2025 was a return to greatness for Clark College in the women's heptathlon at the NWAC Championships, as Mia Hicks-Oliver won the school's first individual title since Chloe Lindbo in 2018. Hicks-Oliver scored the fourth highest point total in program history to do it, and really built momentum for Clark in the event going forward. If the Penguins are to keep the energy moving this championship season, it will have to be a new face that does it. Clark has three freshmen ready to take on the challenge and hopefully earn some early points for the upcoming track championships in May.

The top qualifier coming into the event for Clark this season is Abigail Mendoza. Mendoza earned 3250 points in qualifying, which was good enough for third overall. One of the top sprinters in the conference, Mendoza's highest marks came in the 200 and 800 meters. She also had a personal best in the high jump that earned her big points. If Mendoza can improve her throwing events, she should be a threat to earn All-American honors with a top three finish. 

Speaking of high jump, that's where freshman Nora Herinckx will earn her biggest marks. Her 5'1 was the top performance at the Riverhawk qualifier and earned Herinckx a whopping 678 points. Solid in every event, Herinckx comes into the championships seeded sixth. With the gap between sixth place and second place being less than 200 points, it will just take a few things going her way for Nora to be a factor at the top of the standings.

The final competitor for the Penguins is Tori Yetter. Though she only scored 2684 in qualifying, Yetter was not at full strength at the time and is expected to make some of the biggest score improvements of all the competitors. A jumper, Yetter will likely score best in the long jump, but she should be one of the top javelin throwers as well. Yetter is seeded eleventh in the event and will need to move up three places to make the podium and earn All-Conference honors with the rest of the top eight.

Penguin head coach Christian Igielinski believes all three women from his team have a great shot to podium. "I think we've got three athletes capable of breaking 3,000 points, which should be around the cut off for the podium," said Igielinski. "They all have different strengths and have worked really hard to get better in their events that they didn't perform as well in at the qualifier, so I am excited to see what they can do now they that have a better understanding of what is in store. This is going to be a fun two days."

Amanda Bennet from Lane enters as the favorite with a projected score of almost 3600 points. Her qualifying lead of over 300 is not impossible to overcome as Mia Hicks-Oliver proved last year by jumping a 500-point favorite to win the title. One thing is for sure, it should be an exciting two days in Spokane as three Penguins have a great opportunity to earn points and a spot on the podium.

The NWAC Multi Championships will take place at Whitworth University in Spokane on Monday and Tuesday April 27^th-28^th. Clark Penguins will go live for the events so make sure to follow along. The full event schedule and links to live results will be posted soon.