By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

SPOKANE, Wash. – For the fifth consecutive season the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships are at The Podium, as the conference’s elite athletes come together for the championship meet kicking off on Monday.
 
2026 GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships
February 16-17, 2026 – The Podium – Spokane, Wash.
 
Western Washington enters the meet as the two-time defending team champion on both the women’s and men’s sides. The Vikings claimed both the men’s and women’s GNAC Cross Country Championships team titles last fall, extending their streak of team titles to 16 total across the sports of outdoor track & field, indoor track & field and cross country dating back to the spring of 2023. Simon Fraser may pose the most imminent threat to the Vikings’ title streak on both the women’s and men’s side, featuring a majority of the seed-time favorites across both track and field events ahead of the meet.
 

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WOMEN’S INDOOR PREVIEW
The time has come for Simon Fraser senior sprinter Emma Cannan, who is in the midst of one of the most prolific indoor seasons in GNAC history. Cannan has broken the conference indoor records in both the 200-meters (23.19 seconds) and 400-meters (52.48 seconds) and ran the third-fastest 60-meters time in conference history at 7.40 seconds. Cannan’s times in both the 200-meters and 400-meters lead all of NCAA Division II indoor track & field this season, and she ranks seventh on the national performance list in the 60-meters.
 
Cannan is no stranger to the awards podium, but she is still in search of an elusive GNAC individual gold medal. She has two silvers and a bronze in the 200-meters and a bronze in the 60-meters, as well as a bronze medal in the outdoor 400-meters. Cannan is the owner of five GNAC gold medals – all of which came in relay races across the conference indoor and outdoor championships the last several years. The Red Leafs also hold the top distance medley relay time in the GNAC this indoor season at 11:30.79 minutes, as they seek to defend last year’s title with Steph Millar being the lone returner to the lineup.
 
While Cannan is the favorite in the sprints, she will face a variety of stern competition. Teammate Jaeland Cummings ran the fourth-fastest 60-meters time in conference history at 7.46 seconds, while Central Washington sophomore Ashlyn Nielsen’s time of 7.56 seconds was eighth-fastest in league history. CWU’s Elise Hopper also ran a pair of personal-bests this winter, clocking the fourth-fastest 200-meters time in league indoor history at 24.07 seconds and the seventh-fastest 400-meters time at 55.17 seconds. Nielsen meanwhile ran the sixth-fastest 200-meters time at 24.16 seconds and Cummings tied for the eighth-fastest at 24.39 seconds.
 
Reigning 400-meters champion Bec Bennett of Western Washington is the favorite to repeat among entries for that event, after she ran the second-fastest indoor time in conference history at 53.47 seconds earlier this winter. Bennett also made the top-10 list in the 200-meters matching Cummings at 24.39 seconds, as she projects as a major point scorer for the Vikings once again.
 
The Red Leafs hold another secret weapon in freshman middle-distancer Raiya Matonovich, who enters the meet as the favorite in a pair of events. Her mile time of 4:42.62 minutes stands as third-fastest in GNAC history and sits at No. 5 on the Division II national performance list. Matonovich also ranks 10th nationally in the 800-meters, with a season-best time of 2:08.95 minutes. Emmy Kroontje of Western Washington, who took bronze in the 800-meters last year, projects as Matonovich’s top competition in both events. Kroontje ranks second in the GNAC and 15th nationally in the 800-meters at 2:10.09 minutes, as well as second in the GNAC and 26th nationally in the mile at 4:52.52 minutes.
 
After taking silver in the 3,000-meters last winter, Simon Fraser’s Rachael Watkins headlines the list of entries in that event. Her season-best time of 9:36.13 minutes was eighth-fastest in GNAC indoor history, and she also ranks third on the GNAC performance list in the mile at 4:55.04 minutes. Northwest Nazarene’s Morgan Erler, who has silver medals in both the 3,000-meters (2023) and 5,000-meters (2025), also holds a provisional national time in the 3,000-meters this season ranking second in the GNAC at 9:48.84 minutes.
 
Maya Ewing of Seattle Pacific is the reigning gold medalist in the 5,000-meters and is projected as the favorite to repeat with a conference-leading seed time of 17:08.93 minutes. The 2025 GNAC Cross Country Championships individual champion will look for her fourth GNAC track & field medal overall, after finishing second in both the 5,000-meters and 3,000-meter steeplechase at last year’s outdoor championships.
 
The conference’s top-two competitors in the women’s 60-meter hurdles will make their return to the championship stage, in reigning champion Hannah Chang of Seattle Pacific and last year’s runner-up Liv Heite of Alaska Anchorage. Heite’s GNAC-leading time of 8.61 seconds tied her for sixth-fastest in GNAC history, while Chang holds a season-best mark of 8.66 seconds this winter.
 
This year’s slate of competitors also features some of the top relay groups the conference has ever seen. The Western Washington quartet of Bennett, Kennedy Cook, Jayda Darroch and Casie Kleine combined to run the third-fastest time in conference indoor history at 3:42.58 minutes. Central Washington meanwhile posted the 10th-fastest all-time indoor time with Nielsen, Hopper, Carly Huber and Donna Marie Harris posting 3:46.37 minutes.
 
