FERNDALE, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's and women's cross country teams put in a winning performance at Saturday's Bill Roe Classic held at Hovander Homestead Park.

 

This marked the second consecutive season the Vikings swept the team titles at its annual home event honoring one of the pioneers in Northwest Cross Country and Track & Field – Bill Roe. The Western men have won four of the last five years and the women's team enjoyed a threepeat of the team title.

 

The No. 9 nationally-ranked men's squad posted a team score of 31 in the 8K to finish ahead of second-place Trinity Western (46). Senior Jared Alderfer led the Vikings placing 2nd overall with a time of 24:07.5 with TWU Justin Kiplagat winning in 24;06.2. WWU had five runners in the top 10, seven in the top 12 and 11 in the top 20.

 

The Viking women also recorded a team win edging Central Washington with a team score of 44 to the Wildcats 54. Senior Ella Edens won the 6K with a time of 20:48.0, well ahead of second-place Abigail Yakemchuk of UBC Okanagan (21:02.8). Edens became the first Viking to win the WWU/Bill Roe Classic since Hall of Famer Sarah Porter (Crouch) won three consecutive years from 2008-10.

 

"Today was a great start to our competitive racing season. The team has been training hard the last three months with our eyes on the championship part of our schedule," said WWU distance coach T.J. Garlatz. "We feel like we are in a really great place to achieve our goals for this season. I'm very proud of Jared and Ella for leading the team and showing what a good strong summer of training can help accomplish."

 

WWU is back in action in two weeks on October 10 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 52nd 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 31.0 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 44.0 placing first of eight collegiate teams that fielded a full lineup.

 

 

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.