ANCHORAGE – For the second consecutive season and the third time in the last four seasons, the Western Washington University cross country program swept the team titles at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships.

 

Saturday's edition of the GNAC meet returned to the site of the first event held in 2001 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage.

 

The WWU men won its seventh team title with four All-GNAC performers finishing in the top 10, led by individual winner Kevin McDermott. The Western women continued its program rise winning its third league title, all coming since 2019. Sophomores Ashley Reeck and Ila Davis both earned All-GNAC honors.

 

McDermott became just the second WWU men's winner in the 22-year history of the GNAC Cross Country Championships and first since 2002.

 

WWU also swept team titles in 2019 and 2022, with no event being held in 2000 due to the pandemic. WWU also swept the 2023 Outdoor Track & Field Championships team titles in May.

 

"It was a good start to the day with the women setting the tone for what ended up being a really great day for the program," said WWU Assistant Coach and Cross Country lead T.J. Garlatz. "And the men capped the day completing our goal of winning two titles today. Both teams have been working hard and had really great races."

The Viking women claimed their third GNAC team title and second in a row with a team score of 49, placing the five scoring runners in the top 15 in the 100-runner field. WWU was 22 points better than second-place Saint Martin's in the team standings and well ahead of third-place Alaska Fairbanks with 86 points.

 

WWU ran as a tight pack with the five scoring runners separated by just 34 seconds. Sophomore Ashley Reeck placed 4th in 21:16.9 and sophomore Ila Davis was 7th in 21:30.0 to both earn All-GNAC honors for top-10 individual finishes. Reeck and Davis both set personal-best marks in a 6K collegiate race.

 

Senior Marian Ledesma just missed All-GNAC honors placing 11th in a personal-best time of 21:46.3 and junior Meaera Nystrom was 13th in 21:50.2. Junior Sophie Wright returned to her home state placing 14th in 21:51.2 and freshman Ella Edens ran a PR placing 15th in 21:54.7. Edens was named the GNAC Freshman of the Year with her performance as the top finishing freshman in the field.

 

Kendall Kramer of Alaska Fairbanks repeated as the individual champion covering the course in 20:47 for nine-second victory over teammate Rosie Fordham (20:56).

 

Here is a look at the team standings from the 2023 GNAC Championships Women's 6K, with the Vikings returning to the podium for the second consecutive season and third time in program history, all since 2019:

 

 

Here is a look at the individual performances by the WWU women at the GNAC Championships with finishers in the top 10 earn All-GNAC honors:

 

 

 

The Viking men strung together another dominating team performance with four runners placing in the top 10 to earn All-GNAC honors. WWU finished with a team score of 37 to place well ahead of second-place and meet host Alaska Anchorage for a 14-point victory.

 

The title marks the second straight for the Viking men and third in the last four championships dating back to 2019. WWU has now won seven team titles in the 22-year history of the event.

 

Junior Kevin McDermott completed the 8K course in 24:43.5 to win the individual title, becoming the second Viking men's cross country winner to win the GNAC Championship race and first since 2002.

 

Senior Andrew Oslin earned All-GNAC honors for the second consecutive year placing 5th in 25:07.9, followed by All-GNAC performances from juniors Ryan Clough (9th, 25:21.2) and Jeret Gillingham (10th, 25:21.6). The Vikings had seven runners finish in the top 20 with a spread of 57-seconds by the top seven.

 

Here is a look at the team standings from the 2023 GNAC Championships Men's 8K, with WWU earning its seventh team title in the 22-year history of the event.

 

 

Here is a look at the individual performances by the WWU men at the GNAC Championships, with four student-athletes earning All-GNAC honors for the top-10 finish:

 

 

Following the trip North to Alaska for the GNAC Championships in Anchorage, WWU will take a week off to get ready for the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships November 4 at Ash Creek in Monmouth, Oregon. The top three finishing teams from each of the eight regional meets receive an automatic spot in the NCAA Championships held November 18 in Joplin, Missouri, with 10 at-large teams also selected to form the 34-team field at nationals. The complete 2023 WWU Cross Country schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/23_XC.

 

Here is a look at how the Vikings have finished at the GNAC Cross Country Championships, with a detailed history of the event available online at GNACSports.com. The WWU men have won seven titles and nine runner-up finishes, while the women have won titles in 2019, 2022 and 2023, and have four runner-up finishes.

 

 

Here is a list of the competitors that RACED for the Vikings in Anchorage at the 2023 GNAC Cross Country Championships:

 

 

Both the WWU men's and women's cross country programs hold regional and national rankings in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) polls:

 

• WWU Men: No. 3 in West Region, No. 12 in NCAA II
• WWU Women: No. 2 in West Region, No. 25 in NCAA II

 

Here is a look at the national week-by-week national rankings for the Vikings in 2023:

 

 

Fans can follow WWU Cross Country online at WWUVikings.com/XC, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUTFXC), Instagram (@WWUTFXC) and Facebook (@WWUTFXC).