Won the Great Northwest Athletic conference team title for the first time in program history…advanced to the NCAA II Championships for the second consecutive season and ninth time in program history…finished 17
th in the national championship after placing 7
th in the NCAA II West Regional…joined the men's squad in nationals in Sacramento, California, one of 19 NCAA II programs to have both teams qualify for nationals (second straight year)…second consecutive season and eighth time in program history both men's and women's teams advanced to nationals…won the GNAC title scoring 53 points, a seven-point edge over Alaska Anchorage…junior
Jane Barr (8
th), sophomore
Rebecca Lehman (9
th) and senior
Tracy Melville (10
th) all earned All-GNAC honors…WWU's five scoring runners all were in the top 15…senior
Sophia Galvez earned USTFCCCA All-West Region honors with a 16
th-place finish…had eight student-athletes selected to the GNAC All-Academic team including three-time selections
Tracy Melville,
Aundrea Koger and
Talia Dreicer…Melville, Koger, Lehman and Galvez all earned USTFCCCA Academic honors and the Vikings were honored with a team academic award for a cumulative GPA above 3.0…33
rd-year head coach
Pee Wee Halsell was selected as the GNAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year (in addition to men's coach of the year).
GNAC Finish: 1st » West Region Finish: 7th » NCAA Championships: 17th
GNAC CHAMPIONS
The Vikings won their first team title at the 2019 GNAC Championships on October 26 on a snowy Amend Park course in Billings, Montana…scored 53 points to edge second-place Alaska Anchorage (60 points), the four-time defending champion in the championship…all five scoring runners finished in the top 15 and were separated by just 26 seconds, including All-GNAC performers
Jane Barr (8
th),
Rebecca Lehman (9
th) and
Tracy Melville (10
th)…the WWU men also won the GNAC title, as the Vikings became the first team other than Alaska Anchorage to claim both the women's and men's team titles in the same year in the 19-year history of the event dating back to 2001, with UAA sweeping top team honors seven previous times.
REGIONAL SUCCESS
The Vikings placed 7th at the NCAA II West Regional Championships at Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Oregon with a team score of 175…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)…junior
Jane Barr was not able to finish the race after contending for a top 10 spot.
NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Vikings earned an at-large berth to the NCAA II National Cross Country Championships that were held Nov. 23 at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California…WWU placed 17
th out of 34 teams, with score of 507 points…
Tovah Swartz-Ireland led the Vikings placing 86
th finishing the course in 21:34.4 and
Sophia Galvez also cracked the top 100 in 95
th place (21:37.1).
WWU CLASSIC
The Vikings hosted the 46
th Annual WWU Classic on October 12 at Sudden Valley Golf Course…marked the second year in a row to host the race in Sudden Valley…placed 2nd with a team score of 88, with all five scoring runners in the top 30.