Saturday, November 9, 2019

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Alaska Anchorage juniors Felix Kemboi and Wesley Kirui earned top-10 finishes while Western Washington led all GNAC teams in the NCAA Division II Men’s West Region Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Western Oregon University’s Ash Creek Preserve.

Kemboi, the GNAC champion, placed eighth overall as he covered the 10,000-meter course in a time of 30:11.9. Kirui was just off of Kemboi’s tail, placing ninth in a time of 30:13.4.

Western Washington, meanwhile, saw three runners earn All-West Region honors en-route to a fifth-place team finish with a score of 139 points. Senior James Jesperson led the way with his 18th place finish, clocking 30:32.6. Junior Edward Kiolbasa was just behind in 19th place in a time of 30:34.6. Junior Eric Hamel placed 21st in a time of 30:37.6.

Northwest Nazarene sophomore Tyler Shea rounded out the conference’s All-West Region honorees, placing 20th in a time of 30:37.4, breaking up the Vikings’ trio.

The conference, however, will have to wait until Monday’s NCAA Championships selection announcement to see if any teams or athletes qualify for the national meet with no automatic qualifying positions attained. The top three teams in the region plus the top two individuals not attached to a qualifying team received automatic bids.

Joining Western Washington in the top-10 was Alaska Anchorage, placing eighth with a score of 216 points, and Simon Fraser, which finished ninth with 243 points.

Chico State won its fourth straight regional championship and its seventh over the last eight years with a score of 43 points. The Wildcats placed six of their top runners in the top-15 to secure the victory. Sophomore Trad Berti led the team, placing second with a time of 26:56.7. Cal State San Marcos senior Josh Litwiller outdueled Berti over the final 400 meters to claim the individual title with a time of 29:54.4.

The two remaining automatic team qualifying positions went to Cal Poly Pomona, which placed second with a score of 115 points, and Cal State San Marcos with its third-place finish and a score of 121 points.

The region’s two automatic individual qualifying berths went to UC San Diego senior Aren Johnson, who was third in 29:57.4, and Biola senior Gabe Plendcio, who was fourth in 30:01.2.

The selection of the field for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be announced on Monday afternoon via a press release on NCAA.com.

NCAA WEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
As Ash Creek Preserve, Monmouth, Ore.
Team Scores (Top 3 Automatically Qualify For NCAA Championships): Chico State 43, Cal Poly Pomona 115, Cal State San Marcos 121, Stanislaus State 135, Western Washington 139, Biola 167, UC San Diego 199, Alaska Anchorage 216, Simon Fraser 243, Academy of Art 260, Humboldt State 326, Northwest Nazarene 330, Western Oregon 357, Cal State East Bay 405, Notre Dame de Namur 443, San Francisco St. 451, Central Washington 465, Concordia-Irvine 496, Seattle Pacific 514, Saint Martin’s 523, Cal State LA 546, Alaska 571, Fresno Pacific 625, Cal St. Monterey Bay 628, Azusa Pacific 636, Hawaii Pacific 653, Concordia (Ore.) 784, Montana State Billings 787.

Top-10 Finishers: 1, Josh Litwiller, CSUSM, 29:54.4. 2, Trad Berti, CSUC, 26:56.7. 3, Aren Johnson, UCSD, 29:57.4 (Automatic Nationals Individual Qualifier), 4, Gabe Plendcio, BIOLA, 30:01.2 (Automatic Nationals Individual Qualifier), 5, Wyatt Baxter, CSUC, 30:02.4. 6, Joseph Macareno, STAN, 30:03.2. 7, Daniel Tull, HSU, 30:10.6. 8, Felix Kemboi, UAA, 30:11.9. 9, Wesley Kirui, UAA, 30:13.4. 10, Eamon Smythe, CPP, 30:14.3.

All-West Region (Top-25): 18, James Jasperson, WWU, 30:32.0. 19, Edward Kilobasa, WWU, 30:34.8. 20, Tyler Shea, NNU, 30:37.4. 21, Eric Hamel, WWU, 30:37.6.