The Ralph Vernacchia Team Track & Field Meet is named to honor the long-time mentor of the men's track & field and cross country programs at Western. Ralph's career included one cross country and seven track & field district titles, as well as countless NAIA All-Americans and NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Ralph continues at Western as an assistant professor in the PE Department, and has served USA Track & Field as the co-chair of the Sports Medicine & Sciences' Psychological Services subcommittee. He served as psychologist for the 2000 USA Track & Field Olympic team in Sydney. Our meet was previously known as the WWU Triangular or Quadrangular, depending on the number of teams, and meet records for several events were set during those early years.