The GNAC championship goes through Western Washington Saturday in Anchorage...
The focus on the trails and grass this weekend turns to Washington's four Division II schools as they travel north to Anchorage, Alaska for Saturday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference cross country championships at Kincaid Park.
Anyone planning to grab the GNAC championship on either the men's or women's side must go through the Vikings of Western Washington, the defending champions.
The Viking men rose as high as number 10 in the USTFCCCA national rankings, and enter the championship week ranked twelfth on the men’s side and fifteenth on the women’s side in the latest poll.
WWU figures to face stern competition from the meet hosts, as Alaska Anchorage’s men jumped to number 20 in the national rankings – their highest position of the 2023 season – a week prior to the championship race.
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
Viking sophomore Ashley Reeck (#1426/Paul Merca photo) has been the team’s top performer this fall, claiming GNAC Runner of the Week after winning the Puget Sound Invitational in September before running her collegiate-best 6k time of 21:41 at the Lewis Crossover where she placed 18th. The Vikings’ most recent meet, unlike their early sweep, did provide a stern test of their competitive ability and they came through with flying colors. WWU finished sixth among a field of 33 teams at the Lewis Crossover October 7th, vaulting the Vikings to a number 15 national ranking entering the GNAC Championships.
Despite the loss of NCAA qualifier Alauna Carstens, who transferred to Evergreen State, Cassidy Walchak-Sloan of Saint Martin's has filled in where Carstens left off.
The sixth-place finisher from last year’s conference meet posted a 6k time of 21:41 to finish in 17th among a field of 316 runners, making her a viable threat to challenge for the GNAC individual title. Saint Martin’s will rely dually on Walchak-Sloan and junior Elke Wijkmans, who took 38th place at the Lewis Crossover with a time of 22:15, to fuel their positioning in the team standings.
Seattle Pacific junior Annika Esvelt finished in the top-10 in all three races she ran during the fall, including a victory at the Emerald City Open (22:26) in her most recent event. Esvelt placed 18th at last year’s GNAC Championships (22:15) and was the Falcons’ top finisher from a season ago.
Central Washington features returners Madison Thompson, Lauren Thompson and Olivia Wyatt who all ran at the 2022 championships.
MEN'S PREVIEW
Alaska Anchorage's Cole Nash, the defending GNAC champion and an All-American last season, is clearly the man to beat Saturday, after winning the Bill Roe Invitational in Bellingham last month, as well as finishing tenth at the Lewis Crossover.
Central Washington's Johan Correa, who has won all three races he's run this season, along with Western Washington's Kevin McDermott, are on paper, the two men who could give Nash a battle in Anchorage.
A year removed from a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the Vikings return enough depth to make a title repeat likely. Alongside McDermott, who ran an 8k time of 24:17 at the Lewis Crossover, WWU also has Andrew Oslin (65th at NCAA Championships, 30:55 for 10k), Ryan Clough (88th at NCAA Championships, 31:07), Jeret Gillingham (95th at NCAA Championships, 31:14) and Jalen Javurek (151st at NCAA Championships, 31:55) back on the roster in 2023.
All eyes have been on Central Washington's Correa this fall, with the leading candidate for GNAC Newcomer of the Year winning his debut race at the Puget Sound Invitational (15:01, 5k) on September 2nd and never looking back. He followed with a victory at the Pacific Lutheran Invitational in 24:24), and most recently claimed the title at the Emerald City Open in 25:08 on the hilly Lower Woodland course.
Correa beat WWU’s Samuel Lingwall to win the UPS title, before edging SFU’s Brinkman at the PLU meet, evidencing that he figures to be with the lead pack throughout Saturday’s meet.
Saint Martin’s boasts one of the conference’s top runners in senior Isaac Cortes, who just missed all-conference honors in 2022 with a 12th-place finish (24:35). Cortes hasn’t missed a beat this fall, starting with an eighth-place finish (18:17, 6k) at the Ash Creek Collegiate on September 8 which was the top mark by a GNAC runner. Michael Harwell and Kainalu Pagente are two more Saints to keep an eye on as they’ll compete at their second straight conference meet.
Seattle Pacific senior Brennan LeBlanc is peaking at the right moment, coming off his highest placing in a collegiate cross country meet with fourth place at the Emerald City Open on Oct. 7 (26:30). LeBlanc’s top 5k time of the season was 15:33 at the Puget Sound Invitational, as he looks to set the tone as the Falcons’ top returning performer from the 2022 GNAC Championships.
Saturday's action begins with the women's 6k race at 11:00 am in Anchorage (noon Pacific time), with the men's 8k underway an hour later.
The GNAC preview is available here, while the link to live results is available here.
PRO NOTES...
Last month, On announced the signing of Washington alum Sam Ellis, though he had competed in On gear all summer, starting with the July race in Lignano, Italy, where he paced Joe Waskom to a school record in the 1500m.
“Having this grant will allow me to put more time and effort into the sport that I love and be able to compete at a higher level. I am greatly blessed with this opportunity and can’t be thankful enough” exclaimed Eager, in a release from the USATF Foundation.
NOTE: The Great Northwest Athletic Conference, On Running, and the USATF Foundation contributed to this report.
paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links. You can also support the site by clicking the yellow "Buy Me A Coffee" link below.
Comments