Complete Results

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Western Washington University's Katelyn Steen (Sr., Sammamish/Eastlake) took the women's individual title in meet record time at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships held Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Ash Creek Reserve on the campus of host Western Oregon University.

In the team standings, the Viking men placed a solid second and the women third, just two points out of first in the closest race in conference history.

"Both the men and women ran great and we're only going to get better," said WWU coach Pee Wee Halsell (28th year), whose teams compete at the NCAA Division II West Regional on Nov. 22 at Billings, Mont.

Steen, who was named GNAC Female Athlete of the Year, posted a winning time of 20:14 over the six-kilometer course. That was 19 seconds ahead of her nearest rival as she bettered the meet record by 10 seconds.

Steen, who was the conference runner-up last year, is just the fourth WWU woman to win a conference individual championship. Sarah Porter won the title in 2010 and Ashlee Vincent took back-to-back crowns in 2001 and 2002.

"Just before the halfway mark, Katelyn (Steen) started pulling away and dominated the rest of the way," Halsell said. "She was in control the whole time."

Simon Fraser, ranked eighth nationally, took the GNAC women's team title with just two points separating the top three teams. The Clan won with 62 points, UAA had 63 and WWU 64. Simon Fraser, the GNAC runner-up in each of the last three seasons, snapped a five-year UAA winning streak.

"We just happened to be the number three team, but we're shooting for them," Halsell said. "They know we're alive now."

"I can't ask for much more. Our goal was to compete against Simon Fraser and we did. I know that there are places we can move up, so that's pretty exciting to see. With just a little bit more, we could have won this thing."

Taylor Guenther (Jr., Vancouver/Praire) placed 10th (21:03) for the Vikings and Austen Reiter (Jr., Camas) was 13th (21:22). The top 10 earn all-conference recognition.

Alaska Anchorage won the men's team championship for the fifth straight year and eighth overall. The Seawolves had a near-perfect score of 18 with a sweep of the top three finishers and four of the top five. WWU was runner-up with 61 and Simon Fraser third with 87 in the 10-team field.

It is the 10th straight year that the Viking men have finished either first or second at the meet.

"The men's splits on our top five was 15 seconds and the top seven was 30 seconds, so that's a great thing to have at a conference meet," said Halsell.

Isaac Griffith (So., Spokane/Lewis & Clark) placed ninth in 25:13 to lead WWU. Nathan Richards (Sr., Longview/R.A. Long) was 11th (25:15), Sean Eustis (R-Fr., Washougal) 12th (25:18), Matt Lutz (So., Bremerton/Olympic) 14th (25:28) and Tabor Reedy (Sr., Poulsbo/North Kitsap) 15th (25:28).

UAA's Henry Cheseto won the men's individual crown with a time of 24:36 over the eight-kilometer distance. The Seawolve's Deminik Notz was second (24:42), Dylan Anthony third (24:52) and Michael Ramirez fifth (25:07). Cheseto was the GNAC Male Athlete of the Year and Freshman of the Year, while Ramirez earned Newcomer of the Year honors.

Nov. 1 (Sat.) Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships - Monmouth, Ore. (Ash Creek Reserve) - host Western Oregon University

MEN

TEAM RESULTS (8K) - 1. Alaska Anchorage 18, 2. Western Washington 61, 3. Simon Fraser 87, 4. Montana State Billings 156, 5. Central Washington 159, 6. Northwest Nazarene 173, 7. Alaska Fairbanks 188, 8. Western Oregon 199, 9. Saint Martin's 229, 10. Seattle Pacific 235.

WWU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS - 9. Isaac Griffith 25:13; 11. Nathan Richards 25:15, 12. Sean Eustis 25:18; 14. Matt Lutz 25:28, 15. Tabor Reedy 25:28, 20. Jonathan Quimby 25:38, 21. Juan Castillo 25:43; 24. Max Romey 25:50, 36. Cory Johnson 26:15, 38. Cody McCranie 26:17.

TOP 10 (all-conference) - 1. Henry Cheseto, Alaska Anchorage, 24:36; 2. Dominik Notz, Alaska Anchorage, 24:42; 3. Dylan Anthony, Alaska Anchorage, 24:52; 4. Robert Peterson, Montana State Billings, 25:00; 5. Michel Ramirez, Alaska Anchorage, 25:07; 6. Oliver Jorgensen, Simon Fraser, 25:08; 7. Victor Samoei, Alaska Anchorage, 25:13; 8. Edwin Kangogo, Alaska Anchorage, 25:13; 9. Isaac Griffith, Western Washington, 25:13; 10. Kevin Rooke, Alaska Anchorage, 25:14.

