The 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held Feb. 19-20, 2024 at The Podium in Spokane, Wash. All nine conference programs will compete at the event. Tickets for the event are available for purchase online here.

Jessica Chisar – Alaska Anchorage (800 meters)

Showing steady improvement throughout her freshman season, Chisar will set her sights on improving her 800 meters time this weekend in Seattle. Her mark of 2:13.77 that she ran at the UW Invitational two weeks ago was the second-fastest in the conference this year and earned her a provisional qualifying mark with the 33rd-best time in Division II.

Vivien Liessfeld – Alaska Anchorage (Pentathlon)

Brand new to the GNAC multis world, Liessfeld is set to try her hand at the pentathlon at the upcoming UW Husky Classic this weekend in Seattle. Liessfeld’s long jump of 18’ 5” (5.61 meters) on Jan. 26 at the UW Invitational was the top mark in the conference at the time, and she enters the week ranked second in the event. If she can improve that event by 2.25” she could clip her name onto the Division II provisional qualifying list as well. Five GNAC athletes have completed a pentathlon thus far in 2023-24, with the scores ranging from 2,343 to 3,052 and CWU’s Ellie DeGroot holding the highest point total of the winter.

Joshua Caleb – Alaska Anchorage (Sprints)

A talented sprinter from Nigeria, Caleb is set to make his debut for the Seawolves this weekend. He will test his abilities in the 60 meters and 200 meters, as he looks to crack into the GNAC performance list in his collegiate debut.

Elise Hopper – Central Washington (Sprints)

A sophomore for the Wildcats, Hopper leads the GNAC in the 400 meters with a time of 57.47 seconds which she ran on Jan. 19 at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial. Last week, Hopper ran a leg of CWU’s 4x400 meter relay squad, which produced the GNAC’s top time of the winter at 3:53.94. She also has her mind on a sub-8.00 60 meter dash as she looks to crack the top-10 on the GNAC performance list. She came close last week at the Riverfront Invitational, clocking a PR time of 8.04 seconds.

Cariann Bryant – Central Washington (Pole Vault)

Bryant watched fellow freshman Lauryn McGough break the GNAC record in the pole vault on Jan. 12, as she cleared 13’ 3.5” (4.05 meters). At the same event, she notched the league’s fifth-best mark of 10’ 11.75” (3.35 meters) as the Wildcats have put together a comprehensive corps in the event. Although she has come up just short of her season PR the last two meets, keep an eye on Bryant for a big breakthrough this weekend.

Chris Hines – Central Washington (Jumps)

In his senior year with the Wildcats, this could be the campaign that he breaks through and grabs a podium spot at the GNAC Championships. He came close at the 2022 GNAC Indoor Championships, placing fourth in the triple jump. So far this winter, he ranks second in the GNAC in that event (44’ 10.75”, 13.68 meters), and third in the long jump (22’ 4.25”, 6.81 meters). Hines is also coming off his best triple jump of the season, which he achieved last week at the Riverfront Invitational.

Grace Jones – Montana State Billings (Throws)

One of the longest tenured athletes in the conference, Jones is fresh off a PR in the weight throw at the Stacy Dragila Open on Jan. 26. Her toss of 49’ 9.75” (15.18 meters) bumped her name up to No. 5 on the GNAC performance list, which is where she finished in the event at last year’s GNAC Indoor Championships. Jones is set to compete this week in Pocatello, Idaho, and she also holds the league’s ninth-best shot put mark of 36’ 1.5” (11.01 meters).

Read More: After Health Scare, MSUB’s Grace Jones Has Bounced Back Better Than Ever (Feature Video)

Isaac Perkins – Montana State Billings (Throws)

Perkins leads the way for the Yellowjacket men’s throwers, as he ranks fourth in the GNAC in the shot put (46’ 11”, 14.30 meters) and sixth in the weight throw (51’ 6.25”, 15.70 meters). Both of those PR marks came at the Bobcat Preview last December, as the sophomore kicked off his season with a bang. He came up less than two feet shy of clearing both PRs at last week’s Stacy Dragila Open, and will put his career bests to the test again this weekend at the Mountain State Games.