Reigning Division II triple jump national champion Emy Ntekpere of Central Washington returns for her third GNAC Championships meet. She won gold in both the long jump and triple jump last winter, while taking silver in the high jump. Ntekpere enters the meet ranked tied for second nationally with a high jump of 5-10.5 feet (1.79 meters) and third nationally with a triple jump of 41-1.75 feet (12.54 meters). She holds the GNAC indoor records in both events, with career bests of 42-8 feet (13.00 meters) in the triple jump and her high jump mark from this season.
 
Ntekpere will face some stern competition in her quest to defend last year’s long jump title, as Alaska Anchorage’s Vivien Liessfeld has burst onto the scene this season. After earning bronze in the event at the 2024 GNAC Indoor Championships, Liessfeld notched the third-best long jump in conference indoor history at 19-4 feet (5.89 meters), landing her in the top-30 nationally. Ntekpere’s indoor career best in the long jump of 19-3.25 feet (5.87 meters) was achieved last year.
 
Liessfeld also has ambitions of following last year’s outdoor heptathlon GNAC gold medal as she is the favorite in the pentathlon at the indoor championships. Her season-best score of 3,518 points stands as the 10th-best pentathlon score in GNAC history. Liessfeld is the two-time reigning bronze medalist in the pentathlon and will have to get through last year’s champion Amariyah Clay of Western Oregon, who is second on the GNAC performance list at 3,329 points as her best score of 2026.
 
Jessica Polkinghorn of Western Washington appears poised to defend last year’s indoor shot put gold medal, as she enters the meet with the ninth-best throw in Division II this winter. Polkinghorn’s PR toss of 49-10 feet (15.19 meters) was fourth-best in conference indoor history. Teammate Kathryn Chapin meanwhile hit the ninth-best throw all time at 47-1.75 feet (14.37 meters), with last year’s silver medalist sitting second on the indoor performance list. Chapin also landed the eighth-farthest weight throw in GNAC history at 56-8.5 feet (17.28 meters), pitting her as the favorite in that event. The sophomore will be in search of her first indoor podium finish in the weight throw. Montana State Billings’ Hannah Cooper, who took silver in the event last year, enters the meet third on the GNAC performance list at 54-4.75 feet (16.58 meters).
 

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MEN’S INDOOR PREVIEW
Simon Fraser returner Jacob Hall is among those to look out for in the men’s sprints, as he enters the meet with the top 60-meters seed time at 6.75 seconds and the top 200-meters seed time at 21.32 seconds. Hall will look to return to the awards podium after finishing as the bronze medalist in the 60-meters at last year’s championship. Also holding provisional marks in the 60-meters are Central Washington freshman Colton Magruder (6.75 seconds), Western Oregon sophomore Jack Burgett (6.78 seconds) and Seattle Pacific freshman Tawaf Aboudou (6.80 seconds). Burgett also projects as a contender in the 200 meters, ranking third on the GNAC performance list at 21.49 seconds. With All-American Joshua Caleb (Alaska Anchorage) having transferred to LSU, the short sprint gold medals are open for the taking this year.
 
Western Oregon’s Brennen Murphy is the reigning champion in the men’s 400-meters but will face stern competition in defending his title from Simon Fraser breakout freshman Zachary Jeggo. Jeggo broke the GNAC indoor record – held by Caleb – running 47.15 seconds, nearly a half-second faster than Murphy’s top 2026 mark of 47.59 seconds. Jeggo enters his first GNAC Championships meet sitting at No. 9 on the Division II national performance list in the 400-meters.
 
SFU’s bid to dethrone the Viking men in the team race could also be helped by junior Colton Plummer, whose time of 1:49.38 minutes ranks No. 1 on the 800-meters performance list so far this season. Plummer is the reigning bronze medalist in the indoor 800 meters. The Vikings meanwhile also have a provisional qualifier in that event with Nathan Reseigh at 1:51.52 minutes, as well as the top two milers in the GNAC in Eli Williams (4:07.70 minutes) and George Fernandez (4:09.02 minutes).
 
The GNAC indoor top-10 lists received a facelift early on in the indoor season, when Alaska Anchorage’s John Peckham and Ty Elliott crushed their PRs in the 5,000 meters. Peckham’s GNAC-leading time of 14:08.05 minutes ranks fifth-fastest in GNAC indoor history, while Elliott’s time of 14:18.21 minutes was the ninth-fastest ever by a GNAC indoor runner. Elliott is the reigning bronze medalist in the event, while Peckham is the 2025 GNAC Cross Country Championships individual winner. The top men’s 3,000-meters times so far in 2025-26 belong to the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks, with cross country all-conference seniors Brody Kemble (8:14.83 minutes) and Grady Mylander (8:16.51 minutes) holding the top two spots. That duo made the awards podium last year in the 3,000 meters, with Kemble taking silver and Mylander grabbing the bronze medal, while Kemble also placed second in the 5,000 meters.
 
