BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Led by a dominating performance by senior Ella Edens to win the women's 6K race, the Western Washington University Cross Country team put together an all-around solid team performance Saturday at the WWU Padden Invitational at Lake Padden Park.

 

Edens finished nearly a minute ahead of the rest of the field clocking 20:54.1 in the race around picturesque Lake Padden. Edens also won the Bill Roe Classic in September and placed third at the Lewis Crossover to set up a big postseason ahead with the GNAC Championships in two weeks.

 

The Western women's squad had eight runners in the top 10 to pull away with the team victory with 19.0 points, with senior Josephine Stevenson (21:48.8) and sophomore Cecilia Villagomez Edvalson (21:55.4) placing second and third behind Edens.

 

The Viking men rested their top seven runners who are going through a tough training block heading into the postseason gauntlet and showed their team depth placing second with a team score of 37.0. Junior Luke Reiss led four Vikings in the top 10 placing third with an 8K time of 25:02.8. Freshman Rowan Jung (6th, 25:14.8), junior Liam Rapp (7th, 25:21.1) and senior Diego Rodriguez (10th, 25:25.6) turned in top 10 performances. 

"Today was a great step forward as we prepare to enter the championship part of our season," said WWU Distance Coach T.J. Garlatz. "The women's team has made huge strides since Lewis and we're very confident at where we are at heading into GNAC. Ella once again ran phenomenally and it was very impressive to see Josephine and Cece both go under 22 on a tough Padden course with a lot of history.

"On the men's side, it was great to give many of our younger and less-experience team members an opportunity to shine," added Garlatz. "They stepped up and ran well despite us sitting many of our top runners who will bring back for our championship portion of the season. Luke once again had a great performance and it was awesome to see Rowan healthy and moving in the right direction. We expect great things at GNAC."
 

Seniors Justin Kiplagat (24:35.7) and David Mutai (24:52.8) finished 1-2 in the men's 8K to lead Trinity Western (Langley, B.C.) to the team title with a score of 30.0.

 

The Vikings head into the postseason for their next week competing at the 2026 GNAC Championships on Saturday, November 7 at Ash Creek Preserve on the campus of Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon. WWU is the four-time defending conference champion in both men's and women's cross country at the GNAC Championships.

 

Here is a look at the final team scoring from the WWU Padden Invitational held at Lake Padden Park in Bellingham:

 

 

Here is a look at the women's results from the 6K race for the Viking women at the WWU Padden Invitational:

 

 

Here is a look at the men's results from the 8K race for the Viking men at the WWU Padden Invitational:

 

 

The 2026 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.