Western Washington Wins 11th GNAC All-Sports Title
The Vikings won their 11th all-sports title in Steve Card's first season as athletic director.
The Vikings won their 11th all-sports title in Steve Card's first season as athletic director.

Monday, May 19, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. –  Western Washington cracked the 200-point barrier for the second year in a row in winning its sixth consecutive GNAC All-Sports title, according to final official figures for the 2013-14 season released by the conference office Monday.

WWU, which scored a record 206 points last year, tallied 201 points in winning its 11th overall GNAC all-sports title in 14 seasons.

The Vikings also extended their title streak in the men’s all-sports standings to six and to four in the women’s all-sports standings netting 88 and 113 points, respectively, falling just shy of their record totals of 90 and 116 set last year.

Points are awarded (on a two-point increment) based on the final finishes, taking into account both regular-season and post-season play, in each of the conference’s 16 sports – football, volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, men’s and women’s golf, baseball and softball.

The Vikings outpointed Alaska Anchorage 201-150 for the overall title.  The next five schools – Western Oregon (130), Northwest Nazarene (129), Central Washington (128), Simon Fraser (128) and Seattle Pacific (127) - were separated by a grand total of just three points.

WWU outscored Western Oregon 88-69 for the men’s title and Alaska Anchorage 113-86 for the women’s crown.  

Western Washington won a total of five conference team championships, finishing first in men’s outdoor and indoor track-and-field  and winning titles in women’s basketball, volleyball and women’s golf.  The Vikings were also the regular-season women’s soccer champions.

Alaska Anchorage won four championships, all coached by Michael Friess.  Friess led UAA to a sweep of the men’s and women’s cross country titles and to a sweep of the women’s indoor and outdoor track and field championships.

Seattle Pacific won two titles.  The Falcons won the men’s basketball title and also defeated WWU in the post-season tournament to win the women’s soccer conference championship.

Simon Fraser, Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene each claimed one crown.  The Clan won their fourth straight men’s soccer title.

Central Washington defeated Western Oregon in the conference baseball playoffs to end a 12-year title run by the Wolves.  NNU won the men’s golf tournament ending a run of six straight titles by the Vikings.

That left Western Washington’s women’s golf team as the lone remaining team to win every conference championship in their sport.  The Vikings have won all four tournaments since women’s golf was added as a conference sport in 2011.

The final 2013-14 GNAC All-Sports Standings:

Overall  – Western Washington 201, Alaska Anchorage 150, Western Oregon 130, Northwest Nazarene 129, Central Washington 128, Simon Fraser 128, Seattle Pacific 127, Montana State Billings 98, Saint Martin’s 87, Alaska Fairbanks 38.  

Men – Western Washington 88, Western Oregon 69, Alaska Anchorage 64, Central Washington 59, Simon Fraser 58, Northwest Nazarene 58, Montana State Billings 46, Seattle Pacific 44, Saint Martin’s 38, Alaska Fairbanks 24.  Affiliate Members (Football) - Azusa Pacific 12, Dixie State 6, Humboldt State 2.  Affiliate Members (Men’s Soccer) – Mary 4, South Dakota Mines 2.  

Women –   Western Washington 113, Alaska Anchorage 86, Seattle Pacific 83, Northwest Nazarene 71, Simon Fraser 70, Central Washington 69, Western Oregon 69, Western Oregon 61, MSU Billings 52, Saint Martin’s 49, Alaska Fairbanks 14.

Conference Champions: Titles Won (Men-Women) -  Western Washington 5 (2-3), Alaska Anchorage 4 (1-3), Seattle Pacific 2 (1-1), Simon Fraser 1 (1-0), Azusa Pacific 1 (1-0), Central Washington 1 (1-0), Northwest Nazarene 1 (1-0), Western Oregon 1 (0-1).  Football – Azusa Pacific.  Men’s Cross Country – Alaska Anchorage.  Women’s Cross Country – Alaska Anchorage.  Men’s Soccer – Simon Fraser.  Women’s Soccer – Seattle Pacific (Regular-Season – Western Washington). Volleyball – Western Washington.  Men’s Indoor Track – Western Washington.  Women’s Indoor Track – Alaska Anchorage.  Men’s Basketball – Seattle Pacific.  Women’s Basketball – Western Washington.  Men’s Golf – Northwest Nazarene.  Women’s Golf – Western Washington.  Softball – Western Oregon.  Men’s Outdoor Track – Western Washington  Women’s Outdoor Track – Alaska Anchorage.  Baseball – Central Washington.