BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Honoring a pioneer and a legend in the Track & Field and Cross Country community, Western Washington University hosted the inaugural Bill Roe Classic Saturday at Sudden Valley Golf Course.
 
Named after the late Bill Roe who passed away in February 2020, Roe coached at WWU for over 35 years and served in several leadership roles that helped grow the sports of Track & Field and Cross Country.
 
The Vikings put together a solid performance running for their former mentor, with the men placing 2nd in the 10K and the women 5th in the 6K (4th among collegiate programs).
 
"It was a great day to honor a friend, colleague and great coach. Bill Roe would have loved today and we were blessed with a good weather and great racing," said WWU head coach Pee Wee Halsell. "The Vikings competed hard and got some great performances on both teams. We like where we are at, and we like where we are headed with the postseason coming up."
 
In the Men's 10K, junior Mac Franks raced to a 9th-place finish in 31:54.3, the 7th-best time among collegiate runners. Freshman Jeret Gillingham was just outside the top-10 placing 13th (32:10.9), followed closely by Kevin McDermott in 14th place (32:11.1), Alec Ritter in 18th (32:20.3) and Sean Sands in 21st (32:29.9).
 
WWU's top five runners recorded a team score of 63, narrowly edging GNAC foe and No. 2 West Region-ranked Simon Fraser by two points. No. 5 nationally-ranked Chico State took top honors with a team score of 31. San Francisco State placed 4th among collegiate programs (151) and Central Washington was 5th (175).
 
Tom Anderson of Club Northwest won the individual title in the men's 10K completing the course in 30:55.2. Aaron Ahl of Simon Fraser was the top collegiate finisher in 31:31.9. Calahan Warren, an All-American distance runner that will compete during the outdoor season for the Vikings, placed 5th in 31:43.9. Warren no expired all his cross country eligibility.
 
The Vikings placed 5th in the women's 6K, recording a team score of 110, tying for the 3rd-best score among collegiate programs. Alaska Fairbanks also scored 110 points and took the tiebreaker over the Vikings to officially place 4th (3rd among NCAA II teams).
 
Senior Brittany Aquino led WWU finishing in 16th place in 22:55.0. Freshman Ila Davis (23:11.8) and junior Brook Wedin (23:12.0) crossed the finish line in 21st and 22nd place, followed by Mia Crocker (31st, 23:30.4) and Eugenia Palko (34th, 23:35.3).
 
Amelia Keyser-Gibson won the 6K race running unattached in a time of 21:39.2, followed by top collegiate finisher Olivia Willett of Simon Fraser (21:48.6).
 
SFU, the top team in the West Region and ranked No. 11 nationally, won the women's team title totaling 41 team points from its top five runners, followed by Chico State (102), Alaska Fairbanks (110), WWU (110) and Seattle Pacific (176).
  Here are the results of the WWU student-athletes that raced Saturday at the Bill Roe Classic:
 

MEN - 10K	PLACE	TIME		WOMEN - 6K	PLACE	TIME
Mac Franks	9th	31:54.3		Brittany Aquino	16th	22:55.0
Jeret Gillingham	13th	32:10.9		Ila Davis	21st	23:11.8
Kevin McDermott	14th	32:11.1		Brook Wedin	22nd	23:12.0
Alec Ritter	18th	32:20.3		Mia Crocker	31st	23:30.4
Sean Sands	21st	32:29.9		Eugenia Palko	34th	23:35.3
Jalen Javurek	23rd	32:33.7		Shawnee Konrad	37th	23:48.6
Kaleb Korta	26th	32:38.5		Sophie Wright	47th	24:04.7
Drew Weber	49th	33:53.9		Sophia Collins	55th	24:47.6
Brock Knowles	65th	34:44.9		Delphine Maurer	61st	25:02.5
Nick McIver	82nd	35:27.5
Abbas Theophilus	93rd	36:02.3

  The Vikings will next be in action October 23 (Saturday) at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships that will be held this year on the Saint Martin's University campus in Lacey. WWU enters the meet as both the men's and women's defending GNAC champions after taking home both titles in 2019.
  The Vikings hosted the 47th Annual WWU Classic, renamed the WWU Bill Roe Classic, at Sudden Valley Golf Course in Bellingham. Annually one of the best competitions in the Northwest, WWU hosted the event at Sudden Valley for the third time in recent years, after competing at Lake Padden for a number of years.
 
The meet is named in honor of Bill Roe, a fixture in the Western Washington University track & field and cross country program for 35 years, from 1985-2020, as well as being nationally and internationally known for his involvement in the administration of those sports. Roe passed away in February 2020. He was a long-time USA Track & Field official and leader. He served as President of the USATF for two terms from 2000 to 2008. The founder in 1972 of Seattle's Club Northwest and in 1973 of the Pacific Northwest Association of USATF, Roe's resume includes work in nearly all capacities of the sport: as a coach, meet director, clinician, official, administrator, and executive. He also was founder of Northwest Runner magazine.