BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the second consecutive season both the Western Washington University men's and women's cross country teams are heading to the NCAA Division II National Championships.

 

After a strong regular season of competition that resulted in a sweep of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships for both teams, the Vikings were at-large selections to compete in the NCAA II Championships that will be held November 23 in Sacramento, California at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course (at Haggin Oaks). This marks the eighth time that both programs have advanced to the NCAA II Cross Country Championships.

 

Sacramento State University and the Sacramento Sports Commission will serve as hosts for the event, with the women's 6K race beginning at 10 am, followed by the men's race at 11:15 am.

 

WWU's men's squad placed 5^th at the NCAA II West Regional on Saturday in Monmouth, Oregon, with the women's team finishing 7^th. The West Region proved to be one of the toughest in the nation, as four of the 10 at-large teams for the championships came out of the region for both the men and women. 

 

This marks the 11^th trip to nationals for the men's team in program history and the 9^th for the women's team. WWU was one of 19 NCAA Division II schools to have both its men's and women's cross country programs qualify for the 2019 national championships.

 

"I am beyond excited, and a little relieved to be honest, as this is where both of our teams belong," said WWU head coach Pee Wee Halsell, in his 33^rd season leading the program. "Both had fantastic seasons that went up against top competition all year long, and their efforts, training and dedication have been rewarded. I know they are both going down to Sacramento on a mission and will be ready to go."

                                                                                                     

A total of 34 teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top three, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regions across the country, for a total of 24 teams. Both the WWU men's and women's teams were one of 10 additional teams on both the men's and women's side that were selected at-large by the NCAA II Cross Country Committee. An additional 24 individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. The list of advancing teams and individuals are list are posted on NCAA.com.

 

This marks the eighth time in program history that both the men's and women's programs have been selected to race for the NCAA II national championship. This marks the 9^th trip to nationals for the women's program, and the second consecutive year after placing 20^th in 2018 at the NCAA II Fall Championships Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. WWU's previous trip to nationals was in 2015 when the team earned a 6^th-place finish. This is the 11^th selection for the men's team and second consecutive season after finishing 26^th last year at nationals. Here is a look at WWU's prior finishes at the NCAA West Regional and NCAA II National Championships since joining the NCAA in 1998:

 

 

The championships will be held on November 23 in Sacramento, California on the Arcade Creek Golf Course at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex. Sacramento State University and the Sacramento Sports Commission will serve as hosts for the event, with the women's 6K race beginning at 10 am, followed by the men's race at 11:15 am.

 

A live web stream of the championships will occur on FloTrack.com beginning at 10 am until the conclusion of the awards ceremony on Saturday, November 23.  FloTrack Pro subscribers will have access to the NCAA cross country coverage. Those seeking access can become a FloTrack Pro subscriber for a monthly price of $29.99 or an annual price of $149.99. A subscription includes access to all FloTrack live broadcasts, video on-demand from all events, documentaries, technique videos and more, as well as premium content across the entire FloSports network. 

 

In an illustration of one of the strongest cross country conferences in the nation in the strong region in the sport in Division II, five GNAC teams have qualified for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. The GNAC had four women's teams qualify for the national meet, marking the second straight year that the GNAC has earned that many invitations. Joining automatic qualifier Northwest Nazarene at the meet with at-large selections will be Alaska Anchorage, Seattle Pacific and WWU. On the men's side, Western Washington was the lone team to earn at-large invitation to the meet. Joining the four women's teams as individual at-large qualifiers will be Simon Fraser junior Olivia Willett and Western Oregon senior Grace Knapp. Three conference men's runners also earned at-large invitations: Alaska Anchorage juniors Felix Kemboi and Wesley Kirui and Northwest Nazarene sophomore Tyler Shea.

 

Here is a look at WWU's team finishes during the 2019 cross country season:

 

 

Fans can follow WWU Cross Country online at WWUVikings.com/XC, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUTFXC), Instagram (@WWUTFXC) and Facebook (@WWUTFXC).