By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – A sweep of the team titles at last week’s Great Northwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships earned Western Washington University GNAC Team of the Week honors announced by the conference office on Monday.
 
For the third year in a row, the Vikings won both the women’s and men’s team titles at the GNAC Championships which were held at Sudden Valley Golf Course in Bellingham, Wash. WWU became the first host to win the GNAC team title on its home course since the meet was first held in 2001. “I am super proud, and cross country is a special thing to me,” said WWU cross country coach T.J. Garlatz, whose team was the first GNAC champion to hoist the trophy while competing on its home course. “We wanted to defend our home turf, and we came out well today.”
 
The Vikings extended their current spell of success across the three seasons that cover the academic year as well. In 2023-24, WWU became the first school in GNAC history to claim all six titles – men’s and women’s cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field – in the same calendar year. Last year’s historic campaign came after the Vikings swept the men’s and women’s team titles at the 2023 GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. With last Saturday’s trophies, the streak extended to 10 consecutive men’s/women’s title sweeps across the three sports over the last two years. The WWU men were ranked eighth nationally and the women were 15th nationally in the most recent USTFCCCA coaches poll on Oct. 16.
 
Cruising to victory in the men’s race on Saturday, the Vikings grabbed four of the top-10 spots and totaled 32 points to beat a distant second-place Northwest Nazarene by 41 points. Senior Jeret Gillingham led the way, crossing the finish line with a time of 24:18.3 (8k) to claim the individual title and earn GNAC Cross Country Athlete of the Year honors. The reigning GNAC champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Gillingham used a late push to cruise past the field of 80 runners. He became the third Viking to win the men’s individual title, joining 2023 champion Kevin McDermott and 2002 winner Paul Kezes. “That late kick is about the earliest I have ever kicked in my life,” said Gillingham. “Just knowing this was my last GNAC meet and last chance to really put it out there kept me in it the whole time. Everyone started pulling up on the hills and I like hills, so I just started rolling and found myself in the front. Coming around that last lap with 2k to go, I just wanted to see what I had left in the tank and try to take it all the way home.”
 
Also earning all-conference for the Vikings were Ryan Clough (fourth place, 24:36.4), George Karamitsos (seventh place, 24:44.4) and Jared Alderfer (ninth place, 24:47.0). The team win was bolstered by 11th-place finisher McDermott (24:48.5) and 12th-place finisher Jonah Billings (24:56.3) who was named the GNAC Freshman of the Year.
 
Other Vikings who competed on their home course last Saturday were Dylan Lennon (16th place, 25:11.2), Sten Brakstad (21st place, 25:23.3), Logan Werner (23rd place, 25:34.9) and George Fernandez (30th place, 25:45.0). “It is a great group overall, and I have been working with these guys for a really long time,” said Garlatz. “They have awesome camaraderie and we know we have really good, strong depth.”
 
 
Equal success was realized by the Viking women, who totaled 48 points to beat second-place Alaska Fairbanks by a comfortable margin of 26 points. Ashley Reeck was WWU’s top finisher, placing sixth with a time of 21:49.8 to earn all-conference for the second straight season. “Coming into this race I knew that I could depend on my teammates,” Reeck said. “I was in the front and was struggling, but I knew that behind me there was so much depth and that helped us get it done today. I wanted to get out a little harder than I have this season, and I have been trying to get my confidence back with racing. I started feeling that in the first part of the race, and the last part of the race was really hard. Overall I think I closed decently well and I’m pretty happy with how it went.”
 
Sophie Wright (ninth place, 21:58.8) and Ella Edens (10th place, 21:59.9) were the other Viking women to garner all-conference. WWU asserted its dominance by placing six consecutive runners from 9-14, with that pack ultimately solidifying the team title. Danielle McLain (11th place, 22:06.6), Ila Davis (12th place, 22:09.5), Laura Halsell (13th place, 22:17.6) and Emma Smith (14th place, 22:18.3) each played a significant role in bringing home the trophy.
 
Also competing for the Vikings were Mia Crocker (23rd place, 22:37.4), Meaera Nystrom (24th place, 22:39.3) and Elie Bassett (26th place, 22:47.9). “I was really proud of the women,” Garlatz said. “We came in with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder, and we really wanted to show what kind of runners we are. We really committed to the race, and you never know on a given day which five or seven are going to show up. They know they have each other’s backs and they are going to commit to running a fast race. They know if they aren’t able to bring it that their teammates will support them, and that is the essence of cross country.”
 
Western Washington is the second school in GNAC history to win at least three consecutive team titles in both women’s and men’s cross country simultaneously. Alaska Anchorage swept both the women’s and men’s team titles from 2010-13, a span of four straight years at the top of the conference in cross country. The alignment of titles for the Seawolves came amid five straight women’s titles from 2009-13, four straight women’s titles from 2015-18 and seven straight men’s titles from 2010-16. The Seattle Pacific women are the others to achieve such a streak, winning four straight team titles from 2005-08.
 
Up next for the Vikings is the NCAA West Region Cross Country Championships, which will take place on Nov. 9 in Billings, Mont. WWU will be seeking to qualify both teams for the NCAA Division II Championships for the second straight season. WWU’s women finished 14th at last year’s national meet, after winning their first-ever regional team crown. The men placed 16th last year at nationals after a fourth-place regional finish. The 2024 national championship meet is on Nov. 23 in Sacramento, Calif.