ELLENSBURG, Wash.- The Central Washington University track and field team will travel to Monmouth, Ore. this weekend to compete at the 2018 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships. The field events will start on Friday, May 11 at 2 p.m. PST, followed by the running events at 2:45.
 
THOUGHTS FROM COACH ADKISSON
"We are really looking forward to this weekend," CWU head coach Kevin Adkisson stated. "It is definitely that time of the year the majority of our team has been striving for. Our athletes are excited to compete at their peak performance level and do their best for the team. We have seen great progress from many of our athletes and it seems like just about everybody is ready for their best performance. I am really hoping to come out of this meet with a lot of really great accomplishments and PR for our team."
 
"From the looks of it, our women's team should be in the hunt to capture the championship, or at least be in the top three," Adkisson continued. "SPU is still the target team and Anchorage will definitely be right there in the mix. The big goal is to see how many people we can get to move up from where they are entering the meet. On the guy's side, I would love for the guys to be in a position to make a run at the top three. We are not as healthy as we would like to be, but we have a lot of guys ready to step up."
 
MEET INFORMATION
The 2018 GNAC Championships will be held at McArthur Field on the campus of Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Ore. Directions to McArthur Field can be found HERE and spectators are expected to park in Lot G. Tickets will be sold at the gate, however, those wishing to purchase tickets in advance can go to gnactickets.com.
 
Online ticket prices: $9 for adults, $5 for children/students/seniors (under 2 free). 
Box office prices: $10 for adults, $6 for children/students/seniors (under 2 free).
 
The link to the live stats can be found at GNAC.live the days of the competition.
 
To view a tentative meet schedule, click HERE.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats last competed at the UW Ken Shannon Invitational in Seattle, Wash. Alexa Shindruk represented CWU in the 3,000-meter, where she placed second overall with a time of 9:43.53. Her performance also ranks second on the CWU all-time list.
 
Another bright spot for the Wildcats was senior Ali Anderson, who returned from illness to finish second in the 400-meter hurdles after recording a time of 1:01.18. Erykah Weems also competed in the event, placing fourth with a time of 1:02.43.
 
In the women's triple jump, Central Washington was led by senior HarLee Ortega and Brooke Williams. CWU won the top-two spots in the triple jump. Ortega won the event (37 feet, 5 inches), followed by Williams in second (36-11.50).
 
Tyree Rutter highlighted the list of performances from the Wildcat men. Competing in the javelin, Rutter threw a distance of 178 feet, 1 inch to finish second overall. Domingo Villarreal also competed in the event, finishing fourth (167-08).
 
Grant Scarlett captured second in the long jump after leaping a distance of 21 feet, 2.75 inches and Josh Boston earned third in the 3K (9:00.43).
 
VONGSAVENG NAMED GNAC TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Junior Mariyah Vongsaveng was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Track Athlete of the Week after setting both the CWU and conference record in the 100-meter hurdles last weekend at the UW Shannon Invitational, the league office announced this past Monday.
 
Vongsaveng set the GNAC record in the 100-meters as she won the event at the Ken Shannon Invitational. Racing against primarily Division I opponents, her time of 13.64 seconds eclipsed the previous GNAC record of 13.70 seconds set by Danielle Ayers-Stamper of Seattle Pacific in 2005. The time ranks No. 8 in Division II this season.
 
Monday's announcement marked the second time the Federal Way, Wash.-native has received athlete of the week recognition. Vongsaveng last received the honor on March 20, 2017.
 
CONFERENCE RANKINGS
The Wildcats enters the conference tournament with a total of 25 athletes ranked in the top-five in their respective events.
 
The men's team will be led by standout Kodiak Landis, who enters the weekend ranked in three events. In the 400-meter, Landis recorded the conference's fastest time of 47.87 seconds earlier this season at the Bryan Clay Invitational. He also ranks second in the pole vault (15 feet, 5.75 inches) and long jump (23 feet, 11 inches).
 
Freshman phenom Braydon Maier, who has already won two conference championships this year in the heptathlon and decathlon, is ranked third in both the pole vault and 110-meter hurdles. In the pole vault, Maier cleared a season-best height of 15 feet, 3 inches at the GNAC Combined Event Championship and recorded a time of 15.11 seconds in the 110m hurdles at the Sam Adams Classic.
 
The 3,000-meter steeplechase will feature Corbin Carlton, who's provisional qualifying time of 9:09.17 ranks fourth in the GNAC.
 
Other athletes expected to perform well this weekend include Tyler Humphries in the 10K (3rd, 32:15.22), Jermey Bade in the high jump (4th, 6-06) and Zach Whittaker in the triple jump (4th, 46-01.5).
 
The women's team is expected to shine in the hurdle events, where they hold four of the top-five spots in the 400m hurdles and three in the 100. Vongsaveng ranks first in the 100 hurdles after her record setting performance last weekend in Seattle. Erykah Weems (3rd; 14.50) and Sidney Trinidad (5th; 14.70) will also be fighting for spots on the podium. Weems also recorded the GNAC's fastest time in the 400-meter hurdles earlier this season at the Beach Invitational (1:00.77). Ali Anderson ranks second in the event with a provisional qualifying time 1:00.95 and Sidney Trinidad (1:01.97) and Katie Collins (1:03.03) enter the meet ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
 
HarLee Ortega and Brooke Williams will spearhead the CWU jumping core. Ortega leaped a distance of 18 feet, 6 inches last week at the GNAC Combined Event Championships to rank second in the long jump, followed by Williams in third (18-5.75) and Ali Anderson in fifth (18-4.25). Williams also holds the top mark in the triple jump (39 feet, 4 inches), which she set at the Pelluer Invitational.
 
Leading the distance group will be junior Alexa Shindruk, who has already recorded provisional qualifying times in the 5,000 (17:00.79) and 10,000-meter (34:57.08) events. Shindruk rests in second in the 10K and fourth in the 5K.
 
The lone Wildcat sprinter ranked in the top-five is Aujanique Doss. Doss ranks fourth after recording a season-best time of 12.25 seconds last week at the Ken Shannon Invitational.
 
Other members of CWU's women's team expected to make a splash this weekend include Nicole Soleim in the steeplechase (2nd; 10:48.96) and Halle Irvine in the pole vault (2nd; 12-06).
 
-CWU-