LAKEWOOD, Wash. – When George Fernandez arrived at Fort Steilacoom Park for last year's season-opening cross country meet, he had barely a week's worth of training under his shoes, as he was coming back from a summertime injury. He finished in the middle of the pack.
 
Different story on Saturday. No injury, lots of training … and a finish way up near the front of the pack.
 
The Western Washington sophomore made a big move in the final 2 kilometers and nearly chased down the winner at the wire on Saturday, finishing second overall and leading the Vikings men to the team title in the Gator Cross.
 
Fernandez, who was 42nd last year in 18:36.9, stopped the watch on Saturday in 18:00.0 for his 6 kilometers around the flat course of brown, dry grass. That was just three-tenths of a second behind Portland's Jacob Hupke, who barely out-leaned him at the line in 17:59.7.
 
"It was going to come down to grit at the end of the day, and I held in there," Fernandez said. "At 2K, I was a second or so back, then at 4K, the pack started making a move toward that final lap. I caught up slowly, and with 800 to go, I just gritted it out and started grinding it to get to first.
 
"I almost had him down the home stretch– I gave it everything I had," he added. "I was hoping for a better time, but I'm proud the team came away with the win."
 
Western Washington, the preseason favorite to capture its fourth consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, got that win with 35 points, edging Portland's 41. Last year, the Division I Pilots won with a perfect score of 15 while the Vikings were second with 74.
 
In fact, WWU made it a team title sweep. The women, also the preseason GNAC favorite for a fourth consecutive crown, won with 21 points, led by the second-place finish of junior Jill Philbin.
 
The men's meet was essentially a dual between the Vikings and Portland for nearly all the 6 kilometers, with a pair of Trinity Western runners also among the leaders.
 
While Hupke and Fernandez dueled it out down the final strides to the finish line, Will Henry and Sten Brakstad placed fifth and sixth overall, both ahead of their Nos. 2 and 3 counterparts from Portland, who were seventh and eighth. Johan Billings of Western was ninth, ahead of the No. 4 Pilot (11th), and Spencer Zeljak (13th) beat the No. 5 Portland finisher (14th).
 
That ultimately made the difference.
 
"For George, that finish was amazing, just to see that competitive spirit out of him," WWU head coach Ben Stensland said. "It was great to see Will Henry up there, and Sten and Jonah did great. It was definitely some great performances out there, a great team effort."
 
Philbin, a junior, is in just her second year of college cross country. She won the GNAC outdoor 1500 meters title last spring on her home track at Civic Stadium and essentially picked up right where she left off. The only person ahead of her at the finish line was Seattle Pacific's Maya Ewing. But Philbin, with her time of 13:50.8 for 4 kilometers, was nine seconds clear of everyone else.
 
"It felt good, and it felt like we had a good, exciting field," Philbin said. "I think a lot of us are younger and it was kind of anyone's game. I think what helped us a lot was our team working together. Emmy (Kroontje) took the lead at one point and encouraged us to stay engaged and to keep our eyes on her. And T.J. (coach Garlatz) gave us some reminders, as well."
 
Philbin was the first of four consecutive Vikings across the line, with Ella Edens third, Kroontje fourth, and Alexis Parker fifth. Newcomer Sabrina Colbert was seventh to round out the scoring, and the entire WWU top 7 was among the top 10 overall.
 
"Jill had a big breakthrough in the spring, and we were hopeful we would see a big improvement on the grass, and she definitely came to play," Garlatz said. "We graduated five of the seven girls who ran at the national meet for us last year, so besides having to replace their scores, we were also having to replace their leadership. It was nice to see all the student-athletes step up who hadn't been there for us previously."
 
Copy contributed by Mark Moschetti

Here is a look at the final team scoring from the season-opening Green River Gator Cross held at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood. WWU won both the men's 6K and women's 4K team races.

 

 

Here is a look at the men's results from the 6K season-opening race for the Viking men at the Gator Cross at Fort Steilacoom Park. WWU recorded a team score of 35 place first among eight scoring colleges:

 

 

Here is a look at the women's results from the 4K season-opening race for the Viking women at the Gator Cross at Fort Steilacoom Park. WWU recorded a team score of 21 placing first of six teams that fielded a full lineup.

 

 

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 is coming off a pair of top 15 finishes at the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships, with the women placing 11th and men 13th after both taking runner-up honors at the regional championship:

 

• WWU Men: No. 2 in West Region, No. 15 in NCAA II
• WWU Women: No. 4 in West Region, No. 28 in NCAA II

 

The 2025 WWU cross country schedule features four regular-season meets, followed by the GNAC Championships, NCAA II West Regional and the NCAA II Championships. Start times for all meets will be posted online at WWUVikings.com/XC when they are finalized.