Thursday, December 22, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – Thanks in great part to its Division II women’s soccer championship run, Western Washington is 12th in the Learfield Directors’ Cup Division II Fall Standings, released on Thursday.

The top-ranked West Region team, the Vikings compiled a score of 186.5 points in the standings, which evaluates an athletic program’s success based on an institution’s finish in the NCAA Championships. The fall rankings included finishes in men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball.

Western Washington leads five GNAC teams listed in the fall standings. Northwest Nazarene is 72nd with 73 points, followed by Simon Fraser in 93rd place (55 points), Central Washington in 97th place (50) and Alaska Anchorage in 127th place (25 points).

The Vikings earned the maximum 100 points in women’s soccer thanks to winning the Division II championship with a 2-1 win over West Chester on Dec. 3 in Seattle. They received 61.5 points for the 14th-place men’s finish at the Division II Cross Country Championships and 25 points from the volleyball program, which advanced to the first round of the NCAA West Regional.

All of Northwest Nazarene’s points came from the men’s soccer program, which advanced to the Division II quarterfinals. Simon Fraser’s 55 points came courtesy of the men’s cross country program, which placed 19th at the Division II Championships.

Central Washington and Alaska Anchorage received all of their points from their respective volleyball programs. The Wildcats advanced to the West Region semifinals while Alaska Anchorage appeared in the first round.

Colorado Mines leads the fall Directors’ Cup Division II Standings with 448 points, led by a championship in men’s cross country, a second-place finish in football and a third-place finish in women’s cross country. Wingate sits second with 373 points and Grand Valley State is third with 304 points.

The Learfield College 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. The winter rankings will be announced on March 30.