ELLENSBURG, Wash.- The Central Washington University indoor track and field team is set to compete at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in Nampa, Idaho. CWU will begin the GNAC Championships on Friday, Feb. 16 at the Jacksons Indoor Complex at the Ford Idaho Center.
 
ABOUT THE GNAC
With members in five states and the province of British Columbia and with a strong presence in or near the largest city of each, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference has established itself as one of the top Division II athletic conferences in the NCAA during its 16-yar history.
 
The GNAC is comprised of 11 track and field programs, all set to compete this weekend. Western Oregon currently sits atop the men's side and ranks 12th nationally. The Simon Fraser women lead the conference heading into this weekend and rank 16th in the nation. Alaska Anchorage has also received some national recognition, currently ranked 21st.
 
FACILITY INFORMATION
The GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships returns to Nampa, home of the Ford Idaho Center, for the 15th consecutive year. The Jacksons Indoor Track at the Ford Sports Complex has established a name in the track and field community since 2002, when the president of Jacksons Food Stores made a charitable contribution to Boise State University maing it possible for Boise to purchase the track.
           
The constructed track is 200 meters long and includes an eight-lane straight track in the middle and six lanes banked on the oval. The track surface consists of Mondo, the world's leading performance multi-density synthetic rubber surface, a requirement by the NCAA and the USA Track & Field (USATF) for sanctioned championship events.
 
Halle Irvine NAMED GNAC FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Senior Halle Irvine was named the GNAC Field Athlete of the week following her performance at the UW Indoor Open. Irvine, a native of Yakima, Wash., took the GNAC lead in the pole vault entering the GNAC Championships. She cleared a personal best height of 12 feet, 1.25 inches to place 10th at the UW Indoor Open. She is the GNAC leader in the event by over six inches.
 
KODIAK FINISH
Senior Kodiak Landis has only improved since winning the heptathlon event title a year ago. The senior has the fourth-best point total in Division II this season (5,407), automatically qualifying him for nationals. In the process, Landis also provisionally qualified in the pole vault (15-11) and is a potential point scorer in at least four other events.
 
CAN'T HARLEE WAIT
Senior HarLee Ortega enters the meet favored to win the women's pentathlon with a season-best score of 3,630 points, fifth-best in GNAC history and seventh in Division II this season. The Payette, Idaho-native will look to take advantage of her last GNAC Indoor Championship appearance and improve upon her fifth-place finish in the pentathlon a year ago. The senior also claimed fifth in the long jump last season with a jump measuring 5.31 meters. Ortega leads the GNAC this season in the event after leaping a distance of 18 feet, 3 inches last weekend at the WSU Cougar Indoor.
 
Joining Ortega in the pentathlon will be fellow senior Ali Anderson. Anderson is sixth on the GNAC All-Time List (3,583 points) and ninth best in the nation. Anderson also leads the GNAC and is qualified for nationals in the 400-meter (56.08 seconds) and 200-meter (25.29 seconds).
 
BEST OF THE REST
Leading the CWU throwing core will be senior Armando Tafoya. Tafoya is the defending champion in the weight throw and ranks fourth in the GNAC this season with a season-best throw measuring 58 feet, 5.25 inches. The Wildcats will also look to him to score points in the shot put, where he currently ranks sixth in the league with a season-best throw of 51 feet at the WSU Cougar Indoor.
 
Senior Trevaughn Scott enters the meet ranked fourth in the 800 meters with a personal best time of 1:55.77 recorded at the Jacksons Open earlier this season. Less than a second separates the second through fourth runners heading into this weekend so expect to see Scott near the front of the pack come Saturday.
 
Junior hurdler Mariyah Vongsaveng is one of two returning champions in the 60-meter hurdles (winning in 2016) and leads the conference with a time of 8.68 seconds.
 
The distance events will feature Central Washington's top runner, Alexa Shindruk. Shindruk ranks second in the conference after recording a provisional qualifying time of 17:06.76 last weekend at the Husky Classic.
 
Newcomer Braydon Maier has made a splash in his first year at Central Washington. Maier is tied for third in the 60-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 8.55 seconds. He also ranks fifth in the pole vault (15-06.25) and third in the heptathlon (4,884 points).
 
-CWU-