Athlete of the Year - Henry Chesto, Alaska Anchorage. Newcomer of the Year - Michel Ramirez, Alaska Anchorage. Freshman of the Year - Henry Chesto, Alaska Anchorage.

WOMEN

TEAM RESULTS (6K) - 1. Simon Fraser 62, 2. Alaska Anchorage 63, 3. Western Washington 64, 4. Central Washington 85, 5. Seattle Pacific 130, 6. Montana State Billings 140, 7. Western Oregon 185, 8. Alaska Fairbanks 235, 9. Northwest Nazarene 241, 10. Saint Martin's 298.

WWU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS - 1. Katelyn Steen 20:14, 10. Taylor Guenther 21:03, 13. Austen Reiter 21:22, 16. Haley O'Connor 21:27, 24 Sofia Marikis 21:52, 27. Mikhaila Thornton 21:58, 28. Brittany Grant 22:00, 38. Maddie Hutchison 22:22, 56. Kali Klotz-Brooks 22:59.

TOP 10 (all-conference) - 1. Katelyn Steen, Western Washington, 20:14, 2. Rebecca Bassett, Simon Fraser, 20:33; 3. Dani Eggleston, Central Washington, 20:43; 4. Amy Johnston, Alaska Anchorage, 20:45; 5. Jennifer Johnson, Simon Fraser, 20:49; 6. Beatrice Decker, Alaska Anchorage, 20:53; 7. Anna Patti, Seattle Pacific, 20:55; 8. Nocona Frame, Montana State Billings, 20:58; 9. Connie Morgan, Central Washington, 21:03; 10. Taylor Guenther, Western Washington, 21:03.

Athlete of the Year - Katelyn Steen, Western Washington. Newcomer of the Year - Amy Johnston, Alaska Anchorage. Freshman of the Year - Caroline Kurgat, Alaska Anchorage.

Men's Cross Country: UAA Cruises to GNAC Men's Championship

Freshman Henry Cheseto led Alaska Anchorage to its fifth consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Team Cross Country Championship Saturday at the Ash Creek Preserve on the campus of Western Oregon University.

Cheseto, who earned GNAC Athlete of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors with his victory, covered the 8,000-meter course in a time of 24:35.91, six seconds ahead of teammate Dominik Notz and 16 ahead of UAA's Dylan Anthony.

Anthony, who placed seventh in 2011, fifth in 2012 and third last year, earned his fourth consecutive all-conference award. He is the seventh male athlete in meet history to accomplish that feat.

UAA, which has now win eight team titles in the 14-year history of the conference, finished with 18 team points, well ahead of second-place Western Washington which had 61 points to place among the top two teams for the 10th year in a row.

The Seawolves point total is the lowest in conference history, bettering their own conference record of 23 in the 2012 championship meet.

Cheseto joins his brother as a conference champion. Marko Cheseto won three straight titles between 2008 and 2010. The Seawolves have now had the last seven individual champions including Mark Cheseto (2008-10), Micah Chelimo (2011-12) and Isaac Kangogo (2013).

Notz moved up from 18th last year to earn his second all-conference award. Also earning his second all-conference award was UAA's Victor Samoei who placed seventh. He finished second a year ago.

UAA earned seven places on the GNAC all-conference team. Joining Cheseto, Notz, Anthony and Samoei in the Top 10 were Michel Ramirez (5th), Edwin Kangogo (8th) and Kevin Rooke (10th). Ramirez' finish earned him GNAC Newcomer of the Year honors.

Completing the all-conference team were Montana State Billings, Robert Peterson (4th), Oliver Jorgensen of Simon Fraser (6th) and Isaac Griffith of Western Washington (9th). Jorgensen was a repeater after finishing ninth a year ago.

The runners now have a three-week break prior to the NCAA West Regionals, Nov. 22 at Amend Park in Billings, Mont. All athletes are eligible to compete in the regional meet, regardless of their finish at the conference meet. The top six team finishers at Billings will qualify for the NCAA national meet, Dec. 6 at Louisville, Kent. GNAC Men's Results

Team Scores- 1. Alaska Anchorage 18, 2. Western Washington 61, 3. Simon Fraser 87; 4. MSU Billings 156, 5. Central Washington 159, 6. Northwest Nazarene 173, 7. Alaska Fairbanks 188, 8. Western Oregon 199, 9. Saint Martin's 229, 10. Seattle Pacific 2335. Athlete of the Year - Henry Cheseto, UAA. Newcomer of the Year - Michel Ramirez, UAA. Freshman of the Year - Henry Cheseto, UAA.

