Complete Results

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BILLINGS, Miont. - Western Washington University's Katelyn Steen (Sr., Sammamish/Eastlake) took the women's individual title and both the Viking men's and women's teams qualified for nationals by placing fourth and sixth, respectively, at the NCAA Division II West Regional Cross Country Championships held Saturday, Nov. 22, at Amend Park.

"Both squads are moving on, which was our ultimate goal," said WWU coach Pee Wee Halsell (28th year).

Steen won with just over a five-second margin, completing the six-kilometer course in 21:06.59. Three weeks ago, she took top honors at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships.

"Katelyn executed her game plan perfectly," Halsell said. "With two miles to go she made a move and that was it."

Isaac Griffith (Jr., Spokane/Lewis & Clark) led the WWU men, placing 12th to earn regional all-star honors for the second straight year. He was timed in 31:26.97 over the 10-kilometer course.

Less than a minute separated the five counting finishers for the Vikings. Sean Eustis (R-Fr., Washougal) was 29th in 31:51.92, Isaac Derline (Fr., Kent/Kentridge) 34th in 32:00.13, Jonathan Quimby (Sr., Ferndale) 36th in 32:08.04 and Tabor Reedy (Sr., Poulsbo/North Kitsap) 39th in 32:14.84.

The WWU women's counters, besides Steen, were Taylor Guenther (Jr., Vancouver/Prairie), 26th in 22:11.95; Haley O'Connor (Sr., Sammamish/Eastlake), 32nd in 22:32.12; Sofia Marikis (So., Nine Mile Falls/Lakeside), 63rd in 23:09.72; and Austin Reiter (Jr., Camas), 70th in 23:16.81.

"I'm excited, but I'm disappointed a little bit (in the women's finish) because I know that we can do better," said Halsell. "I know that because of our performance at conference and I'm excited about the possibilities of what we can do (at nationals)."

Chico State successfully defended its title in the 23-team men's field, winning for the 11th time in 13 years. The Wildcats finished with 30 points. Alaska Anchorage was second (53) and Cal Poly Pomona third (101).

Taking the men's individual title was Alaska Anchorage's Henry Cheseto in 30:33.99. Simon Fraser won its first women's championship, edging Chico State, 103 to 112, among 24 teams. Defending champion Alaska Anchorage was third (144).

The national meet takes place on Dec. 6 at Louisville, Kentucky. The trip will be the eighth straight for the WWU men, and the fifth in seven years for the Viking women.

The top six teams in both the men's and women's races and the top three individuals not on one of the qualifying teams go to nationals.

WWU entered the regional meet with its women ranked fourth and men fifth in the latest West Region rankings. The Viking women are No.18 nationally and the men No.23.

Nov. 22 at NCAA Division II West Regional Championships (Billings, Mont. - Amend Park - host Montana State University Billings)

MEN

TEAM RESULTS - 1. Chico State 30, 2. Alaska Anchorage 53, 3. Cal Poly Pomona 101, 4. Western Washington 150, 5. Cal Baptist 208, 6. Simon Fraser 225, 7. UC San Diego 239, 8. San Francisco State 253, 9. Azusa Pacific 283, 10. Cal State Stanislaus 285, 11. Academy of Art 298, 12. Cal State Monterey Bay 307, 13. Humboldt State 368, 14. Central Washington 402, 15. Northwest Nazarene 430, 16. Hawaii Pacific 433, 17. Montana State Billings 454, 18. Alaska Fairbanks 455, 19. Western Oregon 457, 20. BYU-Hawaii 493, 21. Saint Martin's 568, 22. Dixie State 584, 23. Cal State East Bay 677.

WWU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS - 12. Isaac Griffith 31:26.97, 29. Sean Eustis 31:51.92, 34. Isaac Derline 32:00.13, 36. Jonathan Quimby 32:08.04, 39. Tabor Reedy 32:14.84, 46. Matt Lutz 32:21.40, 71. Nathan Richards 33:04.54.

TOP 10 - 1. Henry Cheseto, Alaska Anchorage, 30:33.99; 2. Dominik Notz, Alaska Anchorage, 30:48.60; 3. Mark Hulzar, Cal Poly Pomona, 30:48.89; 4. Johnny Sanchez, Chico State. 31:01.02; 5. Kyle Medina, Chico State, 31:01.20; 6. Nick Grubiss, Chico State, 31:04.26; 7. Alex McGuirk, Chico State, 31:06.65; 8. Aaron Mora, Chico State, 31:07.54; 9. Taylor Guske, Cal Baptist, 31:10.36; 10. Dillon Breen, Chico State, 31:13.60.

WOMEN

TEAM RESULTS - 1. Simon Fraser 103, 2. Chico State 112, 3. Alaska Anchorage 144, 4, UC San Diego 171, 5. Central Washington 180, 6. Western Washington 185, 7. Hawaii Pacific 193, 8. Cal Baptist 196, 9. Azusa Pacific 198, 10. Cal Poly Pomona 222, 11. Humboldt State 233, 12. Seattle Pacific 282, 13. Montana State Billings 306, 14. Cal State Stanislaus 338, 15. San Francisco State 371, 16. Western Oregon 437, 17. Cal State Monterey Bay 437, 18. Dixie State 496, 19. BYU Hawaii 559, 20. Cal State L.A. 570, 21. Alaska Fairbanks 573, 22. Northwest Nazarene 575, 23. Cal State East Bay 630, 24. Saint Martin's 725.

WWU INDIVIDUAL RSULTS - 1. Katelyn Steen 21:06.59, 26. Taylor Guenther 22:11.95, 32. Haley O'Connor 22:32.12, 63.Sofia Marikis 23:09.72, 70. Austen Reiter 23:16.81, 98. Mikhaila Thornton 23:48.70.

TOP 10 - 1. Katelyn Steen, Western Washington, 21:06.59; 2. Caroline Barkechir, Cal Baptist, 21:12.11; 3. Rebecca Bassett, Simon Fraser, 21:15.22; 4. Fiona McKenna, Hawaii Pacific, 21:22.21; 5. Amy Johnston, Alaska Anchorage, 21:22.60; 6. Staci Foster, Azusa Pacific, 21:23.60; 7. Anna Patti, Seattle Pacific, 21:31.01; 8. Jennifer Johnson, Simon Fraser, 21:31.94; 9. Veronica Hall, Cal Baptist, 21:37.99; 10. Dani Eggleston, Central Washington, 21:39.53.