Tuesday, June 13, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – Two weeks after claiming a sweep of the GNAC All-Sports Championships, Western Washington has claimed the conference’s top spot in the final 2022-23 Division II LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup standings.

The Vikings finished 37th in the rankings, which measures the success of Division II athletic programs based on each institution’s finish in NCAA Championships. Western Washington finished second among West Region programs and was one of three West Region programs in the top 50.

Western Washington closed the year by earning points in four spring sports. The Vikings received 80 points for its fourth-place finish at the Division II Rowing Championships. They collected 60 points for a 15th-place finish at the Division II Men’s Golf Championships and 29 points for a 44th-place finish at the Division II Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The most points during the spring season, however, went to Simon Fraser. The Red Leafs picked up 167.75 points during the spring and finished 67th overall with 292.75 points.

Simon Fraser scored 72.75 points for advancing to the quarterfinals of the Division II Men’s Golf Championships and 18 points for its performance in the Division II Women’s Golf West Regional. The Red Leafs received 47.5 points for a 26th-place finish in the Division II Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships and 29.5 points for a 41st-place finish in the women’s championships.

Among GNAC programs, Seattle Pacific received 85 points for its third-place finish at the Division II Rowing Championships. Northwest Nazarene scored 50 points for its run to the Division II Softball West Regional finals and Western Oregon collected 25 points for its run to the Division II Baseball West Regional.

For the first time since 2019, all 10 GNAC programs were ranked in the Directors’ Cup standings. Northwest Nazarene tied its best finish as a Division II program, placing 108th with 187 points. Alaska finished 120th with 169 points. Those teams are followed by Seattle Pacific in 140th place (136.5), Alaska Anchorage in 188th place (79), Central Washington and Montana State Billings tied for 195th place (75)  and Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s tied for 238th (25).

Grand Valley State won its 15th Directors’ Cup with 936.75 points. The Lakers were followed in the standings by West Texas A&M (904.75), Colorado Mines (855), Indianapolis (829.25) and Wingate (794.25). Azusa Pacific was the top West Region team, placing sixth with 728.25 points.

A total of 15 sports are counted in the Division II LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup standings, four of which must be women’s volleyball and basketball and men’s basketball and baseball. The next highest sports scored for each institution, regardless of gender, are used in the standings with a maximum of 11 additional programs counted.