By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – After sweeping both the women’s and men’s team titles at the 2026 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, Western Washington was selected as the Athletic Solutions GNAC Team of the Week on Monday.
 
The Vikings extended their record streak of titles across the sports of cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field to 18 in-a-row, dating back to the spring of 2023.
 

The Viking XC/TF Title Streak
Season	Sport	Men's Team Finish	Women's Team Finish
Spring, 2023	Outdoor Track & Field	First	First
Fall, 2023	Cross Country	First	First
Winter, 2024	Indoor Track & Field	First	First
Spring, 2024	Outdoor Track & Field	First	First
Fall, 2024	Cross Country	First	First
Winter, 2025	Indoor Track & Field	First	First
Spring, 2025	Outdoor Track & Field	First	First
Fall, 2025	Cross Country	First	First
Winter, 2026	Indoor Track & Field	First	First

 
The Western Washington men broke the GNAC record for team points at an indoor meet, collecting 190 to run away with the team title ahead of second-place Central Washington (102 points). On the women’s side, WWU won a much closer race as it totaled 163 points to edge the runner-up Wildcats (152 points).
 
WWU Men’s Team Summary
WWU’s middle distance crew had an outstanding performance, headlined by a gold medal and 10 points from Will Henry in the mile (4:16.28 minutes). Going 2-3-4 in the 5,000-meters were George Fernandez (14:45.20 minutes), Sten Brakstad (14:45.61 minutes) and Jonah Billings (14:45.89 minutes), while Fernandez also earned a bronze medal in the mile (4:16.93 minutes) and a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meters (8:29.24 minutes) to contribute 19 individual points towards his team. Billings grabbed the bronze medal in the 3,000-meters (8:28.84 minutes) and Brakstad chipped in a sixth-place finish (8:30.65 minutes).
 
The Vikings also took charge in the relay races, winning the distance medley relay and taking silver in the 4x400-meter relay. The DMR unit of Nate Rumberger, Evin Ford, Jonah Bloom and Eli Williams combined to clock a time of 10:05.70 minutes, second-fastest in the conference this season. The 4x400-meter relay squad meanwhile clocked in at 3:13.35 minutes, with Lucas Brenek, Ford, Maurice Woodring and Jackson Moffitt earning their team eight points.
 
Gabe Menicke claimed GNAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Meet recognition, winning the gold medal in the triple jump at 48-3.25 feet (14.71 meters) and taking silver in the long jump at 22-10 feet (6.96 meters). Austin Seals won the pole vault for 10 points, clearing a personal-best 16-0.75 feet (4.90 meters) to tie for the seventh-best indoor mark in conference history.
 
 
The Vikings also swept the men’s throwing events, with freshman Connor Inman winning the shot put and sophomore Calvin Gutierrez striking gold in the weight throw. Inman’s toss of 56-4.75 feet (17.19 meters) was fifth-best in GNAC indoor history, while Gutierrez matched his GNAC No. 2 all-time mark of 63-6.75 feet (19.37 meters). Angelo Ramos picked up eight points with a silver medal in the weight throw at 60-3.25 feet (18.37 meters) and Noah Haller took eighth at 52-2.75 feet (15.92 meters). Four Vikings finished in the top-10 in the shot put, with Noah Turner third at 53-10.5 feet (16.42 meters), Haller fifth at 50-7.5 feet (15.43 meters) and Ramos ninth at 48-4 feet (14.73 meters).
 
Brenek moved up to No. 4 on the all-time GNAC indoor list in the 400 meters, snagging the bronze medal with a run of 47.48 seconds. Woodring also got his name onto the GNAC all-time top-10 list in the 400 meters, earning a fourth-place finish with a time of 47.95 seconds. Moffitt took fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 21.69 seconds and also contributed points to the team by taking sixth in the 400-meters with a time of 48.71 seconds.
 
Other men’s track point earners included Eliyah Dominique in the 200 meters (21.65 seconds, fourth place) and 60 meters (6.97 seconds, eighth place) and Corbin Herron who took sixth in the 60-meter hurdles. Herron’s preliminary time of 8.09 seconds was a personal best that tied him for fifth on the GNAC all-time indoor list.
 
