Both Western Washington squads earn national rankings after winning GNAC titles...

NEW ORLEANS—The Western Washington men’s and women’s cross country teams were more than Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions, as both squads find themselves in the national top 25, according to the latest USTFCCCA Division II coaches’ poll released Wednesday.

After being unranked all season long, the Viking men (above/photo courtesy Jenna Martin, GNAC) are ranked number 21 after winning their fifth GNAC title last Saturday in snowy Billings, Montana.

Meanwhile, the Viking women were rewarded by the national voters for winning their first conference title in program history, as they moved up three spots to number 11.

Alaska Anchorage, the GNAC runner-ups, moved three spots to number 13, while pre-season favorite Seattle Pacific dropped seven spots to number 14 after finishing third in the conference championship.

The nation’s top five men’s teams are in order: Colorado School of Mines, Chico State, Adams State, Grand Valley State, and Western Colorado.

Western Washington is the only GNAC school ranked in the men’s national top 25.

The nation’s top five Division II women's teams are in order: Adams State, Grand Valley State, Colorado School of Mines, Chico State, and U-Mary.

The next competition for Western Washington and Seattle Pacific is the NCAA West Regionals on November 9th in Monmouth, Oregon.

The USTFCCCA release is available here.

NOTE: The USTFCCCA contributed to this report.