ROMEOVILLE, Ill. & SEATTLE, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's and women's cross country teams were split across the country, with competition held Saturday at the Division II Conference Crossover Invitational in Romeoville, Illinois and the Emerald City Open at Seattle's Lower Woodland Park.
The WWU women turned in a great performance in the 6,000-meter race, placing 4
th out of 28 teams, including finishing ahead of West Region foes Point Loma, Cal State San Marcos and UC San Diego. All five of WWU's scoring runners finished in the top 50.
"The women have been training exceptionally hard and they have been coming along, and today they put it all together and had a great performance," said head coach
Pee Wee Halsell. "Today was huge for them. They were tightly packed together and they fed off each other, which they talked about before the race. They raced well today and the great result shows that, and this will give them confidence into the championship portion of the schedule."
Here is a look at the top 10 in the team standings, with 28 teams competing in the race. The Vikings, who are unranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll, finished ahead of several ranked teams, including No. 10 Walsh, No. 15 Michigan Tech, No. 19 Queens and No. 25 Point Loma.
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Women's Team Scores – Top 10
Division II Conference Crossover Invitational
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1.
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Western Colorado (#3)
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38
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2.
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Simon Fraser (#11)
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146
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3.
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Azusa Pacific (#17)
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151
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4.
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Western Washington
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175
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5.
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Pittsburg State (#23)
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181
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6.
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Walsh (#10)
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201
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7.
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Queens (NC) (#19)
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201
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8.
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Saginaw Valley
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241
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9.
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Michigan Tech (#15)
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269
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10.
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Point Loma (#25)
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272
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Juniors
Sophia Galvez and
Talia Dreicer, who were high school teammates in Los Alamos, New Mexico, led WWU's seven-runner contingent finishing 28
th and 29
th in the 276-runner race. Galvez clocked 22:54.1, narrowly edging Dreicer by one-tenth of a second. Freshman
Rebecca Lehman (Spokane Valley, WA/University) finished 34
th in 22:59.5, sophomore
Jane Barr (Seattle, WA/Roosevelt) was 38
th in 23:03.7 and redshirt freshman
Shawnee Konrad (Mead, WA/Mt. Spokane) placed 45
th in 23:07.5.
Here is a look at WWU's finishers in the women's race at the Conference Crossover Invitational:
The men finished 8
th out of 27 teams with a score of 249 at the Conference Crossover Invitational. WWU tied GNAC foe Western Oregon with 249 points, but in head-to-head scoring against WOU's top five runners, the Vikings had a 3-2 edge to claim the 8
th spot in the team standings.
Here is a look at the top-10 team standings at the Crossover Invite, hosted by Lewis University. WWU, which dropped out of the national top 25 this week and is receiving votes in the poll, placed ahead of No. 8 Southern Indiana and No. 10 WOU.
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Men's Team Scores – Top 10
Division II Conference Crossover Invitational
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1.
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Western Colorado (#5)
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84
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2.
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Queens (NC) (#11)
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115
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3.
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Simon Fraser (#13)
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127
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4.
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Saginaw Valley State (#12)
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159
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5.
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Colorado State Pueblo (#7)
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181
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6.
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UC San Diego
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201
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7.
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Walsh (#19)
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233
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8.
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Western Washington
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249
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9.
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Western Oregon (#10)
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249
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10.
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Southern Indiana (#8)
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258
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Sophomore
Eric Hamel (Enumclaw, WA) led WWU's seven-runner contingent placing 27
th completing the 8,000-meter course in 25:27.9. Junior
James Jasperson (Lacey, WA/North Thurston/Everett CC) was 39
th in 25:41.7 and senior
Kyler Sager (Snohomish, WA/Everett CC) finished 51
st in 25:51.3.
Redshirt sophomore
Ed Kiolbasa (Stillwater, MN/Stillwater Area/Univ. of North Dakota) was just behind Sager in 53
rd place (25:53.4) and senior
Isaac Derline (Kent, WA/Kentridge) rounded out WWU's top five scorers in 79
th place (26:14.6).
