2024 Cross Country Preview: Western Washington University...
After a few years away from previewing the state's nine NCAA Division I and II cross country teams due to our emphasis on the late summer pro competitions, paulmerca.blogspot.com is posting a series of snapshots of the state's teams.
We started by previewing the state's five Division I schools, all of whom have competed in the last week.
The focus of the last preview of Washington's Division I and II teams is the Western Washington Vikings (photo courtesy WWU Athletics), who have large ambitions for the upcoming season.
2023 was a banner year for both the men and women of Western Washington, as the Vikings won the men's and women's cross country titles for the second straight season, en route to qualifying both teams for the NCAA championships, where the women finished 14th and the men 16th.
Both on a national and regional level, 2024 is a season of high expectations for the Vikings, who are near unanimous picks by the GNAC coaches to make it three straight conference championships for both teams. It helps that Western Washington is hosting this year's championship meet on October 26th at the Sudden Valley Golf Course.
Reeck finished fourth at GNACs, fifth at regionals, and 30th at the NCAA championships. She also won the 5000 indoors at the conference championships, and qualified for the outdoor championships last season in the steeplechase.
She's joined up front by Ila Davis, who was seventh at conference, eleventh at regionals and 53rd at nationals, 13 spots out of All-America honors.
Added to the mix for the Vikings who competed in all three postseason meets are Meaera Nystrom (13th/14th/193rd), Sophie Wright (14th/24th/175th), Emma Smith (18th/26th/133rd) and Mia Crocker (19th/31st/109th).
One runner who wasn't on the roster for the Vikings for the final two races of the season because of their depth last year is Ella Edens, who was the GNAC freshman of the year after finishing 15th at the conference.
With the depth of the 2023 squad, the only significant newcomer to the team is Skye Stenehjem from Yakima's West Valley HS.
The big question surrounding the Western women's team is how close can their numbers 3-7 runners run to Reeck and Davis, and who from the group can step up and be a number one or two runner should either of them have a bad race. If they can run close to the top two, and find another frontrunner or two, they can contend for sixth place or higher at the national championships, which the 2015 team accomplished.
McDermott finished 15th at the NCAA regionals, and 90th a the NCAA championships.
McDermott threatened the 4-minute mile, running 4:02.13, won the GNAC indoor distance triple, taking the mile, 3000 and 5000, and qualified for the NCAAs in the 3000 and 5000, and capped off his 2023-24 season by winning the conference crown outdoors in the 1500.
He's joined up front by Ryan Clough, who finished ahead of McDermott at the NCAA championships, where he was 73rd. Clough was ninth at GNACs, and ninth at regionals.
Also back are Jeret Gillingham (10th/25th/146th), Jalen Javurek (12th/27th/153rd), and Jason Blinn (19th/74th/253rd).
Samuel Lingwall was 16th at GNACs and 105th at regionals, while Will Henry was 31st at GNACs, and was promoted to the team for NCAAs, where he was 158th.
As is the case with the women's team, there are no significant additions to Western's uber-deep squad. A large group of sixteen men from last year's team utilized redshirt seasons.
Out of the 2023 team who redshirted, Jonah Billings, who ran 31:12.27 for 10000 on the track in the spring, and Sten Brakstad, who was a GNAC scorer in the 5000 both indoors and outdoors, could contend for one of the seven spots on the team for the final meets of the season.
The same question surrounding the women's team is the same question asked of this squad, which was a unanimous pick by the GNAC coaches to win its third straight conference title: how close can they run behind McDermott and Clough, and can someone step up should either of them have a bad race, especially at the end of the season.
While it's hard to say whether or not the Vikings are good enough to make the podium as the 2009 team did when they finished fourth, WWU has enough depth to take a shot at a top ten team finish, which would be the highest placing since 2011.
The first major test for the Vikings will come in Romeoville, Illinois on October 12th at the Lewis Crossover, where they face a slew of nationally ranked teams and individuals in perhaps the biggest annual invitational in Division II this season.
Western's men finished fourth at Lewis, while the women were sixth. Ashley Reeck was their top women's finisher in 18th, while Kevin McDermott led the way in 12th.
Western Washington will see all three Washington GNAC schools three times before the conference championship meet on October 26th that they'll host in Bellingham: at the Green River Invitational on September 14th; the WWU Bill Roe Classic in Ferndale on September 28th; and the Emerald City Open in Seattle on October 12th.
After the GNAC championships in Bellingham, the NCAA West Regionals will be held in Billings, Montana, and the NCAA Division II championships will be contested in Sacramento, California.
NOTE: The sports information office of Western Washington University, the USTFCCCA and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference contributed to this report.
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