the Meet	Jarrett Chong	Simon Fraser
Co-Men's High Point Scorer	Joshua Caleb	Alaska Anchorage
Co-Men's High Point Scorer	Josh Boast	Central Washington
Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet	E'lexis Hollis	Central Washington
Women’s Field Athlete of the Meet	Emy Ntekpere	Central Washington
Women’s Performance of the Meet	Ila Davis	Western Washington
Women’s High Point Scorer	Emy Ntekpere	Central Washington

Central Washington’s Emy Ntekpere made history on Saturday, becoming the first woman in GNAC history to claim four individual event titles at a single conference championship meet. After winning the heptathlon, high jump and long jump, Ntekpere completed the feat by winning the triple jump title on Saturday. The sophomore posted a jump of 41-1.75 feet (12.54 meters), topping the field of competition.
 
It also marked the first time that a woman swept all three jumps at the conference championships, as four former athletes won two of the three at a single meet. Ntekpere joined former Wildcat HarLee Ortega, who is the only other woman in conference history to win gold in all three jumps in her career. Ortega was the 2018 champion in the triple jump, before winning both the high jump and long jump in 2019.
 
Joshua Caleb of Alaska Anchorage sprinted his way to men’s track athlete of the meet honors, winning both the 100 meters and 200 meters on Saturday. Caleb’s 100 meters time of 10.25 seconds was a meet record as he earned 10 points. He followed with a winning time of 21.04 seconds in the 200 meters, to give him three total gold medals on Saturday after helping the Seawolves win the 4x100 meter relay. Simon Fraser’s Jacob Hall was the silver medalist in the 200 meters in 21.43 seconds and Ryan Greenwalt of WWU took third in 21.57 seconds. Hall was also the runner-up in the 100 meters with a season-best time of 10.45 seconds, while Riday Jana of UAA took third place with a PR of 10.49 seconds.
 
E’lexis Hollis finished atop the 100-meter and 200-meter leaderboards, which were identical on Saturday. She picked up her first gold and fourth podium finish in the 100 meters, running a Division II-fifth best time of 11.33 seconds in the finals. Her gold in the 200 meters was also the first of her outdoor career, as she pushed past second-place Emma Cannan of Simon Fraser down the stretch for a winning time of 23.61 seconds. Cannan ran 23.72 seconds in the 200 meters and 11.72 seconds in the 100 meters, for her first-two podium finishes in those events. CWU freshman Ashlyn Nielsen took third in both events, running 11.91 seconds in the 100 meters and 24.48 seconds in the 200 meters.
 
History was made in the men’s javelin on Saturday, as Simon Fraser’s Jarrett Chong shattered the meet record with the second-farthest throw in conference history. The Red Leaf senior unleashed a huge toss of 238-2 feet (72.60 meters), which stood as the No. 2 mark in Division II this year and earned him the GNAC Performance of the Meet honor. The previous conference meet record of 233-7 feet (71.19 meters) was set by Montana State Billings’ Beau Ackerman in 2021, and Chong’s throw was second only to Cody Parker’s (UAA) GNAC record of 255-10 feet (77.98 meters) achieved in 2013. NNU’s Laurenz Waldbauer took second in the javelin at 229-6 feet (69.96 meters), and WWU’s Jakob Braunstein was third at 221-8 feet (67.58 meters).
 
Western Washington’s Bec Bennett broke the overall GNAC record in the 400 meters on her way to victory on Saturday. The Viking newcomer clocked a time of 53.11 seconds, which was the 10th fastest in Division II thus far in 2025. Bennett is the first Viking since Eleanor Siler in 2012 and the third overall to claim the outdoor crown in the women’s 400 meters. Teammate Cook placed second in 54.34 seconds, and Central Washington’s Elise Hopper earned the bronze medal in 54.35 seconds.
 
Simon Fraser’s Olivia Windbiel made it onto the podium for the second straight year, as she finished second with a triple jump of 38-10.5 feet (11.85 meters) to follow up from her third-place finish in 2024. Western Oregon’s Amariyah Clay was the bronze medalist, clearing 38-9.5 feet (11.82 meters) in Saturday’s finals.
 
