Vikings on quest to unseat Simon Fraser at GNAC champs Saturday in Oregon...
While the Pre-Nationals two weeks ago gave the ten schools in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference an opportunity to see themselves in action against the best in the region, it's going down for real Saturday at the conference championship meet in Monmouth, Oregon, hosted by Western Oregon University.
Western Washington, which was the top GNAC squad at the Pre-Nationals in both competitions, looks to win the conference crowns and unseat defending team champions Simon Fraser.
The women's team race could be close between the Vikings and the Red Leafs, who have met twice this season at the Bill Roe Classic and at Pre-Nationals, with Western prevailing in both matchups. However, Simon Fraser got within four points of Western at Pre-Nationals, with the Vikings nosing out the Red Leafs 242-246 for eighth place.
Team leader Mia Crocker (# 636/Paul Merca photo) will have to stay in front of, or close to Simon Fraser's Grace Chalk (# 548 in photo) for the Vikings to unseat the Red Leafs as conference champions. That said, Crocker beat Chalk by 18 seconds over 6k at the Bill Roe Classic in Ferndale, while Chalk turned the tables at Pre-Nationals, finishing 22nd in 21:50, while Crocker was 38th in 22:09.
Sophomore Ila Davis is the Vikings’ top returning finisher from last year’s conference meet, placing 14th, but has yet to compete this season.
Saint Martin’s is poised to move up in the final standings thanks in part to Alauna Carstens. The freshman was the top GNAC finisher at the San Francisco State Invitational and placed 11th at Pre-Nationals, trailing only the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks’ trio in terms of GNAC runners. Sophomores Cassidy Walchak-Sloan and Sara Sabra, the Saints’ top returning conference placers, return to provide the team a solid top three.
Seattle Pacific’s young lineup is led by sophomore Annika Esvelt, who placed ninth last year and was the Falcons’ top finisher at Pre-Nationals.
The men's team competition expects to go between defending champ Simon Fraser and Western Washington. While Simon Fraser returns four of its five scoring runners from last year and six of their varsity seven, the Vikings haven't lost to anyone in the conference this season, winning their own Bill Roe Classic, and finishing fourth at Pre-Nationals, ahead of the Red Leafs, who were sixth.
Western sophomore Jeret Gillingham placed eighth at last year’s conference meet, while fellow sophomore Kevin McDermott has been the team leader at the last three races--the Bill Roe Classic, the Lewis Crossover, and the Pre-Nationals.
Saint Martin’s has exhibited considerable improvement this season after placing eighth at conference last year. Sophomores Isaac Cortes and Kainalu Pagente have led the resurgence, which included a fourth-place team finish at the San Francisco State Invitational where both runners ran lifetime best times. The Saints also return senior Jack Farrell, who placed eighth last year.
Central Washington will be led by juniors Shawn Clough and Ty Savely, who have paced the Wildcats as season-long No. 1 and No. 2 runners. Seattle Pacific is led by its only upperclassman in junior Brennan Le Blanc, who has three top-30 finishes this season.
Action at the GNAC championships gets underway at 10 am with the men's 8k race, and the women's 6k race at 11 am.
NOTE: The Great Northwest Athletic Conference contributed to this report.
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