Cassidy Walchak-Sloan – Saint Martin’s (Mile)

One of the premier distance runners in the conference, Walchak-Sloan is gearing up to cut down her already-conference leading mile time of 4:52.83, which she ran at the UW Invitational on Jan. 26. The 2023 cross country All-American (27th place) holds the 29th-best mile time in Division II this winter, and is coming off a PR in the 3,000 meters at last week’s Portland Indoor meet (9:59.10). That mark slotted Walchak-Sloan fourth on the GNAC performance list, as she will look to continue her trend of hitting a PR each week thus far in 2023-24.

Alisha Saucedo – Saint Martin’s (800 meters)

With UAA’s Chisar and WWU’s Kroontje having locked up 800 meter provisional marks, Saucedo has her aim on doing the same this weekend at The Podium. The standout sophomore is just one second away from doing so, with her top time of 2:15.34 ranking her fourth on the GNAC performance list entering the week. An all-conference finisher from the 2023 GNAC Cross Country Championships (8th place), Saucedo has already notched a PR in the mile this winter as she ran 5:05.34 at the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 13. Saucedo was on the cusp of a podium spot twice last year, finishing fifth in the 800 meters at both the 2023 GNAC Indoor Championships and 2023 GNAC Outdoor Championships.

Kainalu Pagente – Saint Martin’s (Mile)

Like his teammate Saucedo, Pagente is another Saint coming off a PR in the mile as he ran 4:16.33 at the UW Invitational. That was more than seven full seconds faster than his debut mile of the season on Jan. 13 in Seattle (4:23.76), as he climbed to No. 10 on the GNAC performance list entering the week. Pagente hinted that he’s in the top running shape of his life at the 2023 NCAA West Region Cross Country Championships, where he clocked a PR 10k time of 32:57.8.

Lizzy Dougherty – Seattle Pacific (Pole Vault)

Dougherty got her name onto the provisional qualifying list in exciting fashion last week, clearing an indoor personal-best mark of 12’ 3.5” (3.75 meters) at the George Fox Indoor meet. That was just shy of her overall PR of 12’ 4.0” (3.76 meters) which she hit during the 2022 outdoor season. Dougherty enters the week second on the GNAC performance list, as she sets her sights on yet another podium placement at the upcoming conference meet. Dougherty has earned four all-conference accolades in her career with the Falcons, finishing third in the pole vault at each of the last two GNAC Championships events.

Emily Thomason – Seattle Pacific (Pole Vault)

Right on Dougherty’s heels is Falcon junior Emily Thomason, who enters the week third in the GNAC with a pole vault of 11’ 11.75” (3.65 meters). Thomason hit her indoor PR last week, and is just 1.75” off a provisional qualifying mark. Last year’s GNAC Outdoor Championships runner-up, Thomason will have her eye on another all-conference finish as she prepares for her first indoor championship meet in a Falcon uniform.

Rachael Watkins – Simon Fraser (Middle Distance)

Watkins will head into this weekend’s meets targeting a sub-5:00 mile – a figure she came close to three weeks ago in Seattle. The sophomore enters the week fifth on the GNAC performance list in the event, after her PR time of 5:02.33 at the UW Indoor Preview. Watkins also plays a key role on SFU’s distance medley relay team, which clocked a provisional national qualifying time of 11:51.23 earlier this year. Watkins ran on last year’s Red Leaf DMR unit that finished as the GNAC runner-up in 12:21.55 at the 2023 indoor championships.

Ephrem Mekonnen – Simon Fraser (Distance)

Mekonnen secured his spot on the NCAA provisional qualifying list on Jan. 26, with the conference’s second-best 3,000 meters time of the year (8:16.78) in Boston. The junior, who finished 15th at last fall’s GNAC Cross Country Championships, will look to cut down his time further as he returns to competition this weekend. The hometown Burnaby, B.C., native has finished in the top-10 of his event at every GNAC Championships he has competed in, and has hopes of notching his first-ever all-conference performance in two weeks.

Aiden Good – Simon Fraser (Middle Distance)

Good makes it two Red Leafs to hold strong success in this year’s 800 meters group, as he enters the week with the second-fastest time in the conference this winter (1:53.58). Good shaved off nearly two full seconds from his season-opening 1:55.10 at the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 13, and he is just over one second away from putting his name onto the NCAA provisional qualifying list. Good did not compete in the 800 meters at last year’s GNAC Championships, after just missing the podium at the 2022 GNAC Indoor Championships as he finished in fourth place (1:53.33). He will return to the site of his indoor PR in the 800 meters this week, as he ran 1:52.39 at the Terrier Classic on Jan. 30, 2022.