"I am very excited about how the men competed against a very tough field, down two runners," added Halsell. "They stepped up and raced well today. They have to keep improving and get healthy, but I like where they are at."
The Vikings were without two of their top runners who were held out due to minor injuries, with senior
Jadon Olson (Mill Creek, WA/Jackson) and redshirt freshman
Ian Fay (Duvall, WA/Cedarcrest) not making the trip.
Here is a look at the men's performances at the Conference Crossover Invitational:
The remaining members of the WWU squad raced in the Emerald City Open hosted by Club Northwest at Seattle's Lower Woodland Park.
The women placed 2
nd with a team score of 68, training Club Northwest who nearly swept with 16 points. Alaska Fairbanks was 3
rd (89), Seattle Running Club was 4
th (94) and Team Oiselle (119) rounded out the top 5 in team scoring.
Individually senior
Aundrea Koger (Osage City, KS) placed 9
th covering the 6,000-meter course in 23:53. Sophomore
Brook Wedin (Moran, MN) was 11
th (24:06), freshman
Maria Rivera Valles (Mount Vernon, WA) was 22
nd in 25:15, freshman
Hannah Madsen (Manhattan, MT) was 23
rd in 25:19 and freshman
Annika Taylor (Poulsbo, WA/North Kitsap) finished 32
nd in 26:18.
The men's squad also placed 2
nd at the event with 15 team points in the 8,000-meter race. Club Northwest swept the top five spots for a perfect score of 15, with Seattle Running Club finishing 3
rd behind Western with 75 points, Alaska Fairbanks 4
th with 111 points and Northwest University rounding out the top five with 127 team points.
Individually, junior
Peter Butler (Port Angeles, WA) placed 8
th in 27:05 to lead the Vikings contingent. Redshirt freshman
Jesse Wiley (Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley) was just outside the top 10 finishing in 27:11, with senior
Nick Mounier (Kelso, WA) placing 13
th (27:20) and senior
Dylan Hayes (Seattle, WA/Garfield) finished 17
th (27:41).
UP NEXT
After another off weekend, the Vikings return to action for the
45th Annual WWU Cross Country Classic on October 20 at Sudden Valley Golf Course in Bellingham. The WWU Classic will be the final regular-season meet for the Vikings before heading to the GNAC Championships Nov. 3 in Monmouth, Oregon and the NCAA II West Regional in Billings, Montana.
Here is a look at the 2018 WWU Cross Country schedule. Times and more detail on each event can be found online at
WWUVikings.com/XC:
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DATE
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MEET
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PLACE
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Sept. 15 (Sat.)
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Central Washington Invitational
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Ellensburg, WA (Rotary Park)
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Men: 1st, Women: 2nd (Meet Results)
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Sept. 22 (Sat.)
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Ken Garland Classic
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Lacey, WA (Saint Martin's Campus)
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Men: 1st, Women: 1st (Meet Results)
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Oct. 6 (Sat.)
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Division II Conference Crossover
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Romeoville, IL (Lewis Cross Country Course)
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Men: 8th, Women: 4th (Meet Results)
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Oct. 6 (Sat.)
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Emerald City Open
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Seattle, WA (Lower Woodland Park)
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Men: 2nd, Women: 2nd
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Oct. 20 (Sat.)
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45th Annual WWU Classic
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Bellingham, WA (Sudden Valley Golf Course)
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Nov. 3 (Sat.)
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GNAC Championships
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Monmouth, OR (Ash Creek Preserve)
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Nov. 17 (Sat.)
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NCAA Division II West Regional
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Billings, MT (Amend Park)
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Dec. 1 (Sat.)
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NCAA DII Championships
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Pittsburgh, PA (Cooper's Lake Campground)
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FOLLOW THE VIKS…Fans can follow WWU Cross Country online at
WWUVikings.com/XC, and via social media on
Twitter (@WWUTFXC),
Instagram (@WWUTFXC) and
Facebook (@WWUTFXC).