Individual (Top 10 All-Conference) - 1. Henry Cheseto, UAA, 24:35.91; 2. Dominik Notz, UAA, 24:41.87; 3. Dylan Anthony, UAA, 24:51.27; 4. Robert Peterson, MSUB, 24:59.61; 5. Michel Ramirez, UAA, 25:06.68; 6. Oliver Jorgensen, SFU,25:07.60; 7. Victor Samoei, UAA, 25:12.07; 8. Edwin Kangogo, UAA, 25:12.36; 9. Isaac Griffith, WWU, 25:23.66; 10. Kevin Rooke, UAA, 25:13.42.

Women's Cross Country: Simon Fraser Edges UAA, WWU To Win GNAC Title

MONMOUTH, Ore. - In the closest team race in conference history, Simon Fraser won its first-ever Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's cross country championship Saturday edging five-time defending champion Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington literally by a whisker - or two.

The Clan, which had finished second in each of the three previous years, got a second-place finish from Rebecca Bassett and a fifth from Georgetown transfer Jennifer Johnson, to finish first with 62 team points, edging UAA by one point and Western Western Washington by two.

The Vikings' Katelyn Steen, who finished second last year in a time of 20:31.99, covered the 6,000-meter Ash Creek Preserve layout on the campus of Western Oregon University in a meet-record time of 20:13.75. She finished 19 seconds ahead of Bassett.

Susan Tanui of Alaska Anchorage set the previous record in winning the 2013 race in a time of 20:24.74.

Dani Eggleston of Central Washington placed third in a time of 20:42.10, two seconds ahead of Metro State transfer Amy Johnston of UAA who won GNAC Newcomer of the Year honors, edging SFU's Jennifer Johnson by four seconds for that award. Johnson is the daughter of Western Oregon head coach Mike Johnson.

Alaska Anchorage's Caroline Kurgat finished 11th in a time of 21:04.52, to win GNAC Freshman of the Year honors.

SFU's one-point win bettered the previous closest women's team race by three points. Seattle Pacific won the 2008 title with 48 points, four fewer than Alaska Anchorage. UAA posted a two-point win over Humboldt State (70-72) for the 2002 men's team championship.

Steen was one of three repeaters from last year's all-conference team, which is awarded to athletes that finish in the Top 10. Also repeating was Eggleston, who placed seventh a year go, and Connie Morgan of Central Washington, who finished ninth after placing sixth in 2013.

Earning their first all-conference award this year were Bassett, Johnston, Johnson,

UAA's Beatrice Decker, SPU's Anna Patti, MSUB's Nocona Frame and Taylor Guenther of Western Washington.

The runners now have a three-week break prior to the NCAA West Regionals, Nov. 22 at Amend Park in Billings, Mont. All athletes are eligible to compete in the regional meet, regardless of their finish at the conference meet. The top six team finishers at Billings will qualify for the NCAA national meet, Dec. 6 at Louisville, Kent.

GNAC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS (Nov. 1 at Monmouth): Team Scores - 1. Simon Fraser 62, 2. Alaska Anchorage 63, 3. Western Washington 64; 4. Central Washington 85; 5. Seattle Pacific 130; 6. Montana State Billings 140; 7. Western Oregon 185; 8. Alaska 345; 9. Northwest Nazarene 241; 10. Saint Martin's 298. Athlete of the Year - Katelyn Steen, WWU. Newcomer of the Year - Amy Johnston, UAA. Freshman of the Year - Caroline Kurgat, UAA (11th, 21:05).

Individuals (Top 10 All-Conference) - 1, Katelyn Steen, WWU, 20:13.75; 2. Rebecca Bassett, SFU, 20:32.08; 3. Dani Eggleston, CWU, 20:42.10: 4. Amy Johnston, UAA, 20:44.35; 5. Jennifer Johnson, SFU, 20:48.53; 6. Beatrice Decker, UAA, 20:52.48; 7. Anna Patti, SPU. 20:54.60; 8. Nocona Frame, MSUB, 20:57.34; 9. Connie Morgan, CWU, 21:02.24; 10. Taylor Guenther, WWU, 21:02.66.