CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND (part 2): Western, Central & Seattle Pacific send individuals to Pittsburg for D2 champs...

The WWU distance medley relay team celebrates
with distance coach Haley Stensland (blue jacket)
after running 11:27.45 in Seattle. Paul Merca photo

A group of athletes from Western Washington, Central Washington and Seattle Pacific will head into the heartland of the United States to compete in Friday and Saturday's NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, Kansas on the campus of Pittsburg State University.

The Western Washington women had a GNAC-high five different individuals selected to the national championship list, including its distance medley relay team that is fresh-off the third-fastest time in GNAC history. The quartet of Caitlyn Cheney, Ila Davis, Emmy Kroontje and Sophie Wright clocked in at 11:27.45 at the Ken Shannon Last Chance meet, which was good for the sixth-fastest time in Division II this winter. Mia Crocker will travel as its relay alternate.

Marian Ledesma will also represent the Vikings, after turning in the 15th-best 800 meters time in Division II this year at 2:10.13.

Junior distance runner Kevin McDermott will race in both the 3000m and 5000m races, looking to add All-America honors to his lengthy list of accolades this season. McDermott became the second man in GNAC indoor history to win the trifecta of the mile, the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters, will represent WWU in two of those events at nationals. 

McDermott's 5000 meters time of 13:50.77 ranks seventh entering the national meet, while his 3000 meters time of 7:59.27 ranks tenth. Those times are also third and fourth, respectively, on the GNAC all-time top-10 indoor lists.

Central Washington's representatives in Pittsburg includes sprinter E'lexis Hollis, hurdler Lauryn Chandler, jumper Emy Ntekpere, & heptathlete Drew Klein.

The CWU women's team heads into the national championship meet ranked number 21 in the USTFCCCA Division II indoor rating index, just behind number 20 Simon Fraser. They are the only two teams from the GNAC ranked in either the men's or women's rating indexes.

Hollis, a senior from Ellensburg, comes in at the number three qualifying spot for the women's 60-meter dash. Hollis earned that spot with a school and conference record run of 7.29 seconds at the GNAC Indoor Championships back on February 20th. This is Hollis' second trip to the indoor national meet after qualifying last year in the same event.

Chandler, a fifth-year senior from Bremerton, qualified for the 60-meter hurdles at the 13th spot. On her way to her second consecutive GNAC 60-meter hurdle title, Chandler ran a personal best of 8.55 seconds to get into the national meet. This is also Chandler's second trip to the indoor national meet after qualifying last year in the same event.

Ntekpere, a freshman from Vancouver, qualified for both the triple jump and high jump. Ntekpere is seeded as the eighth qualifier in the high jump and number 13 in the triple jump. In her freshman campaign thus far, she has made her mark in the CWU record books. She's broken the school record in the triple jump (40-4.25/12.30m) and long jump (19-0/5.79m) while landing at number two in CWU history in the high jump (5-8.5/1.74m). 

Klein, a junior from Auburn, qualified at the 14th spot in the heptathlon with a score of 5198 points, set earlier this year at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial. It's the third best score in CWU history. Klein is also the school record holder in the pole vault at 16-2.75 (4.95m), which will come in handy in event number six of the two-day, seven event competition.

Seattle Pacific's lone competitor is Annika Esvelt. She claimed her national championship berth after winning her second GNAC indoor title in the 5000 meters. Esvelt’s top time of the season of 16:31.43, which is 17th nationally, came at the UW Husky Classic on February 9th.

On Friday, Klein kicks things off with the heptathlon 60 meters at 8 am, Pacific (10 am local time), and starts the high jump at 11 am.

Chandler runs in the 60 hurdles prelims at 12:45 pm, while Hollis goes in the 60 dash prelims at 1:15 pm. Should both qualify for the finals on Saturday, the 60 hurdles final is slated for 3:10 pm, Pacific, while the 60 dash finals go twenty minutes later.

Ntekpere starts the finals of the women's high jump at 1:40 pm, and Ledesma runs in the women's 800 heats at 3 pm. Assuming Ledesma qualifies for the finals in the 800, that event goes at 4:35 pm Pacific on Saturday.

McDermott toes the line in the 5000 at 3:55 pm.

Western's distance medley relay closes out day one at 5 pm Pacific time.

Saturday, Klein returns to start day 2 of the heptathlon with the 60 hurdles at 10 am Pacific. The pole vault follows at 10:45 am, with the 1000 meters slated for approximately 12:45 pm.

Ntekpere returns for the finals of the women's triple jump at 1:05 pm, and McDermott goes in the finals of the men's 3000 at 5:05 pm.

Both days of the NCAA Division II championships will be live streamed on NCAA.com.

The NCAA's preview of the meet is available here, while the link to live results and start lists are available here.

NOTE: The NCAA and the media relations office of Western Washington, Central Washington, Seattle Pacific, and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference contributed to this report.

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