Thursday, August 27, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. – After winning their respective conference championships and leading a promient league presence at the NCAA Division II Championships, Alaska Anchorage and Simon Fraser have been picked to defend their titles in the 2015 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Coaches Preseason Polls.

The Seawolves’ men received all 10 possible first place votes (coaches could not vote for their own teams), finishing with 100 points. Alaska Anchorage returns five runners that all finished in the top-eight at the 2014 GNAC Championships, led by GNAC and West Region champion Henry Cheseto, who earned Division II All-American honors as a freshman.

The 18 points that Alaska Anchorage scored at last year’s conference meet is the lowest score by a men’s team in the history of the GNAC and was just three points off a perfect score. Only Dylan Anthony, who finished third, does not return to the Seawolves’ top-seven.

Much like its finish at the 2014 GNAC Championship, Simon Fraser was chosen as a close favorite over Alaska Anchorage in the women’s poll, picking up six first place votes and 96 points. The Seawolves picked up the remaining five first place votes and finished with 94 points in the poll.

After three second place finishes in its first three years in the GNAC, the Clan picked up their first conference title with a one-point victory over Alaska Anchorage behind the second place finish of Rebecca Bassett. Simon Fraser went on to win the NCAA West Regional meet and placed seventh at the Division II Championships, tying their placing from the 2013 meet. The Clan return all seven of scoring runners from last year, all of whom competed at the national meet.

The 2015 GNAC season commences on Thurs., Sept. 3, with Alaska hosting Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific for the first of two races in the Moda Health Alaska Invitational. Concordia will open at the Linfield Harrier Classic on Fri., Sept. 4, and Alaska Anchorage will race on Sat., Sept. 6, at the Hawaii Big Wave Invitational.

MEN
With the breadth of its returning talent, Alaska Anchorage will be hard to beat. Cheseto won five of his first six meets of the season, placing second at October’s Western Washington Classic to the graduated Anthony. The GNAC Freshman and Athlete of the Year won both the GNAC and west region crown before placing 17th at the Division II Championships, earning All-American honors. Backing Cheseto will be GNAC and west region meet runner-up Dominic Notz, Michel Ramirez (fifth at GNAC meet), Victor Samoei (seventh) and Edwin Kangogo (eighth).

Western Washington finished a solid second at the GNAC Championships and went on a fourth place regional finish and 13th place nationals finish. Sean Eustis steps in as the Vikings’ top returner, placing 12th at the conference meet before running to 46th place at nationals as the team’s No. 2 runner. Matthew Lutz returns after placing 14th at the conference meet as does Isaac Derline, who placed 104th at nationals after not competing in the GNAC meet.

Simon Fraser gave the GNAC a solid three-team presence at nationals, placing 20th after finishing third in the conference meet and sixth in the regional championship. Oliver Jorgensen will be looking for his third straight GNAC top-10 finish after placing sixth last year and seventh as a freshman. Marc-Antoine Rouleau and Cameron Proceviat provide solid depth after finishing 13th and 16th, respectively, at the conference meet.

Conference newcomer Concordia is picked fourth. The Cavaliers placed third in the final Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship and went on to place 20th at the NAIA National Championships. Concordia returns a pair of top-30 conference meet performers in Roman Kirkov, who finished 15th at the CCC Championships and 95th at the NAIA meet, and Ethan Livermore.

Montana State Billings was picked one point behind Concordia after placing fourth at last year’s conference meet. Robert Peterson will be aiming for a conference title after moving up from 23rd as a sophomore to fourth place as a junior. He finished no worse than third in all but one meet leading up to the GNAC Championships. A 13th place regionals finish earned Peterson an individual berth to the national meet. Liam McKay and Garrett Love lead a list of four returning conference meet placers backing Peterson for the Yellowjackets.

Central Washington returns five returners from last year’s GNAC meet, but will have to fill the hole left by Rudy Spencer, who led the Wildcats with an 18th place finish. Senior Ryan Thompson is the Wildcats’ top returning runner after a 50th place finish at the GNAC meet. He is joined by senior Ryan Thompson and sophomore Harry Engel.

Western Oregon is picked to move up to seventh after placing eighth at last year’s conference meet. David Ribich was the sixth fastest at conference in a talented bunch of freshmen, placing 26th to lead the Wolves. Zach Holloway was one place behind in 27th. Senior Josh Hanna will provide some additional depth after his 47th place finish as a junior.

Northwest Nazarene faces depth challenges entering the season with just five athletes on the roster, down from six last year. But they return some talent in their top-two runners. Isaac Mitchell placed 17th at the conference meet as a freshman and had top-10 finishes in three of the Crusaders’ four regular season meets. Chase Cunningham placed 29th at the GNAC meet.

