Menicke signs with Western Washington for track and field
Whitefish's Gabe Menicke competes in the boys triple jump at the Whitefish ARM Invitational on Saturday, April 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Whitefish senior Gabe Menicke recently signed a letter of intent to join the Western Washington track and field team. Menicke is pictured with his parents and coaches on signing day, April 29. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish senior Gabe Menicke recently signed a letter of intent to join the Western Washington track and field program in the fall.
The standout athlete from Whitefish was a captain on the Bulldog soccer team as well as a state champion in the triple jump event for Whitefish track and field. Menicke plans to attend Western Washington after high school and will be competing in the triple jump and potentially other jumping or sprinting events for the NCAA Division II school.
Menicke says he chose Western because it has everything he desired in a college as well as the surrounding area.
“It’s always been on the radar for me…” he said. “Specifically the area, it's got everything that I want. It has the mountains, it has the ocean, it has skiing.”
Additionally, he has a possible interest in pursuing environmental science, and Western has an accomplished program in that field.
He had narrowed down the colleges he was interested in to Western and Montana State University. And although MSU is a great school, Menicke says he feels Western Washington will be the best fit for him and allows him to move out of state leading to new experiences.
Currently, Menicke has the best triple jump in the state of Montana, with a personal best of 45 feet, 5 ½ inches. He is looking forward to joining the Western track and field team and improving his athletic performance.
“I feel like once I get there and get on their program I’m going to see a lot of improvement which I’m really psyched about,” Menicke said.
