Thursday, October 20, 2022

A TASTE OF THE BIG TIME: With the 2022 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships coming to the Puget Sound region, teams have their opportunity to get a look at the nationals course this weekend.

Seattle Pacific hosts the Division II Pre-Nationals on Saturday at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Washington. The meet will serve as a test run for the Division II Championships, which take place on Friday, Dec. 2 as part of the Division II Championships Festival.

After two years of planning, Seattle Pacific assistant coach Chris Reed is ready to see some of the nation’s best runners take their paces.

“We’re really excited. This is our first real opportunity to see what this course can be and to see what our staff can do for these teams,” Reed said. “It is particularly challenging when the course is an hour from campus and you basically have to bring everything there, but we are ready.”

All 10 GNAC teams will compete at Pre-Nationals as part of a 30-team field that will feature many of the top teams in Division II. Twenty-seven teams will participate in the men’s race, including eight of the West Region’s top 10 teams and six teams ranked in the USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll, led by No. 1 ranked Colorado Mines.

The women’s field of 30 teams also features eight of the top 10 West Region teams and five Division II ranked teams. Colorado Mines, which is ranked No. 3 in the coaches poll, leads the field.

With all 10 conference programs entered in the meet, Pre-Nationals will also serve as a de-facto preview of the GNAC Cross Country Championships, which take place on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Western Oregon’s Ash Creek Preserve. The meet is the last one for the conference’s programs prior to the GNAC Championships.

And the course is designed to produce fast times.

“It’s primarily a grass course. There are a couple of path crossings but it is 100% spikeable,” Reed said. “We’re hoping that we can get a lot of fans and supporters down there to experience the sweeping views of Puget Sound. It’s a really neat venue that we have the opportunity to host nationals on.”

After experiencing unusually warm conditions and issues with wildfire smoke for much of the season, Pre-Nationals will coincide with a welcome change to conditions more apt for cross country season. Forecasts call for rain to move into the region by Friday afternoon and potential winds gusting off the Sound to 15 miles per hour.

“I have never seen a fall like this,” said Reed, who grew up in south-central Oregon and competed collegiately at Western Oregon. “The rain this weekend should be good for the smoke in the area, which will help. This is normally our conference meet weekend, so not to have any rainfall yet is pretty unique.”

The men will run first, with an open race starting at 10 a.m. and the Division II Invitational race commencing at 10:40 a.m. The women’s open race starts at 11:20 a.m. with the Division II Invitational race toeing the line at noon.

GNAC 2022 RACE WINNERS
MEN
Coleman Nash, UAA (UAF Blue/Gold Race, Aug. 27, 27;17, 8,000m)
Coleman Nash, UAA (Seawolf Throwdown, Sept. 3, 25:22, 8,000m)
Jeret Gillingham, WWU (CWU Apple Ridge Run, Sept. 10, 18:50.9, 6,000m)
Ase Ackerman, MSUB (Gage McSpadden Memorial, Sept. 10, 18:52.2, 6,000m)
Hunter Hutton, WOU (Ash Creek Collegiate, Sept. 16, 17:51.2, 6,000m)
Charlie Dannatt, SFU (SF State Invitational, Oct. 7, 24:42,7, 8,000m)

WOMEN
Kendall Kramer, UAF (UAF Blue/Gold Race, Aug. 27, 18:28, 5,000m)
Riley Smith, WOU (Linfield Harrier Classic, Sept. 2, 15:10.5, 4,000m)
Kendall Kramer, UAF (Seawolf Throwdown, Sept. 3, 22:17, 6,000m)
Libby Michael, SPU (Puget Sound Invitational, Sept. 3, 18:58, 5,000m)
Sophie Wright, WWU (CWU Apple Ridge, Sept. 10, 15:23.2, 4,000m)
Alauna Carstens, SMU (John Payne Curtis Invitational, Oct. 1, 18:43.3, 5,000m)

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• Alaska did not compete last week. The Nanooks will join the rest of the GNAC at the Division II Pre-Nationals on Saturday.

• Competing for the first time since Sept. 3, Alaska posted a third-place women’s finish and a fifth-place men’s finish at the Yellowjacket/Battlin’ Bear Invite on Oct. 7 in Billings, Montana.

• The UAF women placed three runners in the top five to finish third with a team score of 62 points, just two points behind second-place Rocky Mountain. Sophomore Kendall Kramer led the way with a second-place individual finish, covering the 5,000-meter course in 17:04.7.