Lauryn McGough of Central Washington made history at Saturday’s meet, becoming the first woman since the league was formed to win both the javelin and pole vault titles at the same meet. The sophomore standout cleared 144-1 feet (43.92 meters) in the javelin to take the crown, becoming just the second Wildcat woman to win it after Katie McMeel in 2007. Emily Powers of NNU was second with a throw of 135-2 feet (41.21 meters) and Grace Lam Tiang of WOU took third at 134-3 feet (40.93 meters. The conference record holder in the pole vault easily claimed that gold medal as well, as she cleared 12-5.25 feet (3.79 meters) to up her meet point total to 20. McGough became the fourth woman to strike gold in the pole vault at the GNAC outdoor meet and the first since Halle Irvine in 2018. Sydney Mohlman of WWU took second in the pole vault at 11-9.25 feet (3.59 meters), and Katilyn Askay of SPU was third at 11-5.25 feet (3.49 meters).
 
It was a record-breaking day in the men’s 4x100 meter relay, as the top three finishing teams each bested the previous time of 40.88 seconds set by Central Washington last year. A furious final leg by Caleb propelled the Seawolves to victory, as they clocked in at 40.38 seconds. It was the third conference title for the Seawolves in the event and the first since the 2011 championship. Comprising the winning team for UAA was Marc Mercier, Jana, Peyton George and Caleb. Simon Fraser and Western Washington finished in a dead heat at the line, with the Vikings taking the silver medal by two-thousandths of a second.
 
The Central Washington women also broke the meet record in the 4x100 meter relay, posting a time of 45.16 seconds to run away with the title. The Wildcat foursome consisted of Hopper, Zoe Gonzales, Hollis and Nielsen. It was the first time in school history that the Wildcats won back-to-back titles in the event, after CWU won the 2024 title in record fashion. Overall it was CWU’s fifth gold medal in the 4x100. Western Washington took home the silver medal in 46.49 seconds and Western Oregon finished third in 48.38 seconds.
 
Western Washington’s Kevin McDermott won his 10th and 11th-career GNAC gold medals (including cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field), topping the field in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:47.48 minutes and the 5,000 meters in 14:24.94. The latter mark was a meet record, as he broke Micah Chelimo’s (UAA) record of 14:29.41 minutes set in 2011. NNU’s Grady Mylander took second in the 5,000 meters in 14:28.94 minutes, and WWU’s Sten Brakstad was third in 14:30.87 minutes. McDermott’s 1,500 meters time was enough for a three-second win over runner-up Ian Stockett of Northwest Nazarene, who ran 3:50.59 minutes. Western Washington freshman Eli Williams picked up his second medal of the weekend, taking third with a time of 3:50.79 minutes. McDermott became the second man in conference history to claim consecutive titles in the event, joining four-time champion David Ribich of Western Oregon (2015-18).
 
Hannah Chang of Seattle Pacific successfully defended her title in the 100-meter hurdles, crossing the line with a winning time of 13.85 seconds. She became the third woman in conference history to win the event in consecutive seasons, joining Jacque Postlewait of Western Oregon (2007-08) and Mariyah Vongsaveng of Central Washington (2017-19). Danielle Ayers-Stamper, who won the 100-meter hurdles titles in 2003 and 2005, is the other Falcon with multiple conference crowns in the event. Alaska Anchorage’s Liv Heite took second in 13.91 seconds, and her teammate Mette Van Der Meer also made the podium with a time of 14.54 seconds.
 
SPU senior Annika Esvelt raced to her second straight win in the 5,000 meters, crushing the field by nearly 23 full seconds with a time of 16:32.51 minutes. That mark broke Caroline Kurgat’s (UAA) GNAC Championships record of 16:35.10 minutes which was set in 2019. Esvelt’s teammate Maya Ewing ran a PR of 16:55.22 minutes to take silver, and Alexandra Otto of Alaska Anchorage made the podium in third place with a time of 17:24.50 minutes.
 
Johan Correa of Central Washington became the first man in CWU history and the fourth overall within the GNAC to win consecutive titles in the outdoor 800 meters. The Wildcat senior clocked a time of 1:49.68 minutes, easing across the finish line to collect his second straight gold medal. Western Oregon’s Isaiah Rodriguez finished second in 1:51.84 minutes and teammate Grant Bohannon was third in 1:51.87 minutes in the finals.
 
