BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Northwest Nazarene track & field will look to make some noise at the GNAC Outdoor Championships this weekend, hosted by Western Washington at Civic Stadium in Bellingham from May 9-10.
Fan Info
For fans that want to follow the Nighthawks during the championships, here are relevant links:
Live Results
Meet Schedule
Tickets
Team Rankings & GNAC Championships History
The men enter the championships ranked fourth in the GNAC in the
USTFCCCA Conference Rating Index. The Nighthawks also placed fourth a couple of months ago at the GNAC Indoor Championships and will look to improve on their fifth-place finish from outdoors last season.
NNU has never won a GNAC Outdoor title on either the men's or the women's side. The men came close just three seasons ago, finishing as the runner-up at the outdoor meet in 2022. They also placed third the following season in 2023. The Nighthawk men have also never finished worse than fifth at the outdoor championships, slotting in fifth in 15 of the 21 meets and fourth three times.
On the women's side, NNU is rated seventh in the conference by
the USTFCCCA. The women also placed seventh at indoors earlier this season and took sixth at the GNAC Outdoor Championships last year.
The NNU women have also finished as the GNAC outdoor runner-up one time, placing second in 2014. In the last five years, the Nighthawks have placed as high as fourth twice in both 2021 and 2023.
NNU Entries & Individual Rankings
Men (sorted alphabetically by last name)
| Name |
Event |
Day |
Time (MT) |
Mark |
GNAC Rank |
| Carter Alberts |
Discus |
Saturday |
12:15 PM |
43.68m |
11th |
| Carter Alberts |
Hammer |
Friday |
1:30 PM |
48.55m |
10th |
| Carter Alberts |
Shot Put |
Friday |
6:05 PM |
15.09m |
5th |
| Trevor Ames |
400m (Prelims) |
Friday |
4:50 PM |
49.72 |
17th |
| Dylan Breuer |
400m (Prelims) |
Friday |
4:50 PM |
48.83 |
9th |
| Micah Chi |
3000m Steeple |
Friday |
3:30 PM |
9:49.14 |
18th |
| Quincy Ellis |
800m (Prelims) |
Friday |
5:55 PM |
1:54.74 |
15th |
| Jonah Groce |
High Jump |
Saturday |
12:30 PM |
2.00m |
3rd |
| Asher Ingram |
5000m |
Saturday |
5:05 PM |
14:50.97 |
20th |
| Asher Ingram |
10,000m |
Friday |
7:20 PM |
30:59.82 |
7th |
| Luke Johansson |
110m H (Pre) |
Friday |
4:20 PM |
14.58 |
4th |
| Luke Johansson |
400m H (Pre) |
Friday |
6:30 PM |
55.24 |
7th |
| Brody Kemble |
5000m |
Saturday |
5:05 PM |
14:10.82 |
2nd |
| Brody Kemble |
10,000m |
Friday |
7:20 PM |
30:00.20 |
3rd |
| Anderson Kron |
110m H (Pre) |
Friday |
4:20 PM |
14.72 |
7th |
| Anderson Kron |
400m H (Pre) |
Friday |
6:30 PM |
53.85 |
4th |
| Nolan Meek |
Javelin |
Saturday |
3:00 PM |
47.98m |
13th |
| Neftali Menendez |
10,000m |
Friday |
7:20 PM |
31:37.64 |
14th |
| Grady Mylander |
5000m |
Saturday |
5:05 PM |
14:20.25 |
3rd |
| Bryson Paul |
400m (Prelims) |
Friday |
4:50 PM |
50.85 |
24th |
| Gerohm Rihari |
High Jump |
Saturday |
12:30 PM |
2.10m |
1st |
| Gerohm Rihari |
Long Jump |
Friday |
1:40 PM |
7.29m |
2nd |
| Alex Shields |
High Jump |
Saturday |
12:30 PM |
1.90m |
7th |
| Carter Stedman |
1500m |
Saturday |
2:45 PM |
3:53.43 |
15th |
| Carter Stedman |
5000m |
Saturday |
5:05 PM |
14:41.94 |
17th |
| Ian Stockett |
1500m |
Saturday |
2:45 PM |
3:51.00 |
10th |
| Ian Stockett |
5000m |
Saturday |
5:05 PM |
14:23.21 |
4th |
| Emmett Stouffer |
400m (Prelims) |
Friday |
4:50 PM |
50.24 |
20th |
| Braden Swaney |
Hammer |
Friday |
1:30 PM |
47.08m |
14th |
| Laurenz Waldbauer |
Javelin |
Saturday |
3:00 PM |
68.93m |
1st |
| Shalkar Wilkins |
Pole Vault |
Friday |
3:30 PM |
3.85m |
13th |
| -- |
4x100m Relay |
Saturday |
2:25 PM |
42.70 |
7th |
| -- |
4x400m Relay |
Saturday |
5:55 PM |
3:21.90 |
4th |
The Nighthawks have multiple individual champion contenders on the men's side, including two athletes that enter the championship ranked No. 1 in the conference in an event. First,
Laurenz Waldbauer is atop the javelin performance list, over a meter ahead of the athlete in second. He is also a two-time GNAC Outdoor medalist in the event, winning in 2022 and placing second in 2024.
