Thursday, December 20, 2018
CLEVELAND – Few teams in NCAA Division II had as good of a fall as Western Washington, vaulting the Vikings to the upper echelon of the fall Division II Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings, released on Dec. 20.
Western Washington is third in the standings with a total of 256 points. The Vikings trail only Colorado Mines, which is first with 340 points, and Grand Valley State, which sits in second place with 315.
The Vikings were among three GNAC teams in the top-25 of the fall standings. Simon Fraser finished the fall in 12th place with 180.5 points while Alaska Anchorage is in 22nd place with 144 points. The GNAC is one of three conferences to have three teams in the top-25, joining the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup evaluates an athletic program’s success based on each institution’s finish in the NCAA Championship. The fall standings included points gained from finishes in cross country, football, field hockey, soccer and women’s volleyball.
The Vikings scored points in all but of those sports that the school sponsors. Western Washington was led by the exceptional performance of its national runner-up volleyball program, earning the school 90 points. The Vikings’ women’s soccer program reached the West Regional championship match, earning 64 points. The women’s cross country program earned 54 points for its 20th place finish and the men’s cross country team received 48 points for its 26th place finish.
Simon Fraser used solid finishes from both cross country programs and another postseason for the men’s soccer program to move into 12th place. The Clan’s women’s cross country program placed ninth at the NCAA Championships, earning 69 points, while the men’s 14th-place finish was good for 61.5 points. Men’s soccer advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships, netting 50 points.
All of Alaska Anchorage’s points came in the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Seawolves’ sixth-place women’s finish earned 73.5 points while the men’s eighth-place finish was good for 70.5 points.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA and NAIA Championships. Separate standings are published for each of the NCAA’s three divisions as well as the NAIA.