Vikings sweep Great Northwest Athletic Conference cross country titles...
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| Members of the Western Washington women's cross country team hold up the championship banner after winning the GNAC title. (Jenna Martin/GNAC photo) |
On a snowy morning at Billings’ Ament Park, the Vikings of Western Washington took that path, winning both the men’s and women’s titles.
In the opening women’s 6k race, the Vikings had three top-10 finishers and had a gap of just 26 seconds between the No. 1 and No. 5 runners to claim the trophy with a total of 53 points. The Seawolves were a close second place with 60 points and Seattle Pacific was just four points behind in third place with 64 points.
Alaska Anchorage senior Emmah Chelimo repeated as the conference individual champion, holding the lead from start to finish to win in a time of 21:32. Seattle Pacific senior Kate Lilly finished second in a time of 21:40 while Alaska Anchorage junior Nancy Jeptoo was third in a time of 21:56.
Dania Holmberg of the Falcons was fourth in 22:03.
Meanwhile, the race was won for the Vikings in the pack. Three WWU runners earned All-GNAC honors, led by junior Jane Barr’s eighth-place finish in 22:27. Sophomore Rebecca Lehman was ninth in a time of 22:30 and senior Tracy Melville was 10th in a time of 22:40.
Senior Sophia Galvez finished 11th in a time of 22:44 and sophomore Tovah Swartz-Ireland rounded out the scoring five, placing 15th in 22:53, giving the Vikings their 26-second 1-5 split.
The Falcons, the nation’s number 7 team going into the conference championship meet, once again ran without All American sophomore Kaylee Mitchell.
Behind Lilly & Holmberg, junior Elizabeth Thompson recorded her first top-20 conference finish, placing 17th in 22:59. Redshirt freshman Kelsey Washenberger joined her in the top 20, taking 19th in 23:03, and senior Katherine Walter completed the scoring in 22nd, clocking 23:09, giving the Falcons a 1-5 split of 1:29.
Central Washington finished seventh with 168 points, led by Molly Mattson’s 24th place finish in 23:21. Saint Martin’s was 11th with 307 points, as Elaina Hansen was their top finisher in 44th place in 24:29.
Like their female counterparts, the Vikings relied on pack running to win their first title in a decade.
Senior James Jasperson led the way for the Vikings, placing fourth in a time of 25:25 over 8,000 meters. Junior Edward Kilobasa placed fifth in a time of 25:26, while freshman Deyago Peraza was sixth in 25:28 and senior Liam Cossette was seventh in a time of 25:29.
With junior Eric Hamel’s 16th place time of 25:45, the Vikings easily took the team title with a score of 38 points, and a 1-5 split of 20 seconds.
Simon Fraser finished second with 76 points and Alaska Anchorage placed third with 79 points.
The Seawolves had the individual champion for the second year in a row with junior Felix Kemboi running away from the field to take the crown in a time of 25:44. Western Oregon senior Justin Crosswhite was second in 24:55 while UAA junior Wesley Kirui, last year’s individual champion, placed third in 21:11.
Seattle Pacific finished fifth with 120 points, led by Elius Graff, who finished ninth in 25:30. Central Washington was seventh with 168 points, as Trevor Allen crossed the line in ninth in 25:33. Saint Martin’s was ninth with 259 points, led by Marcus Rice, who finished 29th in 26:27.
Next up for all 11 GNAC teams is the NCAA Division II West Region Championships, which will take place on Sat., Nov. 9 at the Ash Creek Preserve on the Western Oregon University campus in Monmouth, Oregon.
Complete results of the GNAC Championships are available here.
NOTE: The Great Northwest Athletic Conference contributed to this report.
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