Gerohm Rihari is ranked first in the conference in the high jump. His championships-entering mark has a significant margin over the rest of the field, with his 2.10m clearance at the NNU Open far above the 2.01m mark in second. Rihari also has a great chance to win the long jump, entering the championships with the second-best mark in the event. The senior has placed in the top two in four conference high jumps in his career, including a title at 2023 indoors and three runner-up finishes, including at the recent 2025 indoor championships.
Jonah Groce is also in a good position to compete for a medal in the high jump, entering the championships with the third-highest clearance in the GNAC this season of 2.00m. Groce is the defending GNAC Outdoor High Jump Champion from 2024 and also has a runner-up finish from 2023 outdoors and bronze medal from 2025 indoors in his trophy case.
The Nighthawks have a number of contenders in the distance events, led by junior
Brody Kemble. Kemble enters the championships second in the GNAC in the 5000m and third in the 10,000m and will look to medal in both. Kemble is the defending GNAC Outdoor 10K Champion and also has two 5K runner-up finishes and a 10K runner-up finish at GNAC meets.
In the 5K, Kemble is joined by
Grady Mylander (third on performance list),
Ian Stockett (fourth),
Carter Stedman (17
th), and
Asher Ingram (20
th). In the 10k, the Nighthawks also have Ingram (7
th) and Neftali Menendez (14
th).
NNU also has two of the top hurdles athletes in the GNAC in
Luke Johansson and
Anderson Kron. Johansson enters the championships fourth in the 110m hurdles and seventh in the 400m hurdles, while Kron matches that by ranking fourth in the 400m hurdles and seventh in the 110m hurdles.
The final NNU men's athlete with a mark in the top five entering the championships is
Carter Alberts, who ranks fifth in the shot put. Alberts will also be competing in the hammer and the discus.
Women (sorted alphabetically by last name)
| Name |
Event |
Day |
Time (MT) |
Mark |
GNAC Rank |
| Ella Bartlett |
10,000m |
Friday |
7:55 PM |
41:39.25 |
19th |
| Alyssa Blum |
800m (Prelims) |
Friday |
6:10 PM |
2:21.83 |
23rd |
| Georgia Collins |
Triple Jump |
Saturday |
12:10 PM |
9.94m |
18th |
| Jordan Eldridge |
Discus |
Saturday |
3:45 PM |
42.91m |
3rd |
| Jordan Eldridge |
Hammer |
Friday |
5:30 PM |
50.96m |
5th |
| Alejandra Gomez |
100m H (Pre) |
Friday |
4:35 PM |
15.03 |
9th |
| Alejandra Gomez |
400m H (Pre) |
Friday |
6:45 PM |
1:03.80 |
5th |
| Gabbie Harms |
400m (Prelims) |
Friday |
5:05 PM |
59.44 |
13th |
| Destany Herbert |
Discus |
Saturday |
3:45 PM |
42.33m |
5th |
| Destany Herbert |
Hammer |
Friday |
5:30 PM |
53.82m |
1st |
| Destany Herbert |
Shot Put |
Friday |
3:00 PM |
15.00m |
2nd |
| Rylee Klitgaard |
Long Jump |
Friday |
5:10 PM |
5.28m |
13th |
| Rylee Klitgaard |
Triple Jump |
Saturday |
12:10 PM |
11.13m |
7th |
| Makenze Knowles |
400m (Prelims) |
Friday |
5:05 PM |
1:01.16 |
24th |
| Miya Koch |
High Jump |
Friday |
2:00 PM |
1.67m |
3rd |
| Emma Kwok |
Discus |
Saturday |
3:45 PM |
43.03m |
2nd |
| Emma Kwok |
Hammer |
Friday |
5:30 PM |
44.57m |
14th |
| Kayley Morrissey |
Pole Vault |
Saturday |
2:00 PM |
2.70m |
10th |
| Emily Powers |
Javelin |
Saturday |
12:00 PM |
43.84m |
1st |
| Keelin Stewart |
3000m Steeple |
Friday |
4:00 PM |
11:44.20 |
15th |
| Maddie Weatherford |
100m H (Pre) |
Friday |
4:35 PM |
15.68 |
17th |
| Maddie Weatherford |
400m H (Pre) |
Friday |
6:45 PM |
1:06.20 |
7th |
| -- |
4x400m Relay |
Saturday |
6:00 PM |
4:12.15 |
8th |
The NNU women's strengths lie in the throws events, with four Nighthawks looking to compete for medals in multiple events. One of the NNU athletes that is leading the GNAC this year in her event is
Emily Powers, who enters with the top ranked javelin throw this season of 43.84 meters, over three meters ahead of the next competitor. Powers took third in the javelin at last years' GNAC Outdoor Championships.
The Nighthawk that has the chance to score the most points at this years' GNAC outdoor meet is senior
Destany Herbert. Without a doubt the best all-around female thrower in Northwest Nazarene track & field history, Herbert enters the championships ranked in the top five in the conference in all three of her events: first in the hammer, second in the shot put, and fifth in the discus. In her fantastic career, Herbert has won eight medals at GNAC Championships meets, including four titles (three shot put, one hammer) and four runner-up finishes (three shot put, one hammer).
Two more Nighthawks figure to factor in to both the hammer and discus podiums, as
Jordan Eldridge enters the championships meet ranked third in the discus and fifth in the hammer, and
Emma Kwok is ranked second in the discus and 14
th in the hammer.
NNU has one other women's athlete ranked in the top five in an event entering the championships, as
Alejandra Gomez is fifth in the 400m hurdles. The senior is also ranked ninth in the 100m hurdles.
