Last weekend, Central track and field athletes – in addition to beating personal records – broke national times at the Spike Arlt Invitational in Ellensburg.

With  feet firmly planted, the Wildcats’ track team is headed to Western Washington University (WWU) for the WWU Ralph Vernacchia Invitational this Saturday, April 25, led by head coach Kevin Adkisson.

Central track is heading into this meet in good standings as a result of last weekend’s competition. Both the men’s and women’s teams placed first above schools such as Eastern Oregon University, WWU and Pacific Lutheran University.

“We always look forward to good competition there at the WWU meet, as it is at that point, late in the season, where people are really getting into top form,” Adkisson said. “They are also starting to feel some urgency about bettering their marks with the GNAC meet just two weeks away.”

Central had many standout athletes such as senior Erin Chinchar, junior Dani Eggleston, junior Jordan Todd, junior Amanda Youngers, senior John Wojtech and junior Megan Rogers, who was selected for GNAC track athlete of the week.

Rogers received national qualifying marks in the women’s 10,000-meter race at the Spokane CC War VIII Invitational. Her time of 36:37.38 beat the NCAA Division II National time by about 19 seconds.

“I’m excited to see how everyone is going to perform,” Rogers said, in preparation for her next competition. “This meet usually has really good competition and, being two weeks out from conference, we’re definitely in great condition right now to put up some good marks. It should be fun and exciting.”

Chinchar recently beat the national provisional time by about 10 second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:02.07.

Not only did she beat the time, but she even took a hard fall during her race, still managing to pull through.

“I’m really excited for our team to go out there and hit the conference and national times that we’re all so close to getting,” Chinchar said. “I think there’s going to be a lot of big performances.”

On the men’s side, Wojtech has been putting impressive times across the board this season, generally finishing towards the top in his races.

“Because many of our meets are away, it was nice to see our friends and families out there supporting us, even if they got a little burnt,” Wojtech said.

This weekend’s meet will include Saint Martin’s University, Seattle Pacific University, and WWU.

“The overall competition level there is also usually strong,” Adkisson said. “Almost half of the GNAC schools are represented, along with some other deep programs.”

WWU will be Central’s biggest competition this weekend, especially with their home field advantage. They placed third below Central at last weekend’s invitational on Wildcat turf.

This is Central’s second-to-last meet before the GNAC Championships. Their last meet will be held on May 2 at Saint Martin’s University.

GNAC Championships will be held in Monmouth, Ore. the following weekend on May 8, followed by the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships on May 21.

“Many athletes are still trying to claim a conference spot, so it should be pretty competitive,” Wojtech said.

Central’s standings have improved significantly over the last three years as they move up the rankings and continue to break record times.

This weekend’s meet will be a great indicator as to who will be moving forward.

The WWU Ralph Vernacchia Invitational will be held at Civic Stadium in Bellingham, Wash.

“We hope to have some great momentum headed up that way after our home meet last Saturday and a lot of excitement as the season moves into its peak,” Adkisson said.