BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The nationally-ranked Western Washington University men's and women's cross country teams stay home this week, hosting the 45^th Annual Classic at Sudden Valley Golf Course.
 
The WWU Classic is set to begin at 10 am with the men's 10,000-meter run, followed by the women's 6,000-meter run at 11 am. Over 15 teams and 300 runner are expected to compete in the WWU Classic on Saturday.
 
"We always enjoy hosting this event and look forward to having runners enjoy the Bellingham running scene," said WWU Cross Country and Track & Field head coach Pee Wee Halsell. "Our teams are progressing well and looking forward to running on their home turf and breaking in a new course. This is go-time for our teams and we have to start running our best races leading up to the GNAC and regional competitions."
 
Ranked teams scheduled to compete in the race include No. 8 Simon Fraser, No. 17 Colorado-Colorado Springs and No. 19 Western Washington on the men's side, and No. 8 Alaska Anchorage, No. 10 Simon Fraser, No. 12 Seattle Pacific and No. 14 Western Washington on the women's side.
 
The Western men and women are coming off solid performances in their last competition, with the women placing 4^th and men 8^th at the Division II Conference Crossover Invitational in Romeoville, Illinois.
 

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The WWU Classic closes out the regular-season portion of the 2018 season, with the GNAC Championships being held Nov. 4 in Monmouth, Oregon and the NCAA II West Regional on Nov. 17 in Billings, Montana. The NCAA Division II National Championships will be held December 1 at Cooper's Lake Campground in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as part of the NCAA Division II Fall Festival. The solid performance at one of the top DII regular-season races in the country catapulted both teams into the NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll conducted by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
 
The women's team is ranked No. 6 in the West Region and No. 14 nationally, while the men are No. 4 in the West Region and No. 19 in the nation. The WWU women have had a solid start to the 2018 season, winning the Ken Garland Classic hosted by Saint Martin's University, placed 2^nd at both the Central Washington Invitational and the Emerald City Open, and 4^th at the DII Conference Crossover Invitational.
 
Freshman Rebecca Lehman (Spokane Valley, WA/University) won the Ken Garland Classic completing the 5K in 18:15.2 to earn GNAC Runner of the Week honors. Juniors Sophia Galvez and Talia Dreicer, both from Los Alamos, New Mexico, placed 28^th and 29^th at the conference crossover to lead the Vikings. The men's squad has been fighting a little bit of an injury bug, with several top runners held out of competition at the Conference Crossover Invitational, but the team still gutted out an 8^th-place performance to elevate to 19^th in the national rankings.
 
Sophomore Eric Hamel (Enumclaw, WA) has recorded a pair of top five finishes, and was WWU's top racer at the Conference Crossover placing 27^th finishing the 8,000-meter course in 25:27.9.
 
Redshirt senior Isaac Derline (Kent, WA/Kentridge) topped the 185-runner field at the 2016 WWU Classic with a winning time of 31:14, becoming the first Viking to win the WWU Classic since Jordan Welling in 2009. All but eight years of the first 44 years of the WWU Classic were held at Lake Padden in Bellingham. This year, the WWU Cross Country program had the opportunity to move this classic event to a new course, one which is certainly flatter than Lake Padden, but offers an enhanced spectator experience at Sudden Valley Golf Course. The surface comes closer than Lake Padden to the terrain and conditions we will be experiencing at the Division II regionals the next four years. The 2nd Annual Sudden Valley Ghosts and Ghouls Fun Run will be on Saturday, October 20th on the Sudden Valley Golf Course prior to the WWU Classic. Registration for the event begins at 8:30 am, with the 5K beginning at 9 am and the kids 500-meter dash following at 9:45 am. The entrance fee is a donation to the Sudden Valley Community Cupboard, either a cash donation or non-perishable goods. Costumes are encouraged! From the South
Take Interstate-5 Northbound to the Alger Exit #240. At the stop sign, turn right. Proceed straight through stop sign across Old Highway 99. Road will begin to proceed North. Follow to Lake Whatcom Blvd. and Sudden Valley. When you enter the community of Sudden Valley, take the Gate 2 entrance on the right, across from the market and gas station, to the Clubhouse.
 
From the North
Take Interstate 5 South. Exit Lakeway Drive (Exit 253). At the stop light, turn left, passing Fred Meyer Shopping Center on the right. Follow Lakeway east approximately 8miles. After the fire station on the left, take the second left into Gate 2 passing Sun-Mark Properties on the right. Take the first left (at the Pro Shop, Restaurant, Administration sign) into the Clubhouse parking lot. Fans can follow WWU Cross Country online at WWUVikings.com/XC, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUTFXC), Instagram (@WWUTFXC) and Facebook (@WWUTFXC).