ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Western Washington University cross country teams turned a few heads with their standout performance at the 2021 Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota.
 
The Viking men placed 2nd out of 29 teams in the Maroon 8K and the women came in 6th out of 29 teams in the Maroon 6K. WWU raced against NCAA Division II and III competition, while the NCAA Division I squads raced earlier in the day on the same Les Bolstad Cross Country Course.
 
"This was a very solid meet for us with great performances up and down the roster for the Vikings," said WWU head coach Pee Wee Halsell. "The men ran a smart race and it was exciting to see them go for the team title and the women gave it their all and had a great finish. It was fun to watch them run at a great event. We are excited going into the championship portion of our schedule and feel confident we will only get sharper the rest of the way."
 
WWU's men had all five scoring runners place in the top 25, scoring 72 points to narrowly trail first-place-finishing Wayne State University (68). Junior Mac Franks led the Vikings placing 5th individually finishing the 8K in a personal-best time of 25:50.7. Senior Kaleb Korta was 10th in 25:57.8, freshman Jeret Gillingham finished 12th in 25:59.9 and freshman Kevin McDermott placed 21st in 26:08.9. The Vikings entered the week receiving votes in the USTFCCCA Division II coaches poll and are listed No. 8 in the West Region.
 
The Viking women earned a 6th-place finish with the five scoring runners scoring 209, just off the 5th-place score of 206 by Winona State. Freshman Ila Davis led WWU placing 27th, completing her collegiate cross country debut in 23:21.7 on the 6K course. Senior Brittany Aquino was 33rd in her WWU debut finishing in 23:37.6 and senior Shawnee Konrad was 41st in 23:45.8. Listed No. 10 in this week's USTFCCCA West Region poll, the Vikings finished behind four teams listed in the national top 30 coaches poll, and placed ahead of No. 28 Michigan Tech.
  Here are the results of the WWU student-athletes that raced Friday at the Roy Griak Invitational:
 

MEN - 8K	PLACE	TIME		WOMEN - 6K	PLACE	TIME
Mac Franks	5th	25:50.7		Ila Davis	27th	23:21.7
Kaleb Korta	10th	25:57.8		Brittany Aquino	33rd	23:37.6
Jeret Gillingham	12th	25:59.9		Shawnee Konrad	41st	23:45.8
Kevin McDermott	21st	26:08.9		Brook Wedin	56th	24:01.3
Jalen Javurek	24th	26:11.9		Sophie Wright	60th	24:02.7
Sean Sands	29th	26:20.5		Mia Crocker	71st	24:09.9
Alec Ritter	42nd	26:32.9		Eugenia Palko	105th	24:42.2

  The remainder of the WWU Cross Country squad (6 men, 2 women) will compete Saturday in the Ken Garland Invitational hosted by Saint Martin's University on its campus course in Lacey. Racing begins at 10:50 am with the women's 6K, followed by the men's 8K at 11:40 am.
  The Vikings will host the 47th Annual WWU Classic, renamed the WWU Bill Roe Classic, on Saturday, October 9, 2021 at Sudden Valley Golf Course in Bellingham. Annually one of the best competitions in the Northwest, WWU will be hosting the event at Sudden Valley for the third time in recent years, after competing at Lake Padden for a number of years. The men's 10K is scheduled to start at 10 am and the women's 6K will follow at 11 am.
 
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.