The men’s 60-meter hurdles competition carries intrigue, with all three medalists from last year’s championship returning to the field. Central Washington’s David Brown – who took silver in 2025 – holds the top mark so far this year with his 8.03 seconds standing as second-fastest in GNAC history. Reigning champion Andrew Bell of Seattle Pacific – who owns the conference record at 8.01 seconds – and last year’s bronze medalist Corbin Herron of Western Washington are each set to toe the line again.
 
The Viking men’s relay unit has had an impressive 2026 season so far, breaking the GNAC indoor record in the 4x400 meters with two separate lineups. Most recently, the quartet of Lucas Brenek, Evin Ford, Maurice Woodring and Jackson Moffitt got the job done in 3:11.38 seconds on Feb. 6. Brenek is the lone runner in that lineup who was a member of WWU’s 2024 gold medal relay squad; Western Oregon won the event last winter.
 
Simon Fraser is the favorite to win the distance medley relay for the fourth time in the last five years and seventh time in nine years, holding the top seed time of 9:53.21 minutes. That quartet features Jeggo, Benjamin Schoening, Plummer and Braden Ahl. Plummer was a member of the Red Leafs’ title-winning DMR unit in 2024.
 
Central Washington’s Cal’von Baker, the reigning indoor champion in the high jump, projects as a contender both to defend his title and to compete for a medal in the triple jump. His marks of 6-4.75 feet (1.95 meters) in the high jump and 46-11.75 feet (14.32 meters) in the triple jump rank him third and fourth, respectively on the GNAC performance list. Those lists are headlined by more Simon Fraser freshmen however, with Daanish Adams leading the triple jump at 48-2.75 feet (14.70 meters) and Leupold Wang topping the high jump at 6-6 feet (1.98 meters) thus far in 2026. Another SFU newcomer – Nathan Roth – leads the long jump performance list with a conference-best leap of 23-6.75 feet (7.18 meters).
 
Gerohm Rihari of Northwest Nazarene is among the most accomplished jumpers returning to the GNAC Championships, winning gold in the high jump in 2023 and silver in the event last winter. He is also coming off double gold medals in the high jump and long jump at the 2025 GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. His teammate Jonah Groce, the reigning bronze medalist in the high jump, has the second-best mark in the GNAC this season at 6-5.5 feet (1.97 meters) and should be in contention for another awards podium slot.
 
Saint Martin’s senior Ryan Doidge has soared to the top of the conference in the pole vault, where he has already posted a tie for the fourth-best height in GNAC indoor history clearing 16-2.75 feet (4.95 meters). After earning the silver medal indoors and placing fourth outdoors last year, Doidge is the heavy favorite to collect his first-ever GNAC gold medal this week.
 
The aforementioned Aboudou of SPU, who could be a contender in the 60-meters, figures to be one of the Falcons’ best chances at a medal in the jumps. Aboudou enters the championship meet ranked third in the GNAC in the triple jump at 47-9.25 feet (14.56 meters) and second in the long jump at 23-6 feet (7.16 meters). SPU has only had three different GNAC indoor champions in those events, with All-American Chris Randolph winning the long jump from 2004-06 and Justin Felt winning in 2007, and David Njeri claiming back-to-back triple jump titles in 2022-23.
 
Western Washington has a firm grip on the throws portion of the competition, with athletes occupying three of the top-four spots in the shot put and the top-two spots in the weight throw. Freshman Connor Inman had the seventh-best shot put in GNAC indoor history at 54-10 feet (16.71 meters) while reigning champion Noah Turner notched the ninth-best all-time throw at 54-1.75 feet (16.50 meters). Calvin Gutierrez meanwhile launched the second-best weight throw in conference history at 62-1 feet (18.92 meters), putting him as the heavy favorite for his first-ever GNAC indoor medal.
 
Reigning GNAC outdoor decathlon champion Tobin Schmidtke of Alaska Anchorage will look to make it consecutive gold medals in the multi events. He enters the championship meet with a season-best point total of 4,868 in the heptathlon so far in 2026.
 

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GNAC, Spokane Sports to Host 2028 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships
The 2028 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships are coming to GNAC Country, as the conference office was announced as a hosting partner alongside the Spokane Sports Commission and The Podium on Oct. 2, 2024.
 
The 2028 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will run March 8-10 at The Podium in Spokane, Wash. The GNAC most recently hosted NCAA Championship events at the 2022 Fall Festival in Seattle, at which GNAC member Western Washington notably captured its second women’s soccer NCAA title. The GNAC also partnered with the Spokane Sports Commission to bring the 2013 Division II Cross Country Championships to the Pacific Northwest.
 

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About Spokane Sports
Spokane Sports proudly leads the region’s sports tourism efforts, with The Podium as a premier venue for top-tier events. The facility features a 200-meter, six-lane hydraulic banked track with a Beynon surface, one of the few in the U.S. and the first in the western U.S.
 
Since opening in 2022, Spokane Sports has hosted key events such as the GNAC Indoor Championships, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, and the USA Track and Field National Indoor Championships. In addition to its elite track, The Podium includes dual throwing cages, horizontal and vertical jump pits, and a temperature-controlled warm-up track, all designed to deliver a world-class experience for athletes and spectators alike.