Alaska is picked ninth in its first year under head coach Nick Crawford. The Nanooks placed seventh at last year’s conference meet, but return just three placers from that squad. Mitch Burgess will lead the way after placing 54th in the GNAC meet as a sophomore.

Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific tied for 10th place in the poll. The Saints placed ninth in the GNAC last year in Jim Brewer’s first year at the helm. Senior Nathan Morgan leads five returning GNAC meet placers. Morgan placed 44th as a junior. Seattle Pacific also returns five placers from last year’s meet. Senior Adam Avischious leads the way after placing 42nd in last year’s conference meet.

WOMEN
Simon Fraser came out on top of the closest team race in GNAC history, picking up its first conference title by one point over Alaska Anchorage and by two points over Western Washington. The Clan went on win the west regional title before leading an unprecdented four GNAC teams at the Division II Championships with a seventh place finish.

Simon Fraser is loaded again with all five returning top-20 placers from last year’s GNAC meet. Bassett leads the way having placed second at the GNAC Championships and third at the west regional as a sophomore. In four regular season meets, she placed in the top-10 in three. Jennifer Johnson was fifth at the conference meet and a top-30 NCAA Championships finish. The tandem is joined by Miryam Bassett (17th), Kansas Mackenzie (18th) and Peggy Noel (20th).

Alaska Anchorage was edged out of its potential sixth straight GNAC title despite top-10 finishes by Amy Johnson (fourth) and Beatrice Decker (sixth). The Seawolves showed well at regional and national level, placing second behind Simon Fraser at the West Region Championships and eighth at the Division II Championships. With Johnson having graduated, Decker is the team’s top returning runner. She went on to place 29th at the regional and 68th at nationals. Alaska Anchorage returns a total of six runners who placed from last year’s conference meet, including Caroline Kurgat (11th) and Jessica Pahkala (30th). The Seawolves will be furthered helped by return of Joyce Chelimo, who placed 13th at the 2013 NCAA Championships.

Western Washington placed third in the tight three-team race behind a victory by departed senior Katelyn Steen and went on to place 12th at the NCAA Division II meet. Taylor Guenther steps in as the team’s top returning athlete after placing 10th at the conference meet and 40th at the NCAA meet. Sofia Marikis finished 24th at the GNAC. Those two join Brittany Grant as the only three returning Vikings’ runners to run at the national meet. Lilliann Sterling returns for WWU after missing most of the 2014 season with injury. She placed 144th at the 2013 NCAA Championships.

Central Washington was a distant fourth at the GNAC Championships, but became the fourth league team to make the NCAA meet thanks to a solid fifth place finish at regionals. While losing the services of Connie Morgan (ninth at GNAC’s, 22nd at nationals), the Wildcats return the other six of their scoring seven and a total of nine conference meet placers. Dani Eggleston placed third in the GNAC Championships and 10th at the west regional before climbing to a 34th place nationals finish. The Wildcats also return top-25 conference placers in Megan Rogers (14th) and Erin Chinchar (23rd).

Seattle Pacific is picked fifth, but could make a run at the top-four teams in the poll with nine returning conference meet placers. Anna Patti finished seventh as a junior and went on to place seventh at the NCAA West Regional, the fourth GNAC runner to cross the line. Sarah Macdonald returns after finishing 19th at conference and Lynelle Decker is back for her senior season after a 29th place finish.

Western Oregon is tabbed for sixth after placing seventh at last year’s GNAC meet. The Wolves will welcome back six placing runners from last year, but will have to fill the void left by top runner Stephanie Stuckey (21st). Rachel Crawford was not too far behind Stuckey as a sophomore, placing 26th. Bailey Beeson hopes to finish her career well and improve on a 45th place finish last year.

Montana State Billings and Concordia are tied for seventh in the poll. The Yellowjackets placed sixth in last year’s meet in a year that saw all 10 athletes on the roster run in all five regular season meets. Four conference placers are back, led by Rio Frame, who finished 22nd and had three top-four regular season finishes. She will be backed by seniors Jinise Trueblood and Brielle Davis.

Concordia joins the GNAC after a season that saw the Cavaliers finish fifth in their final Cascade Collegiate Conference championship. It will be a growing year for Concordia with the loss of Mikel Elliott, their lone representative at the NAIA National Championships. Kelsea Campbell leads the list of six returning CCC meet finishers. The sophomore finished 49th in her first collegiate season while Zoe Worobel finished in 55th place.

Alaska will aim to improve on a predicted ninth place with the return six finishers from last year’s conference meet. Kali Striker leads the way for the Nanooks after placing 34th at last year’s meet. Northwest Nazarene is picked 10th and will be led by Rebecca Hook and Anysja Manser, who finished 41st and 42nd, respectively, at last year’s conference meet. Saint Martin’s is picked 11th and will be led by Megan Teigen, who placed 43rd last year.