MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Washington University men's and women's cross country teams competed at the 2019 NCAA II West Regional Championships on Saturday morning at Ash Creek Preserve.
 
The Viking men placed 5^th for the second consecutive season with 139 team points to put themselves in contention for an at-large berth to the NCAA II Championships. Coming off the 5^th Great Northwest Athletic Conference title in program history, the Vikings had three runners finish in the top 25 and the top four scorers in the top 30 in the 10K race.
 
Senior James Jasperson (18^th, 30:32.6), junior Ed Kiolbasa (19^th, 30:34.8) and junior Eric Hamel (21^st, 30:37.6) crossed the finish line nearly in successive order to earn All-West Region honors for placing in the top 25. Freshman Deyago Peraza was 28^th in 30:48.9 and senior Liam Cossette was 53^rd in 31:25.2.
 
"The guys ran hard and had an excellent race that puts them in a good spot for nationals," said WWU head coach Pee Wee Halsell. "They ran as a pack, just as they did at the GNAC Championships, and overall had a great race."
 
WWU's women's squad had a bit of tough-luck in its 7^th-place finish, as top runner Jane Barr was not able to finish the race after contending for a top 10 spot. WWU was riding high as one of the top ranked teams in the field after winning the first GNAC title in program history, but slipped to 7^th place with 175 team points. Senior Sophia Galvez earned All-West Region honors with a 16^th-place finish covering the 6K course in 21:10.1, followed by senior Tracy Melville in 28^th place (21:31.2) and sophomore Tovah Swartz-Ireland in 32^nd (21:38.4).
 
"It was a bit unfortunate with Jane not able to finish with just a little bit to go, but that's racing…you leave it all out on the course," added Halsell. "I thought the women's team ran hard and put it out there, it just wasn't there with some tough luck. I still think we have an outside shot at nationals as the whole body of work from the season was outstanding."
 
In the men's race, three teams from the California Collegiate Athletic Association earned the automatic bids to nationals, with Chico State (43 points), Cal Poly Pomona (115 points) and Cal State San Marcos (121 points) leading the way. Stanislaus State finished 4^th with 135 teams points, a thin four-point margin ahead of WWU's 139 points. Western was the top placing GNAC program on the men's side, with Alaska Anchorage placing 8^th and Simon Fraser 9^th. Josh Litwiller of Cal State San Marcos finished first individually covering the 10K course in 29:54.4 for a 2-second victory over Trad Berti of Chic State.
 
In the women's race, Chico State made it a regional sweep finishing first with 75 team points. Northwest Nazarene entered the meet out of the regional and national rankings, but surged for a 2^nd-place finish with 134 points and Cal State East Bay locked up the third automatic bid in 3^rd place with 142 points. GNAC member schools Alaska Anchorage (4^th, 146 points) and Seattle Pacific (5^th, 153) rounded out the top five. The GNAC swept the top four spots in the individual race with Emmanuelah Chelimo winning the regional race in 20:22.4 by a 27-second margin.
 
The top three teams in both the men's and women's races will qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships, which take place on Sat., Nov. 23 in Sacramento. In addition, the top two individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will automatically qualify for the national meet as well as all individuals who finish in the top-five and are not part of a qualifying team. A total of 10 teams and eight individuals from all eight regions will receive at-large selections to the meet. Those selections will be announced by the NCAA on Monday via NCAA.com. Both WWU's men's and women's squads received at-large berths to the NCAA II Championships last season.
  Here are the results from Saturday's NCAA II West Regional:
 
NCAA WEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
As Ash Creek Preserve, Monmouth, Ore.
WOMEN
Team Scores (Top 3 Automatically Qualify For National Championships): Chico State 75, Northwest Nazarene 134, Cal State East Bay 142, Alaska Anchorage 146, Seattle Pacific 153, Cal Poly Pomona 168, Western Washington 175, Cal State San Marcos 234, Stanislaus State 238, Simon Fraser 243, UC San Diego 256, Fresno Pacific 334, Humboldt State 360, Biola 368, Concordia-Irvine 390, Academy of Art 432, Western Oregon 437, Central Washington 471, Cal State LA 496, Notre Dame de Namur 517, Azusa Pacific 556, Cal State Monterey Bay 597, San Francisco St. 617, Sonoma State 700, Concordia (Ore.) 731, Saint Martin's 755, Montana State Billings 771.
 
Top-10 Finishers: 1, Emmah Chelimo, UAA, 20:22.4 (Automatic Nationals Individual Qualifier). 2, Dania Holmberg, SPU, 20:49.5 (Automatic Nationals Individual Qualifier). 3, Olivia Willett, SFU, 20:51.6 (Automatic Nationals Individual Qualifier). 4, Nancy Jeptoo, UAA, 20:53.0 (Automatic Nationals Individual Qualifier). 5, Destiny Everett, CSUC, 20:56.2. 6, Grace Knapp, WOU, 20:57.4. 7, Nancy Juarez, STAN, 20:57.9. 8, Kate Lilly, SPU, 20:59.4. 9, Talia Swangler, CSUC, 21:03.6. 10, Angelina Ronquillo, CSUEB, 21:03.6.
 
MEN
Team Scores (Top 3 Automatically Qualify For NCAA Championships): Chico State 43, Cal Poly Pomona 115, Cal State San Marcos 121, Stanislaus State 135, Western Washington 139, Biola 167, UC San Diego 199, Alaska Anchorage 216, Simon Fraser 243, Academy of Art 260, Humboldt State 326, Northwest Nazarene 330, Western Oregon 357, Cal State East Bay 405, Notre Dame de Namur 443, San Francisco St. 451, Central Washington 465, Concordia-Irvine 496, Seattle Pacific 514, Saint Martin's 523, Cal State LA 546, Alaska 571, Fresno Pacific 625, Cal St. Monterey Bay 628, Azusa Pacific 636, Hawaii Pacific 653, Concordia (Ore.) 784, Montana State Billings 787.
 
Top-10 Finishers: 1, Josh Litwiller, CSUSM, 29:54.4. 2, Trad Berti, CSUC, 26:56.7. 3, Aren Johnson, UCSD, 29:57.4 (Automatic Nationals Individual Qualifier), 4, Gabe Plendcio, BIOLA, 30:01.2 (Automatic Nationals Individual Qualifier), 5, Wyatt Baxter, CSUC, 30:02.4. 6, Joseph Macareno, STAN, 30:03.2. 7, Daniel Tull, HSU, 30:10.6. 8, Felix Kemboi, UAA, 30:11.9. 9, Wesley Kirui, UAA, 30:13.4. 10, Eamon Smythe, CPP, 30:14.3.
  Here is a look at WWU's team finishes during the 2019 cross country season:
 

 

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