The Northwest Conference (NWC) is an NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletic conference. The schools that compete in the NWC are located throughout Washington and Oregon. In recent years, Whitworth track and field has had a close battle with rival schools for the top slot, coming in second or third place in the NWC. However, this season looks promising as the team has 27 qualifiers, over 30 personal best records and many Whitworth top ten marks.
London Haley is a sophomore track and cross-country athlete at Whitworth. In the 2024-25 track season, Haley has been focusing on the 10K and the 5K. He qualified for a conference in both events on March 1 at the UPS Ed Boitano Invitational and March 11 at Whitworth University.
Haley reflects on his personal progress this season, stating, “I think this is the strongest I have ever been running, so I feel like it’s going to be a good year.” Haley explained he did not have a large initial reaction to qualifying for NWC, stating, “I’m not really surprised by it.” Haley believes that his hard work ethic is the reason he qualified.
Haley is ambitious about the remaining leg of the outdoor season. “Honestly, I might be able to get the 5K school record this year.” Haley is only 31 seconds from the record. “I think I still can get strong enough this year to break it,” Haley says.
Haley always wanted to compete at a collegiate level. Part of his decision to run at Whitworth was for head coach Toby Schwarz. “If I chose a different school, I probably wouldn’t have been as fast as now,” Haley states. He attributes a large portion of his growth as both an athlete and a student to the Whitworth coaching staff. “They really help me as a person really figure out myself, and I think that goes into my running too.”
Madison Carr, junior, is a thrower who also qualified in both hammer and shot put. Carr explains how she feels about qualifying, stating, “I feel pretty good. It gives me hope for the season, and it takes that weight away, and then I can just focus more on improving myself and not really shooting for marks.” Carr qualified on March 1 at the UPS Ed Boitano Invitational. Carr states, “I’m pretty optimistic, I started out with my best marks from last season.”
Carr plays for the Whitworth women’s soccer team as well. Carr explained that Whitworth was the first choice for her and her future in athletics for both sports. “I’m from here, so I’ve seen Whitworth and their teams, and I like how there’s a good sense of community and welcomeness with the teams.”
Carr reflects on her personal goals for this season and beyond, stating, “I hope to win conference in one of my events, and a much larger goal is to make it to nationals.” Carr explained that she is working on getting out of her own way in the mental game by creating a competitive mindset.
“The coaches have helped with the direction of the season so greatly,” Carr says. Carr talks about her coaches, “All of my success so far and the rest of the throws team’s success and joy comes from the coaches.”
Overall, the track and field athletes at Whitworth are hopeful for the 2025 NWC combined events championship. The NWC Championship will take place on April 26, 2025.
