BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University cross country team wraps up the regular-season schedule this weekend at the D2 Pre-Nationals Meet at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place.
The Vikings will field a full squad at the meet that will feature the men's 8K starting at 10 am and the women's 6K following at 11:20 am. Both the men's and women's races will feature an open portion of the race and a Division II race, which limits teams to 10 entries.
The meet will serve as a preview for the NCAA Division II National Championships that will be held Friday, December 2 at the same location. Seattle Pacific University serves as the D2 Pre-Nationals host.
D2 Pre-Nationals Meet Schedule:
- Men's Open 8K, 10 am
- Men's Division II 8K, 10:40 am
- Women's Open 6K, 11:20 am
- Women's Division II 6K, Noon
- Awards Ceremony, 12:45 p.m.
The Viking men are ranked No. 20 in the nation and one of six nationally-ranked programs set to compete in the D2 Pre-Nationals meet: No. 1 Colorado School of Mines, No. 5 Chico State, No. 10 Western Colorado, No. 20 Western Washington, No. 22 Simon Fraser and No. 25 Cal Poly Pomona make up the elite list of team entries.
WWU's women are listed No. 29 in the most recent USTFCCCA Coaches Poll and will match up against four other top 30 programs with No. 3 Colorado School of Mines, No. 11 Western Colorado, No. 12 Chico State and No. 20 Biola on Saturday.
The Vikings are coming off as strong showing at the Lewis Crossover with the men placing third and women seventh in one of the biggest regional invitationals in the nation.
Following Saturday's racing at Chambers Creek, the Vikings will head into the postseason with the GNAC Championships on November 5 in Monmouth, Oregon and the NCAA West Regional will be held November 19 in Billings, Montana.
The complete 2022 WWU Cross Country schedule and results can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/22_XC.
With the regular-season schedule wrapping up this weekend at the D2 Pre-National Meet, the Vikings will turn their attention to the postseason with the 2022 GNAC Championships held November 5 at Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Oregon. The NCAA Division II West Regional will be held two weeks after the GNAC Championships November 19 in Billings, Montana.
GNAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
The Vikings have had three runners earn the GNAC Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor this season:
USTFCCCA NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Viking men are listed No. 20 in the men's national USTFCCCA Coaches Poll and the women are No. 29 heading into Saturday's D2 Pre-Nationals XC Meet at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place. In the West Region polls, the men are listed No. 3 and women No. 5. Here is a look at the national week-by-week rankings this season for the Vikings:
|
Team
|
Preseason
|
Week #1
|
Week #2
|
Week #3
|
Week #4
|
Week #5
|
|
WWU – Men
|
30
|
29
|
24
|
26
|
17
|
20
|
|
WWU – Women
|
20
|
20
|
19
|
18
|
28
|
29
|
The Following notes on the Vikings were featured in the GNAC Cross Country Weekly Report produced by GNAC Director of Communications Blake Timm:
- Western Washington did not compete last week. The Vikings will join the rest of the conference at the Division II Pre-Nationals on Saturday at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place.
- Competing in one of the country's larger Division II invitationals, Western Washington ran to a third-place men's finish and a seventh-place women's finish at the Lewis Crossover on Oct. 8 in Romeoville, Illinois.
- The Vikings men compiled a score of 82 points, just two points behind second-place Illinois-Springfield. The team grouped well again with just 19 seconds between the scoring five.
- Sophomore Kevin McDermott led the Vikings with his seventh-place finish, covering the 8,000-meter course in a time of 24:18 (earning GNAC co-Runner of the Week honors). Sophomore Jeret Gillingham placed 16th in a time of 24:29. Sophomore Ryan Clough rounded out WWU's top 20 finishers, placing 19th in a time of 24:35.5.
- The WWU women finished with a score of 210 points. Sophomore Sophie Wright led the Vikings, placing 23rd in a time of 22:27.1 over 6,000 meters and sophomore Mia Crocker was 28th in 22:35.8.
- The WWU men dropped three spots to No. 20 in this week's USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll. The WWU women dropped one spot in the coaches poll to No. 29.
Fans can follow WWU Cross Country online at WWUVikings.com/XC, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUTFXC), Instagram (@WWUTFXC) and Facebook (@WWUTFXC).