Aaron Paul made the podium for his efforts in the high jump, clearing 6-3.5 feet (1.92 meters) to earn the bronze medal. He was among a handful of other men’s jumpers to earn points for the Vikings, with Isaiah Cummings taking fourth in the pole vault at 14-9 feet (4.50 meters), Kurt Montero placing fifth at 14-3.25 feet (4.35 meters) and Kaden Miller checking in ninth at 12-9.5 feet (3.90 meters). Miller also finished seventh in the men’s heptathlon with a final score of 3,798 points.
 
WWU Women’s Team Summary
Bec Bennett was among the elite performers at the meet, earning her second straight gold medal in the 400-meters with a time of 54.33 seconds. Bennett also snagged her squad four points with a fifth-place finish in the 200 meters at 24.75 seconds, while Kennedy Cook was right behind in sixth place at 24.87 seconds. Cook also took fourth in the 400-meters, running 55.77 seconds, with Jayda Darroch taking sixth in 56.68 seconds and Casie Kleine finishing seventh in 56.83 seconds to contribute points as well.
 
Like the men, the WWU women’s relay squads had a stellar showing winning the 4x400-meter relay and taking second in the distance medley relay. The quartet of Kleine, Darroch, Cook and Bennett ran 3:42.98 to win the 4x400-meters. The silver-medal DMR unit consisted of Cecilia Villagomez Edvalson, Hannah Polkinghorn, Olivia Friedrich and Josephine Stevenson and clocked a time of 12:21.74 minutes. Ari Nguyen was another WWU track athlete to make the podium, placing third in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.90 seconds.
 
Emmy Kroontje was WWU’s top distance performer, as she earned the bronze medal in the mile with a time of 4:57.57 minutes and took fifth place in the 800-meters at 2:13.16 minutes. Ella Edens was another medalist for WWU, placing third in the 3,000-meters at 10:07.44 minutes and turning in a seventh-place finish in the 5,000-meters at 17:40.72 minutes. Alexis Parker led WWU with a fifth-place finish in the 5,000-meters at 17:36.28 minutes and added a seventh-place finish in the 3,000-meters at 10:15.69 minutes. Other point scorers were Stephenson and Jill Philbin who took fifth and sixth place in the mile at 5:03.43 minutes and 5:03.93 minutes, respectively, and Sabrina Colbert who finished eighth in the 5,000-meters with a time of 17:42.09 minutes.
 
Kathryn Chapin took home major hardware in the throws, winning the shot put and earning silver in the weight throw. Chapin threw 45-10.5 feet (13.98 meters) to win the shot put and was among four Vikings to earn points in the event. Lydia Bailey took third at 44-7 feet (13.59 meters), Mara Parks was fifth at 42-5.5 feet (12.94 meters), and Rylee Andrews placed sixth at 41-3.75 feet (12.59 meters). Parks also contributed a fifth-place finish in the weight throw at 52-8.25 feet (16.06 meters), and Jessica Polkinghorn was seventh at 47-9.25 feet (14.56 meters).
 
Sydney Mohlman and Effie Armstrong delivered a 1-2 finish in the women’s pole vault, teaming up for 17 total points towards the team score. Mohlman won her first indoor gold medal clearing 12-4.5 feet (3.77 meters), while Armstrong took silver clearing 11-5.75 feet (3.50 meters). Also contributing points in the event were fifth-place finisher Kaylee Scott at 10-11.75 feet (3.35 meters) and seventh-place finisher JoJo Grubesic at 10-6 feet (3.20 meters).
 
Hannah Polkinghorn led a trio of WWU point scorers in the long jump, placing fifth with a leap of 17-11.5 feet (5.47 meters). Kora Cook was sixth with a jump of 17-5.25 feet (5.31 meters) and Nicole Avery placed eighth at 17-2.75 feet (5.25 meters). Avery also picked up four points for her team in the pentathlon, finishing in fifth place with a total score of 3,105 points. Khloe Huskic meanwhile snagged two points in the triple jump, finishing in seventh place with a leap of 36-11 feet (11.25 meters).
 
WWU is led by head coach Ben Stensland, who is in his fourth season in charge of the cross country and track & field programs.
 

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GNAC Team of the Week presented by Athletic Solutions
Athletic Solutions was introduced as an official partner of the GNAC on Dec. 8, 2025 and it will sponsor the GNAC Team of the Week award. Athletic Solutions is a national leader in NIL fan engagement and e-commerce technology, collaborating with colleges and universities to bring NIL Locker Rooms to life. Its platform simplifies NIL opportunities, providing student-athletes with the tools and exposure needed to thrive in the evolving landscape of college athletics.