Brennen Murphy, Easton Pomrankey, Isaiah Rodriguez, Keeton Sanchez – Western Oregon – (Men’s Distance Medley Relay)

The Wolves are headed to Boston with their sights set on a provisional qualifying mark in the DMR, as this quartet will make its debut in the event on Saturday. Easton Pomrankey is the only returner from last year’s DMR group, which finished as the runner-up at the 2023 GNAC Indoor Championships behind Simon Fraser. The slowest time on this year’s NCAA provisional qualifying list sits at 10:02.86 entering the weekend, while the reigning conference champion Red Leafs clocked in at 9:50.45 three weeks ago in Boston for the sixth-fastest time in Division II this winter. The two marks will give the pack of Wolves a pair of aiming points when they toe the line this weekend.

Justin Conklin – Western Oregon (Hurdles)

The road of Justin Conklin’s collegiate career has been long and winding, as he began as a freshman at Concordia University during the 2019-20 season. Four years later, he is at the top of the GNAC performance list after his PR high jump of 6’ 6.75” (2.00 meters) on Dec. 9 at the Spokane Invitational. Conklin will turn his focus to the 60-meter hurdles this week, an event he won at the 2023 GNAC Indoor Championships with a PR time of 8.33 seconds. Conklin was a whisker away from besting that two weeks ago in Seattle, as he clocked in a 8.34 seconds for the third-best time in the GNAC this season.

Marley Harrison – Western Oregon (Triple Jump)

An all-conference performer at the 2023 GNAC Indoor Championships, Harrison returns to the track in Seattle this weekend for his second triple jump of the year. Harrison opened up with the conference’s top mark so far, clearing 45’ 3.5” (13.80 meters) at the Spokane Invitational on Dec. 9. Harrison will have hopes of competing for a GNAC title in the event, after finishing second in 2022 and third last year.

Emmy Kroontje – Western Washington (800 Meters)

The sophomore is coming off a PR time of 2:12.70 in the 800 meters the last time she ran in Seattle, as she enters the week with the No. 1 time in the conference this season. Kroontje’s provisional mark also ranks 23rd nationally, as she has hopes of improving upon it ahead of the conference meet. Already coming a long way from last year’s ninth-place finish in the preliminary round of the GNAC Indoor Championships, Kroontje figures to be in contention for a title at this year’s event in two weeks.

Sophie Wright – Western Washington (Mile)

Wright is in high spirits heading into this week’s competition, as she is coming off a PR mile of 4:52.96 at the UW Invitational two weeks ago. The junior, who helped the Vikings to both the GNAC Championships and NCAA West Region Championships during the 2023 cross country season, enters the week with a provisional qualifying mark in hand and behind only Walchak-Sloan on the GNAC performance list.

Kevin McDermott – Western Washington (Distance)

The only GNAC men’s athlete with three provisional qualifying marks under his belt, McDermott is a must-watch any time he toes the starting line. The 2023 GNAC cross country champion is 12th nationally in the mile (4:02.13), 23rd nationally in the 3,000 meters (8:10.96) and fourth nationally in the 5,000 meters (13:50.77). The junior from Port Orchard, Wash., has evidenced that he’s at peak fitness by hitting PRs in all three of his races so far this winter.

The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association releases national and regional rankings throughout the 2024 indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.

Simon Fraser’s women and Central Washington’s women remained in the top-25 for a second straight week, with SFU moving to No. 17 and CWU moving to No. 20. Western Washington’s men meanwhile held the No. 1 spot in the latest regional rankings for the third consecutive week, while the WWU women were the highest ranked GNAC team at No. 3 regionally.

USTFCCCA Conference TFRI Rankings – Women’s Indoor Track & Field

Week 3 Conference TFRI Rankings (Feb. 5)

USTFCCCA Conference TFRI Rankings – Men’s Indoor Track & Field

Week 3 Conference TFRI Rankings (Feb. 5)

USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings – Women’s Indoor Track & Field

Week 2 Event Squad Rankings (Jan. 29)

Week 3 Event Squad Rankings (Feb. 5)

USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings – Men’s Indoor Track & Field

Week 2 Event Squad Rankings (Jan. 29)

Week 3 Event Squad Rankings (Feb. 5)