BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Each rallying to overcome a deficit on Day 2 of the 2024 GNAC Combined Event Championships, Alaska Anchorage’s Vivien Liessfeld and Central Washington’s Drew Klein won the heptathlon and decathlon, respectively, at Civic Stadium.

Klein posted a final score of 6,709 points in the decathlon, holding off second-place Gabe Burchfield of Western Oregon by 450 points. Liessfeld meanwhile finished the heptathlon with 4,639 points, good enough for a 211-point margin over second-place Macy Clemens of Western Oregon. The GNAC Combined Event Championships are part of the upcoming 2024 GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which will take place May 10-11 in Ellensburg.

After trailing UAA’s Anders Larsen after the first five events on Monday, Klein used his strengths in the pole vault and discus to run away with the title on Tuesday. Klein won both of those events, with a discus throw of 116’ 8” (35.58 meters) and clearing a pole vault bar set at 15’ 6.25” (4.73 meters). A runner-up finish in the 110-meter hurdles (15.58 seconds) and a third-place finish in the javelin (157’ 7”) also contributed to his winning score. Klein became the fifth athlete in GNAC history to win both the indoor heptathlon and outdoor decathlon in the same season, and the second Wildcat to do so as he joined Braydon Meier who accomplished the feat in 2018. Klein became the fifth CWU athlete to win the decathlon since the inaugural conference meet in 2002, as he joined Meier (2018, 2021), Cresap Watson (2006), Michael Morrison (2004) and Chris Petersen (2003).

Burchfield also had a strong showing on Day 2, winning the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.28 seconds to earn 816 points. He finished in the top-3 in four of the five events on Tuesday to move into second place. UAA’s Larsen settled for a third-place finish with 6,230 points, as he kept himself on the podium after his strong start Monday.

Andrew Boyd of Saint Martin’s, who notched a pair of event wins in the decathlon, finished fourth with 5,994 points. After winning the shot put on Monday, Boyd finished with a victory in the javelin throw as he reached 189’ 9” (57.85 meters) on Tuesday. Boyd also used a runner-up discus throw of 113’ 5” (34.57 meters) to climb to fourth place.

Ryan Fenley of Montana State Billings was the other decathlete to collect an event victory on Tuesday, as he capped his performance with a time of 4:40.19 in the 1,500 meters to earn him 679 points. That contributed to his overall score of 5,817 points to land him in fifth place. Also competing were Western Oregon’s JJ Walker and Caleb Ness, who finished in sixth place (5,453 points) and seventh place (5,328 points), respectively.

In the women’s heptathlon, Liessfeld earned wins in the long jump (18’ 3.75”) and javelin (111’ 4”) on Tuesday to secure the crown. Overall the Seawolf freshman won three events and finished in the top-three in five events to earn her first collegiate gold medal. Liessfeld is the third Seawolf woman to win the heptathlon, joining 2022 champion Elena Cano and three-time winner Karolin Anders (2014, 2015, 2017).

WOU’s Macy Clemens finished in the top-four in all three of Tuesday’s events to climb the leaderboard to second place, as she finished with 4,428 points. Also making the podium was Seattle Pacific’s Hannah Chang, who tallied 4,365 points to claim the bronze medal. Competing alongside Clemens were teammates Amity Deters, who finished fifth with 4,294 points, and Sadie Wendring, who finished 10th with 3,523 points.

Competing in her first collegiate combined event was Emy Ntekpere, who finished fourth with 4,335 points. The GNAC indoor champion in both the high jump and triple jump used her strengths for a victory in the long jump with a mark of 18’ 3.75” (5.58 meters). Also recording an event win on Tuesday was CWU’s Carley Huber, as she clocked an 800-meters time of 2:27.80 and finished sixth overall with 4,011 points.

Day 1 leader Ellie DeGroot of Central Washington was in the driver’s seat to claim a podium spot and perhaps a win, but an injury prevented her from completing the final event. Even without a mark in the 800-meters, DeGroot managed an eighth-place finish with 3,902 points.

Representing the host Western Washington Vikings in the heptathlon was a quartet of competitors, led by a seventh-place finish from Nicole Avery with 3,919 points. Karma Walker placed ninth with 3,779 points, Cassandra Schulberg took 11th with 3,139 points and Tess King finished 12th with 2,872 points.