• Sophomore Naomi Bailey placed third in a time of 17:05.8 while sophomore Rosie Fordham rounded out the top five with a fifth-place time of 17:34.2.

• The Alaska men compiled a score of 136 points to place fifth out of eight competing teams. Junior Nolan Everest led the way, placing 36th in a time of 28:00.8 over 8,000 meters. Freshman Josh Baurick was 40th in 28:15.7.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage has not raced since Sept. 24. The Seawolves return to the course on Saturday at the Division II Pre-Nationals.

• Alaska Anchorage ran to a pair of sixth-place finishes at the WWU Bill Roe Classic in Ferndale, Washington on Sept. 24.

• Sophomore Coleman Nash took second place in the men’s race, covering the 8,000-meter course in 24:25.8. He was the top collegiate runner in the race and finished 11 seconds ahead of Western Washington’s Kevin McDermott.

• The Alaska Anchorage men finished with a score of 144 points. Junior Michael Zapherson was the Seawolves’ No. 2 finisher, placing 26th in a time of 25:48.1.

• The Seawolves’ women finished with a score of 162 points. Freshman Elle Stevens was the top UAA finisher, placing 21st in a time of 23:04.5 over 6,000 meters. Senior Alfin Nyamasyo was 27th in a time of 23:21.2.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington did not compete last week. The Wildcats will be in University Place, Washington on Saturday for the Division II Pre-Nationals.

• Racing for the third time in as many weeks, Central Washington put together a fifth-place men’s finish and a seventh-place women’s finish at the LC State Invitational on Oct. 8 in Lewiston, Idaho.

• The Wildcats’ men scored a total of 130 points. Sophomore Ty Savely led the way, placing 15th with a personal-best time of 25:22 for 8,000 meters.

• Sophomore Shawn Clough came across in 30th place in a time of 25:58 while freshman Jack Pratapas placed 32nd in a time of 26:17.

• The CWU women finished with a score of 165 points, just two points behind Eastern Oregon and six points behind Willamette. All five scoring runners grouped within 28 seconds of each other.

• Sophomore Rose Melville led CWU, placing 37th in a time of 20:00 over 5,000 meters. Sophomore Tailer Cochran was 39th in 20:05.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings did not compete last week. The Yellowjackets will be among the teams competing Saturday at the Division II Pre-Nationals.

• Montana State Billings raced to a third-place men’s finish and a fifth-place women’s finish as it hosted the Yellowjacket/Battlin’ Bear Invitational on Oct. 7 in Billings.

• The Yellowjacket men finished with 71 points. Senior Ase Ackerman was the team’s top finisher in either race, placing fifth as he covered the 8,000-meter course in 25:20.4.

• Senior Logan Straus turned in a 15th-place finish in 25:57.4 while junior Bryant Edgerton rounded out the top 20 as he placed 20th in a time of 26:28.5.

• The MSUB women finished with a score of 88 points, 11 points behind fourth-place South Dakota Mines. Senior Kailee Stoppel led the way, placing seventh in a time of 18:31.6 over 5,000 meters. Freshman Alahna Lien finished 18th in 19:38.8.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene did not race last week. The Nighthawks travel to University Place, Washington for the Division II Pre-Nationals on Saturday.

• Returning to action for the first time in two weeks, Northwest Nazarene placed third in the men’s race and fifth in the women’s race at the Steve Reeder Memorial Invitational on Oct. 7 in Logan, Utah.

• The NNU men compiled a score of 74 points. Freshman Brody Kemble led the Nighthawks, placing 29th in a time of 23:06.22 over 7,000 meters. Junior Norman Kosgei placed 34th in 23:44.07.

• The Nighthawks women finished with a score of 124 points. Freshman Morgan Erler was the top NNU finisher, placing 25th in a time of 19:43.34 over 5,000 meters. Freshman Keelin Stewart placed 35th in a time of 21:01.49.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s did not compete last week. The Saints will be among the teams competing at Saturday’s Division II Pre-Nationals.

• Saint Martin’s captured a pair of fourth-place finishes at the San Francisco State Invitational on Oct. 7 at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

• Freshman Alauna Carstens was the top conference finisher in the race, placing fifth in a time of 21:49.7 over 6,000 meters and beat out Simon Fraser’s Megan Roxby by one second.

