Saturday, November 5, 2016

BILLINGS, Mont. – Alaska Anchorage’s men’s and women’s teams will make return trips to nationals while Simon Fraser’s women put together one of their best performances of the season to earn a nationals bid to lead GNAC teams at the 2016 NCAA Division II West Region Cross Country Championships, hosted by Montana State Billings at Amend Park.

The Seawolves finished second in the men’s team competition, missing out on a defense of their team title with a score of 81 points. Chico State collected its fourth title in the last five seasons, taking the top three individual places en route to a score of 45 points.

Alaska Anchorage placed four runners in the top-25 to net All-West Region honors. Edwin Kangogo backed up his GNAC individual championship with a fourth place finish, covering the 10,000 meters in a time of 30:07.58. Michel Ramirez placed eighth in 30:26.12 while Henry Cheseto, last year’s individual regionals champion, was 11th in 30:32.92. Victor Samoei rounded out UAA’s all-region performers, placing 24th in 30:57.21.

Western Washington’s Isaac Derline will likely earn one of the three individual qualifying positions for the national meet, placing fifth in a time of 30:08.04. The official announcement of the individual qualifers for the Division II meet will be made on Monday afternoon.

Other GNAC men’s runners claiming All-West Region honors included Western Oregon’s David Ribich, who placed 15th in 30:36.27; Western Washington’s Andrew Wise, who placed 20th 30:46.41; and Northwest Nazarene’s Isaac Mitchell, who placed 21st in 30:47.23.

Simon Fraser’s women placed three runners in the top-25 to score 103 points to claim second place in the team competition. Alaska Anchorage was eight points behind in third with a score of 111 points. Rebecca Bassett led the Clan with an eighth place individual finish, covering the 6,000-meter course in 21:24.53. Also claiming All-West Region honors for SFU was Miryam Bassett, finishing 11th in 21:45,81, and Julia Howley, placing 12th in 21:27.40.

The Seawolves’ Caroline Kurgat repeat as the regional runner-up, placing second in a time of 20:59.01. Joyce Chelimo, last year’s regional champion, finished seventh in a time of 21:22.87.

Saint Martin’s Shannon Porter is expected to be an individual qualifer for the national meet after she placed third in a time of 21:16.64. Other GNAC All-West Region women’s performers included Western Washington’s Lillianna Stelling, who placed 21st in 22:00.54, and Northwest Nazarene’s Anysja Manzer, who placed 24th in 22:04.68.

Chico State also claimed the women’s team championship with a score of 70 points. Cal State San Bernardino’s Laura Aceves was the individual women’s champion in a time of 20:55.95. The region’s other three women’s team qualifiers include Point Loma (fourth, 124 pts.), Cal Poly Pomona (5th, 164 pts.) and Cal Baptist (6th, 185 pts.).

Chico State’s William Reyes claimed the men’s individual championship in a time of 29:45.16. Joining the Wildcats and Seawolves as men’s team qualifers are Cal Poly Pomona (third, 90 pts.), Academy of Art (fourth, 156 pts.) and Cal Baptist (5th, 156 pts.).

The NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will take place on Sat., Nov. 19, in Saint Leo, Fla. The official selections for the national meet will be announced on NCAA.com on Monday afternoon.