By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – After leading the Western Washington cross country program to another successful year on the conference, regional and national stages, head coach Ben Stensland was named the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year.
 
It is the second straight cross country honor for Stensland, whose staff consists of assistant coaches T.J. Garlatz and Haley Stensland. The award marks the eighth time since the GNAC was founded in 2001 that WWU has earned the GNAC Coach of the Year award, with Pee Wee Halsell, who retired after the 2022 season, earning the first six honors. The award is voted on by the conference’s 10 cross country coaches. Stensland was also named the USTFCCCA Women’s Cross Country West Region Coach of the Year for 2023, marking the eighth time a GNAC coach has received that honor and the first for Western Washington’s women.
 
The Vikings took home their ninth GNAC men’s team title and fourth GNAC women’s team title this fall, extending their streak to three consecutive team titles in both genders. WWU went on to place second in both the women’s and men’s races at the NCAA West Region Championships, as both Viking programs earned team qualification into the national meet for the second straight year.
 
WWU’s women ran to an 11th-place team finish at the NCAA Championships, while the men placed 13th at the national meet. Both performances were the top by any conference program this fall.
 
Garnering USTFCCCA All-America honors for the second straight season, Viking junior Ashley Reeck led the team with a 33rd-place finish at the national meet with a 6k time of 21:22.1. Reeck also led the Vikings at the regional meet, in 12th place (21:24.3) and at the GNAC meet, in sixth place (21:49.8). Six other Viking women competed at the NCAA Championships, with Sophie Wright crossing the finish line in 89th place with a time of 22:03.8, and Ila Davis also finishing in the top-100 with a time of 22:07.5 to place 95th. WWU relied on points from Danielle McLain, in 113th with a time of 22:17.6 and Ella Edens, in 114th with a time of 22:17.8, to contribute to its team score. Also competing for the Vikings were Emma Smith, who finished 122nd in 22:20.9, and Mia Crocker, who was 125th in 22:21.9. Davis also garnered all-region honors, after placing 16th at the NCAA West Region Championships in 21:33.0.
 
WWU’s dominant team performance at the GNAC Championships featured seven runners who finished in the top-14. Along with Reeck, WWU’s other all-conference performers were Wright, who took ninth place (21:58.8), and Edens, who took 10th place 921:59.9.
 
Western Washington’s men finished in 13th place among the field of 34 teams competing, totaling 379 points to improve upon last year’s 16th-place national finish. It was the Vikings’ highest team finish at the national meet since placing 13th at the 2015 championships. Since the GNAC was founded in 2001, Saturday marked the 14th time that the Vikings have represented the conference as a team at the national meet.
 
GNAC champion Jeret Gillingham was the top finisher for the Vikings, crossing the line with a time of 30:41.2 to take 48th place. Jared Alderfer followed in 75th place with a time of 31:04.3, and Kevin McDermott also finished in the top-100 with a time of 31:18.4 to place 95th. The other Vikings who scored on Saturday were George Karamitsos, in 110th place with a time of 31:26.7, and GNAC Freshman of the Year Jonah Billings, in 119th place with a time of 31:29.8. Rounding out the field of competitors for the Vikings was Sten Brakstad in 149th place at 31:50.7, and Ryan Clough in 236th place at 33:30.3.
 
Clough was WWU’s top finisher at the regional meet, crossing the line in 30:30.2 to finish as the runner-up. Other Vikings to garner all-region honors were Gillingham, in seventh place (30:42.3), McDermott, in 10th place (30:54.9), Karamitsos, in 17th place (31:07.7), and Alderfer, in 18th place (31:08.0). Clough, Karamitsos, Alderfer and Gillingham each also finished in the top-10 at the GNAC Championships to take home all-conference recognition.