• The SMU women finished with a score of 85 points. Sophomore Cassidy Walchak-Sloan added a seventh-place finish in 21:57.5 while sophomore Sara Sabra placed 12th in 22:18.6.

• The Saint Martin’s men scored 109 points, just four points behind third-place Cal State East Bay. Sophomore Isaac Cortes was the Saints’ top finisher, placing 13th with a time of 25:40.1 over 8,000 meters.

• Sophomore Kainalu Pagente also scored a top 20 finish, placing 15th in a time of 25:44.8.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific did not compete last week. The Falcons will host many of Division II’s top teams on Saturday at the Division II Pre-Nationals in University Place, Washington. The course will be the site of the Division II Championships this December.

• Seattle Pacific last raced on Oct. 1, placing sixth in the women’s race and ninth in the men’s race at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational.

• The Falcons women scored 185 points and were the No. 2 non-Division I team in the field. Running in her first race of the season, sophomore Annika Esvelt delivered a solid performance as she finished ninth in a time of 18:21.4 over 5,000 meters.

• A sprinter by trade, senior Vanessa Aniteye was the Falcons’ No. 2 runner, placing 33rd in a time of 19:07.8.

• The SPU men scored 254 points to place 19 points behind Division I Portland State. Junior Brennan LeBlanc was the Falcons’ top finisher, placing 28th in a time of 25:22.9 over 8,000 meters.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser did not compete last week. The Red Leafs will join the rest of the GNAC at the Division II Pre-Nationals on Saturday.

• Simon Fraser’s men blistered Golden Gate Park for a perfect score while the women were a close third at the San Francisco State Invitational on Oct. 7.

• Simon Fraser won with a score of 15 points, the second time that a GNAC has finished with a perfect score this season.

• Sophomore Charlie Dannatt won the men’s race in a time of 24:42.7 over 8,000 meters. He was five seconds ahead of junior Sebastian Brinkman, who was second in a time of 24:49.4. It was Dannatt’s first SFU cross country race victory.

• Rounding out the top five for the Red Leafs was sophomore Scott Arndt in third (25:05.6), junior Ephrem Mekonnen in fourth (25:11.9) and sophomore Aiden Good in fifth (25:13.4).

• The Simon Fraser women compiled a score of 59 points, one point behind second-place Cal State East Bay and two points behind Concordia.

• Senior Megan Roxby led two SFU runners in the top 10 with her sixth-place finish in a time of 21:49.7 over 6,000 meters. Junior Grace Chalk placed ninth in a time of 22:04.7.

• Simon Fraser remained in the USTFCCCA Division II Men’s Coaches Poll, dropping two spots to No. 22.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon was the only GNAC team to compete last week, sending a limited roster of runners to the Lewis & Clark Invitational on Saturday in Estacada, Oregon.

• The Wolves had two women competing and were led by sophomore Emily Moore, who placed 147th in a time of 25:48.8 over 6,000 meters. Freshman Piper Youngmayr was 202nd in 27:34.1.

• Four men’s runners competed for WOU. The Wolves were led by freshman James Lackey, who placed 208th in 28:30.7 over 8,000 meters. Sophomore Rami Dear was 224th in 28:51.2 and sophomore Jordan Kemper was 226th in 28:53.7.

• Western Oregon will be among the teams competing at the Division II Pre-Nationals on Saturday in University Place, Washington.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington did not compete last week. The Vikings will join the rest of the conference at the Division II Pre-Nationals on Saturday.

• Competing in one of the country’s larger Division II invitationals, Western Washington ran to a third-place men’s finish and a seventh-place women’s finish at the Lewis Crossover on Oct. 8 in Romeoville, Illinois.

• The Vikings men compiled a score of 82 points, just two points behind second-place Illinois-Springfield. The team grouped well again with just 19 seconds between the scoring five.

• Sophomore Kevin McDermott led the Vikings with his seventh-place finish, covering the 8,000-meter course in a time of 24:18. Sophomore Jeret Gillingham placed 16th in a time of 24:29. Sophomore Ryan Clough rounded out WWU’s top 20 finishers, placing 19th in a time of 24:35.5.

• The WWU women finished with a score of 210 points. Sophomore Sophie Wright led the Vikings, placing 23rd in a time of 22:27.1 over 6,000 meters. Sophomore Mia Crocker placed 28th in 22:35.8.

• Western Washington dropped three spots to No. 20 in this week’s USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll. The WWU women dropped one spot in the coaches poll to No. 29.