SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth track and field teams are in the hunt for Northwest Conference titles following the opening day of the 2026 NWC Championships on Saturday at Boppell Track in the Whitworth Pine Bowl.
The Pirate men won both running finals, while the women's team won both throwing events. Whitworth trails defending champion George Fox by a few points in both team competitions.
The highlight on the women's side was a 1-2-3 finish for the Pirates in the shot put. Amblessed Okemgbo unleashed a toss of 48'-2" on her first attempt to set a new NWC meet record and break the school record. She now has the third-best throw in NCAA Division III this season. Madison Carr got off a toss of 45'-10.5" to take second place. Kylie Loveless moved into third place with a heave of 42'-9" on her final attempt. Whitworth got 24 points in the event.
Carr had her own record-breaking performance in the women's hammer throw. Her toss of 180'-1" broke the previous meet record and now ranks third in NCAA Division III. Loveless took third in the hammer with a distance of 164'-10", while Devyn Chelin finished sixth (150'-0").
Briana Tira was sixth in the women's long jump, reaching a distance of 17'-2.75". GFU's Janice Hellesto won with a mark of 18'-2.25".
Claire Nardella established a new PR in the women's pole vault by clearing a height of 11'-1" to take seventh. PLU's Kiana Neir won with a height of 12'-0.75".
On the track, Kezlie Thygesen finished as the runner-up to George Fox's Chloe Cook in the women's 10,000-meter run with a personal-best time of 36:59.62. Cook won with a time of 36:28.03, while Madilyn Danaraj was seventh for the Pirates in 39:23.08.
In the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Hannah Higens was sixth (11:57.29) while Melissa Bineau was eighth (12:21.84). Pacific's Ali Heinly won in 11:19.25.
London Haley opened the men's meet with a victory in the 10,000 meters. He made his move just after the halfway point and won handily with a time of 31:20.02. Tom McKee took fourth place for the Bucs in 32:21.45.
Jack Ireton waited until the final 500 meters before making his move in the men's steeplechase and pulled away to win in 9:15.95, giving Whitworth victories in both of the day's running finals.
A pair of potential field event championships slipped away late for the Pirates. First, freshman Kaden Hooper led most of the way through the finals of the men's long jump with a mark of 22'-7.25". But that ended up in second place after GFU's Owen Gurney went 22'-8.5" on his final attempt.
Similarly, sophomore Adam Sessions led for most of the finals of the men's hammer throw with his distance of 181'-7". But defending champion Roan Bashioum of Willamette unleashed a throw of 188'-6" on his final attempt to win the event. Cody Wheeler took third with a 174'-7" toss, while Christian Martinez (167'-3") was fifth and Marvin Calvario (156'-10") was eighth.
The Bucs had three scorers in the shot put. Eddie Vu took third with a mark of 49'-2.25", while Wheeler was fifth (47'-4.25") and Joseph Steinbach was eighth (46'-6.25"). Willamette's Austin Snodgrass won with a distance of 53'-4.5".
Jayce Palm was eighth in the men's high jump, clearing 6'-1.25". Puget Sound's Cody Gardanier won with a height of 6'-5".
The preliminary heats in several races were contested on Saturday. The top eight from each event advanced to Sunday's finals to determine the points. Whitworth advanced runners into nearly every final.
The women's team scores through seven of 21 events are: George Fox 101, Whitworth 70, Pacific (Ore.) 26.5, Pacific Lutheran 20.5, Linfield 20, Willamette 19, Puget Sound 8, Lewis & Clark 7, Whitman 1.
The men's team scores through seven events are: George Fox 75, Whitworth 71, Willamette 60, Lewis & Clark 24, Puget Sound 16, Whitman 12, Pacific Lutheran 10, Linfield 5, Pacific (Ore.) 0.
