Athletes from Western Washington University’s Track and Field team are heading to Emporia, Kansas, this week for the NCAA Division II Track and Field Outdoor Nationals meet. The Vikings sent off 15 athletes to represent at the meet.
The Western track team has performed incredibly well this outdoor season, with school and league records being broken throughout. Both the men’s and women’s teams placed 1st overall in the GNAC Track and Field Championship in Ellensburg, Wash. this May. This, along with the work put in throughout the season helped to push the group of athletes to be ranked within the top 10 going into competition.
The 4x400 meter Women’s relay team made up of freshman Casie Kleine, sophomore Jayda Darroch, junior Kennedy Cook and senior Bec Bennett is seeded 5th going into the competition with a time of 3:37.64. The men’s 4x400 meter relay team, consisting of freshman Jackson Moffitt, sophomore Sam Foust, sophomore Evin Ford and senior Lucas Brenek, seeded 10th going into the competition with a time of 3:08.81.
Junior Maurice Woodring secured the second seed in the 400-meter hurdles, with a personal best time of 50.69 seconds, which he ran at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational meet on April 4 of this year.
Discus thrower junior Liam Wall seeded at 5th in discus, going into the meet having thrown 57.40m or 188 feet 4 inches.
Also qualifying for the Vikings are sophomore Calvin Gutierrez for men's hammer throw, senior Jakob Braunstein for men's javelin, sophomore Jessica Polkinghorn for women’s javelin, sophomore Kathryn Chapin for women's hammer throw and senior Emmy Kroontje for the women’s 1500-meters.
Woodring said he is ready for the competition; he holds himself to high standards based on his previous performances, which push him to continue to try to beat his own times. He credits his competitive personality as a main motivator for his drive to perform well in competition.
“I know what I'm capable of, (what) I've shown, (what) I've proved, so heading into nationals, I definitely feel good,” Woodring said.
Lucas Brenek, competing in the open 400-meters and 4x400 meter relay events, said his journey to nationals has looked different from many of his teammates. After graduating in 2024, Brenek went straight to working full-time. But with a remaining year of eligibility and feeling dissatisfied with the result of his last season, Brenek decided to return to Western for another chance to prove to himself he can compete at the national level.
“This is the most fairytale season for me for sure,” he said, “I just have to tell myself I’m capable of doing a lot of incredible things.”
While the energy at more competitive meets, such as Outdoor Nationals, brings an air of excitement, many of the athletes try to look at the meet just like any other, according to Strength and Throwing Coach Damien Fisher.
“Championships are just an ordinary performance in an extraordinary situation – you’re still stepping on the same track, running the same race,” Fisher said.
Even with this attitude, having a pre-meet ritual is beneficial in clearing the minds of some of this year’s competitors. For Woodring, this involves a tradition of making himself a comfy bed on the hotel floor and a mirror selfie before leaving for the competition. For Brenek, a whiteboard back home serves as a place to write a quote, which he sets as his phone’s background to remind himself of what he’s there to accomplish.
There are many origins of inspiration going into high-stakes competitions. Jessica Polkinghorn and Jayda Darroch both said turning to their team for encouragement helps them perform at their highest capabilities.
Especially being on a relay team, Darroch said she welcomes the pressure to perform well for her teammates.
“I know they're going to do their best, so I want to do my best too,” she said.
Polkinghorn values the time the team spends together while traveling. Seeing their drive to perform well motivates her to do the same and watching her team set their goals creates a stronger desire to achieve her own.
To prepare for competition, Assistant Sprints Coach Dena Birade encourages the athletes to use visualization to immerse themselves in the competition and see themselves achieving their goals. She believes that setting an intention for their performance will help them execute what they’ve been working towards all season.
Darroch is ready to show up and show out for Western.
“I'm just happy we have a group going,” Darroch said, “we’ve all put in a lot of work during the season, so to see it pay off and go to nationals feels good.”
Violet Mills (she/her) is a sports and recreation reporter for The Front. She is in her second year at Western and is a double major in journalism public relations and communication studies. When she isn't hunting down the latest news, she is usually working out at the rec center or spending time outdoors with her friends. You can reach her at violetmills.thefront@gmail.com.
