SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Western Washington University cross country team wrapped up a historic season with both the men's and women's teams placing in the top 15 at the NCAA Division II National Championships on the Arcade Creek XC Course at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex.

 

The Viking women earned an 11th-place team finish lead by All-American Ashley Reeck and the men placed 13th. Both programs put together an outstanding season with matching GNAC team championships (third straight sweep) and runner-up honors at the West Regional Championships.

 

With both teams advancing to nationals for the second consecutive season and 10th time in program history, the 2024 finishes marked the first time since 2014 that both teams placed in the top 15 with each race fielding 34 teams.

 

Led by a repeat All-American performance from junior Ashley Reeck (33rd place) and three total runners placing in the top 100 the Vikings earned an 11th-place finish at the national championships marking the 5th-best finish in 11 trips to nationals.

 

Making its 11th trip to nationals (fourth in last six seasons), the Vikings earned an 11th-place finish with a team score of 384. The finish is the best by a WWU women's squad since placing 6th in 2015 and a three-spot improvement over last season's 14th-place finish.

 

WWU was the top West Region team in the final 34-team standings, inching ahead of GNAC rival Alaska Fairbanks over the last portion of the race and well ahead of West Region champion Chico State. The Vikings recorded a team score of 384 to push past UAF (394) and Chico State (411).

 

Senior Sophie Wright was WWU's second finisher in 89th place completing the 6K in 22:03.8 and senior Ila Davis was 95th in 22:07.5. The Vikings final four runners were bunched up running as a pack with redshirt freshman Danielle McLain (113th, 22:17.6), sophomore Ella Edens (114th, 22:17.8), senior Emma Smith (122nd, 22:20.9) and senior Mia Crocker (125th, 22:21.9) completing a great day for the Vikings.

 

Adams State won its 21st national title returning to the podium after a one-year hiatus with a team score of 38 to claim its third title in the last four years at the Division II level. West Texas A&M earned runner-up team honors with a score of 96, followed by CSU-Pueblo in 3rd place (122), 2023 national champion Grand Valley State in 4th (138) and Colorado School of Mines (235) rounding out the top five.

 

Lauren Kiley of Grand Valley State won the individual title holding off Kendall Kramer of Alaska Fairbanks at the finish for a two-second victory in 20:28.5. Annika Esvelt of Seattle Pacific placed 4th in 20:34.5 and Rosie Fordham completed a big GNAC top 10 finishing 8th in 20:43.7.

 

Here is a look at the individual performances by the WWU women at the NCAA Championships. Junior Ashley Reeck earned USTFCCCA All-America honors for the second consecutive season for placing in the top 45 individually in 33rd place (was 30th last season). Reeck (21:22.1) led three Vikings in the top 100 in the 260-runner field, with senior Sophie Wright (89th, 22:03.8) and senior Ila Davis (95th, 22:07.5) earning top 100 placings. All seven Western runners were in the top 125 of the field.

 

 

In its 14th trip to nationals the Vikings placed 13th out of 34 teams with a solid team score of 379, marking the highest finish by a WWU men's squad since also placing 13th in 2014. WWU concluded an excellent season by winning its third consecutive GNAC title and tying its highest finish at the NCAA West Regional earning runner-up honors.

 

Senior Jeret Gillingham led the Vikings placing 48th in a time of 30:41.2 making a late push for All-America honors (top 45). Gillingham moved up from 101st place at the 6.2K mark finishing strong for a top-50 placing in his final competition as a Viking.

 

Sophomore Jared Alderfer was solid in his NCAA Championships debut finishing 75th in 31:04.3 and senior Kevin McDermott concluded his great cross country career as a Viking placing 95th in 31:18.4.

 

Junior George Karamitsos (31:26.7) was the fourth-best Viking finisher in 110th place and redshirt freshman Jonah Billings made his NCAA Championships debut placing 119th in 31:29.8 while running a collegiate 10K for the first time. Senior All-Region and All-GNAC runner Ryan Clough battled sickness throughout the week leading up to Saturday's race and finished in 33:30.3.

 

Colorado School of Mines overcame Wingate in the final stretch of the race to win its fourth national title with a team score of 63, edging the No. 1 nationally-ranked team entering the meet Wingate placing second with 66 points. Adams State (111) finished 3rd, West Texas A&M (134) was 4th and Grand Valley State (167) completed the top five in the 34-team field. West Region champion Chico State finished 6th with 192 points while facing close to home in Northern California.

 

William Amponsah of West Texas A&M won his second individual national title in 29:40.8 with Ryan Hartman of Augustana (SD) earning runner-up honors in 29:45.9. 

 

Here is a look at the individual performances by the WWU men at the NCAA Championships with the team earning a 13th-place finish with a score of 379. WWU's five scoring runners featured a trio in the top 100 in the 262-runner field, led by senior Jeret Gillingham just missing All-America honors placing 48th in 30:41.2. Sophomore Jared Alderfer was 75th in 31:04.3 and senior Kevin McDermott finished 95th in 31:18.4. Senior Ryan Clough, who earned runner-up honors at the regional meet two weeks ago, battled sickness all week and finished 236th in 33:30.3. Here is a look at WWU's individuals results:

 

 

The 2024 championships marked the 10th time in program history that both the women's and men's programs raced at the NCAA II National Championships. It was the 10th trip to nationals for the women's program (2nd straight) and 14th trip to nationals for the men (third straight). Here is a look at WWU's prior finishes at the NCAA West Regional and NCAA II National Championships since joining the NCAA in 1998:

 

 

Here are some of the details about the 2024 NCAA II National Championships that were held at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex and Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, California:

 

·         What: 2024 NCAA II Cross Country National Championships

·         When: Saturday, November 23, 2024

·         Where: Sacramento, CA

·         Course: Arcade Creek XC Course 

·         Time: Men's 10K (10 am), Women's 6K (11:15 am)

·         Live Results

·         Watch Live at NCAA.com

·         Meet Info

·         Course Map

·         GNAC History at NCAA Championships

 

Here is a look at the final steam standings for the men's 10K and the women's 6K at the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships:

 

 

Several Vikings have made multiple trips to an NCAA Championships event during their career as a WWU student-athlete. Here is a look at how many national championships this weekend's competitors have made, with Ila Davis leading the way with her sixth trip to a national meet and Jeret Gillingham his fifth:

 

• Ila Davis: 6th trip to nationals (2024 outdoor, 2024 indoor, 2023 XC, 2023 outdoor, 2022 outdoor)
• Jeret Gillingham: 5th trip to nationals (2024 outdoor, 2023 XC, 2023 Outdoor, 2022 XC)
• Kevin McDermott: 4th trip to nationals (2024 indoor, 2023 XC, 2022 XC)
• Ryan Clough: 3rd trip to nationals (2023 XC, 2022 XC)
• George Karamitsos: 3rd trip to nationals (2022 XC, 2022 outdoor DIII)
• Ashley Reeck: 3rd trip to nationals (2024 outdoor, 2023 XC)
• Sophie Wright: 3rd trip to nationals (2024 indoor, 2023 XC)
• Mia Crocker: 2nd trip to nationals (2023 XC)
• Emma Smith 2nd trip to nationals (2023 XC)

 

The 2024 WWU cross country schedule featured four regular-season meets and three postseason competitions with both the men and women advancing to the NCAA Division II National Championships. The complete season schedule with links to recaps, results and live timing is available at WWUVikings.com/XC.