Also defending their title on Saturday was Western Oregon’s Brennen Murphy, who made it two straight 400 meters gold medals. The Wolves sophomore broke the meet record with a time of 47.25 seconds, becoming the fourth man in league history to win back-to-back outdoor titles. He was also the second in WOU history to achieve that feat, joining 2003-04 champion Isaac Frederick. Jack Burgett of Western Oregon finished second in a personal-best 47.55 seconds, and WWU’s Brian Le was third in 47.65 seconds.
 
Viking junior Jill Philbin emerged with a gold medal in an airtight women’s 1,500 meters, with four runners leading the pack inside of 200 meters to go. Philbin made a late move to the front and never let up, winning with a personal-best time of 4:30.76 minutes. It was the first-ever win for a Viking in the 1,500 meters at the GNAC Championships. Rachael Watkins of Simon Fraser finished second in a personal-best 4:31.90 minutes, and Seattle Pacific’s Esvelt finished third for the second straight year with a PR time of 4:33.24.
 
Mia Crocker of Western Washington left no doubt in the women’s 800 meters, posting a winning time of 2:10.62 minutes to give the Vikings their third-straight winner in that event. It was Crocker’s second career podium in the 800, after she placed third at the 2023 GNAC Outdoor Championships. Ryann Smith of Alaska Anchorage took second in 2:11.50 and Elizabeth Vanderput of Simon Fraser finished third in 2:13.36 minutes.
 
Maurice Woodring of WWU, who broke the GNAC record in the 400-meter hurdles earlier this spring, cruised to the gold medal in that event on Saturday. His meet-record time of 52.41 seconds topped the previous mark of 51.77 seconds recorded by WWU’s Cordell Cummings in 2019. CWU’s Boast added to his point total with a runner-up finish in 52.41 seconds and WWU’s Corbin Herron finished third in 53.09 seconds.
 
CWU’s Carley Huber used a late kick to win gold in the 400-meter hurdles, as she clocked a personal-best time of 1:00.13 minutes to out-stride UAA’s Heite (1:01.22 minutes) after the final hurdle. Huber became the third woman in CWU history to win the event and gave the Wildcats their sixth title in the last eight seasons. Ari Nguyen of WWU took the bronze medal with a time of 1:02.09 which was also a personal best.
 
David Brown made it back-to-back 110-meter hurdle champions for the Wildcats, as he followed in the footsteps of 2024 winner Aiden Wise. Brown had control from the start, soaring over the high hurdles to a time of 14.32 seconds. He became the fourth man in CWU history to win the event, joining Wise, 2010 winner Anthony Hogan and 2005-07 winner Robert Edwards. Western Washington’s Hunter Flick used a late lean to snag the silver medal with a time of 14.44 seconds, and Seattle Pacific standout freshman Andrew Bell took third in 14.48 seconds. Flick’s PR time was the fourth-fastest in GNAC history.
 
Ray Gerrard made it two discus champions in the last three seasons for Western Oregon, as he joined 2023 winner Dayne Gordien. After four consecutive fouls, Gerrard claimed gold on his final attempt with a throw of 169-10 feet (51.78 meters). Wyatt Franklin of Central Washington took silver for the third year in a row, with a toss of 166-0 feet (50.60 meters), and teammate Wes Kriete earned his second straight bronze with a throw of 157-8 feet (48.07 meters).
 
Gerohm Rihari, who won the long jump on Friday, doubled his gold medal count with a victory in the high jump Saturday to claim field athlete of the meet honors. The NNU senior cleared 6-7.5 feet (2.02 meters) on his first attempt to top the field. Rihari moved the bar up to 6-11.5 feet (2.12 meters), which would have topped the meet record of 6-11 feet, but failed to clear the final height. It was a podium sweep for the Nighthawks, with Alex Shields taking second clearing 6-5.5 feet (1.97 meters) on his first attempt and Jonah Groce finishing third clearing the same height on his third attempt. It marked the fourth time that a school has swept the podium in the event as NNU followed Western Washington in 2004, Central Washington in 2011, and another group of Nighthawks in 2023.
 
Western Washington junior Gabe Menicke took home the title in the triple jump, with a mark of 47-11.25 feet (14.61 meters) to top the field of competitors. He became the fifth man in GNAC history to win back-to-back gold medals in the event, and the first from WWU to do so. Matthew Bender of CWU earned the silver medal with a jump of 45-7.25 feet (13.9 meters) and CWU’s Boast took bronze at 45-5 feet (13.84 meters).