Regional Championship Course Sees First Action: Monmouth’s Ash Creek Preserve is no stranger to hosting the NCAA West Region Championships, which it will do on Nov. 4 on the campus of Western Oregon University. This week’s Ash Creek Collegiate will be the first college meet of the season on the championship track, with Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s set to compete. The Wolves are coming off their 2023 season debut, competing at the Linfield Harrier Classic last week at McMinnville’s Joe Dancer Park. The Saints, who were picked third in the women’s preseason poll and fifth in the men’s, will look for a strong start to a promising campaign.

Meanwhile In The Forest: Alaska Anchorage and Alaska will go head-to-head for the second time this season, this time squaring off on the UAF Running Trails in Fairbanks. In the initial meeting on Aug. 26 in Anchorage, the UAA men and the UAF women took the team titles to start the year. Reigning GNAC champion Coleman Nash cruised to the individual win on the men’s side, while Alaska’s Rosie Fordham was the women’s victor at the Seawolf Throwdown. Saturday’s 10:40 a.m. ADT start time will be the second of five times this fall that the two teams will compete at the same meet.

Read More: Alaska Preview

‘Jackets Set For 2023 Debut: Montana State Billings will get a first look at its squad in the Saturday night meet hosted by Black Hills State University. MSUB’s men were tabbed sixth in the preseason coaches poll while the women were picked ninth.

Vikings Go 1-15: Preseason favorite Western Washington made a statement in its debut meet of the season, winning both the women’s and men’s team titles at last week’s Puget Sound Invitational. Ashley Reeck led a group of 15 consecutive WWU women across the finish line as the Vikings ran away with the team title. The sophomore was the lone racer to break 18 minutes in the 5k race, finishing in 17:41.0. On the men’s side, WWU had five of the top-10 finishers including second-place Sam Lingwall at 15:00.5 in the 5k race.

By The Narrowest Of Margins: Central Washington’s Johan Correa claimed the individual title at the Puget Sound Invitational by the slimmest of margins, edging WWU’s Lingwall by 0:00.1 with a time of 15:00.4. It was the debut meet of the season for the Wildcats, who wound up fourth in the team placing at the event.

Cassidy Walchak-Sloan – Saint Martin’s

A big part of the second-place finish by the Saint Martin’s women at last year’s GNAC Championships was then-sophomore Cassidy Walchak-Sloan, who burst onto the scene with a breakout season. The Olympia, Wash., native clocked a time of 21:19.6 on the championship course to take sixth place, and was among three top-10 finishers that ultimately led the Saints to their runner-up finish. Walchak-Sloan continued to impress at the ensuing regional championship meet, where she finished 15th among a field of 168 competitors to close out her season. Proving to be one of the most improved runners in the conference, Walchak-Sloan moved up from 26th place at the GNAC Championship and 63rd at the regional championship as a freshman in 2021. Hopes are high again this fall with the Saints tabbed third in the preseason poll, and their debut this weekend in Monmouth will provide a baseline for the team to assess its expectations.

The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association releases national and regional rankings throughout the 2023 cross country season. The next set of rankings will be released on Sept. 18.

The national rankings feature the top-30 teams in Division II, while the regional rankings feature the top-10 teams in each of the eight regions. The Division II west region is comprised of teams from the GNAC, CCAA, and PacWest Conference.

The 2023 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday, Oct. 21 at Kincaid Park and will be hosted by the University of Alaska Anchorage in Anchorage, Alaska. All 10 conference members will compete in both that event as well as the ensuing NCAA West Region Championships which are set for Nov. 4 at Western Oregon.