ANALYSIS: Washington's nine D1 and D2 cross country teams at the quarter pole (part 2)...

Welcome to Part II of my assessment of Washington's nine Division I and II cross country programs so far this season, after reaching the quarter pole of the 2024 season.

After getting through the month of September, having seen Western Washington, Seattle Pacific, and Saint Martin's twice at the Green River Gator Cross and Bill Roe Classic, and Central Washington at Green River and the Pacific Lutheran Invitationals, I've gotten a good feel on what to expect as we go through the month of October.

DIVISION II

WESTERN WASHINGTON: I'll start with the women first, as the Vikings, who are ranked number 11 in the USTFCCCA D2 national coaches' poll, squeezed out a 53-56 win over number 12 Chico State at the Bill Roe Invitational in Ferndale last Saturday, even though they only had one runner--All-American Ashley Reeck (Paul Merca photo)--finish in the top ten (10th), while both Chico State and Alaska Fairbanks had two runners each in the top ten.

With Reeck running 21:26 over the 6k course, their key to beating the field was running a 1-5 split of 20 seconds, and having their fifth runner, Sophie Wright, finish 16th in 21:46.

At the Bill Roe meet, their seventh runner, Alanna Parker, finished 19th in 21:53, and had two more runners finish under 22 minutes, which could be a great problem for Western head coach Ben Stensland to have come conference, regionals and nationals.

The Viking women should be able to coast through the conference without any trouble with their roster as currently assembled...

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