FERNDALE, Wash. – Sten Brakstad and Jonah Billings didn't have to say a word to each other.

 

Each guy knew what the other guy was thinking – and when he was thinking it.

 

The two sophomores made a big move together on the final loop, forging a 2-3 finish and leading Western Washington's men to the team title in the 51st Bill Roe WWU Classic on Saturday morning at Hovander Homestead Park.

 

The Vikings, ranked No. 16 nationally and No. 3 in the West Region, had three in the top 10 and totaled 36 points, well ahead of second-place Club Northwest's 106 and the next closest collegiate program Trinity Western at 111.

 

For the second meet in a row, it was a WWU sweep of the team crowns. And for the second meet in a row, it was different leaders in both races.

 

While Brakstad and Billings set the pace on the men's side, junior Ella Edens was doing likewise for the women. She finished fourth overall (3rd among collegiate runners), and Western, No. 6 in the West Region, had all five of its scorers among the top 10 for 36 points. GNAC foe Simon Fraser was second with 58.

 

"The women started off with a really impressive performance and took momentum from their first race (the Gator Cross on Sept. 13) and carried it forward," assistant coach / distance coach T.J. Garlatz said. "It was exciting to see Ella lead the team and a lot of other Vikings close by.

 

"Johan and Sten up front did great in the guys race and George (Fernandez) had probably his best 8K that he's run," Garlatz added. "We just need to keep closing the pack with those three to make it a strong team."

 

MEN: KNOWING WHEN IT'S 'GO' TIME

Brakstad and Billings were among the leaders for the entire 8 kilometers, mixing it up with a trio of Trinity Western runners, with former WWU teammate Kevin McDermott (now running with the Premature Acceleration club team) also up there.

 

Heading onto the last of the four loops around picturesque Homestead Park, the two Vikings were side by side in third and fourth behind Trinity's Yemane Mulugeta and Justin Kiplagat. It was inside the final kilometer when they made their surge.

 

"Heading into that last lap, I saw Jonah at the front, and we train together every day," Brakstad said. "When you're out there in the race and you see your man out there, that makes you feel strong. I just knew I had to cue off of him. We just knew it was time to go, and we started moving up. We had people in front of us and we sort of took turns at the front pushing each other, and that made it so much easier on that last lap."

 

Mulugeta pulled away from everyone else and won in 23 minutes, 51.3 seconds. Brakstad clocked 24:07.8, and Billings was right behind in 24:09.6.

 

"It just felt like we were able to keep winding it up, keep the ball rolling, keep the momentum going," Billings said. "It's so much easier when you have a guy like Sten next to you."

 

Fernandez, a sophomore who led Western at Gator Cross two weeks ago, was ninth overall and No. 3 for the team in 24:17.9. A pack of three – sophomore Spencer Zeljak, senior Logan Warner, and junior Jared Alderfer – were 12-13-14, just 3.1 seconds apart at the wire

 

WOMEN: STICKING TOGETHER

Two weeks ago at Gator Cross, the five Western Washington scorers finished within 25 seconds of each other on a short 4-kilometer course.

 

Saturday's race was a standard 6K, and the top five were even closer, separated by just 20 seconds.

 

Leading the way and leading the chase pack behind the top three finishers was Edens, a junior. She stopped the watch in 21:20.5. Simon Fraser's Rachael Watkins, one of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's top returners, won in 21:00.2, with Red Leaf teammate Raiya Makanovich next in 21:03.4. Sally Crowther of Club Northwest was third in 21:08.8.

 

"It felt way better than the (Gator) 4K," Edens said. "I felt like I got out a little more conservative and didn't hit a wall like I did (last time). I took it off lap by lap and kind of separated the race out. I ran with the Simon Fraser girl who helped me through that entire race."

 

Seniors Emmy Kroontje (21:28.2) and Alexis Parker (21:33.3) went 6-7, with junior Jill Philbin(21:36.8) and sophomore Sabrina Colbert (21:40.6) placing 9-10.

 

"It makes it way easier to run and work with the group," Kroontje said. "Anyone who is having a good day can take it, and everyone else can sit on it and focus and get back in the race. That really helps."

 

Saturday's meet is named in honor of longtime WWU coach Bill Roe, who coached Vikings distance runners from 1985-2020. He also was active in putting on cross country and track meet, and held numerous high-level leadership positions in various governing bodies for both sports.

 

Copy contributed by Mark Moschetti

 

WWU is back in action in two weeks on October 11 with a pair of meets, traveling to Romeoville, Illinois for the Lewis Crossover and down to Seattle for the Emerald City Open at Lower Woodland Park.

 

Here is a look at the final team scoring from the 51st Bill Roe WWU Classic held at Hovander Homestead Park in Ferndale. WWU won both the men's 8K and women's 6K team races.

 

 

Here is a look at the men's results from the 8K race for the Viking men at the Bill Roe Classic. WWU recorded a team score of 36.0 to place first among nine scoring colleges:

 

 

Here is a look at the women's results from the 6K race for the Viking women at the Bill Roe WWU Classic held at Hovander Homestead Park. WWU recorded a team score of 36.0 placing first of eight collegiate teams that fielded a full lineup.

 

 

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.