Western Washington is looking to pick up right where it left off after a historic 2023-24 campaign, as both the Viking women’s and men’s cross country teams were picked as the favorites in the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll.
WWU’s men claimed all 10 first-place votes to run away as the unanimous favorites, while the women earned 9 of 10 first-place votes to claim 99 of a possible 100 points. The Vikings became the first school in GNAC history to win the six combined cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field team titles during the 2023-24 academic year.
Both WWU programs will be in search of their third consecutive GNAC cross country titles after sweeping last year’s team championship in Anchorage, Alaska. The Alaska Fairbanks women garnered the other first-place vote in the preseason poll, and finished second to the Vikings with 81 points. The Simon Fraser men finished a distant second to WWU with 83 points in the preseason poll, which is compiled from a vote of the conference’s 10 head cross country coaches.
The 2024 GNAC cross country season gets underway on Aug. 30-31, with the GNAC Championships set for Oct. 26 hosted by WWU in Bellingham, Wash. Montana State Billings will then play host to the NCAA West Region Championships, which are set for Nov. 9 in the Magic City. The complete 2024 GNAC cross country schedule can be
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
GNAC Women’s Cross Country 2024 Season Outlook
The Viking women made history last year by winning the program’s first-ever NCAA West Region Championship team title, and advancing to the NCAA Championships as a
WWU's Ashley Reeck.
team. Among the seven runners who competed at all three postseason meets last fall, WWU returns six to this year’s roster. The group is headed by reigning All-American
Ashley Reeck, who placed fourth at the GNAC Championships (21:16.9), fifth at the regional championships (20:54.6) and 30th at the NCAA Championships (20:35.5). Reeck’s time at the national meet was a 6k PR.
Ila Davis is WWU’s other returning all-conference runner, after finishing seventh at the 2023 GNAC Championships (21:30.0) and earning USTFCCCA all-region accolades with an 11th-place finish at regionals (21:19.4). Like Reeck, Davis’s time of 20:56.4 at the NCAA Championships, which was good for a 53rd-place finish, was a personal best.
Other key returners for WWU who competed in all three postseason meets are
Meaera Nystrom (13th/14th/193rd),
Sophie Wright (14th/24th/175th),
Emma Smith (18th/26th/133rd) and
Mia Crocker (19th/31st/109th).
Ella Edens, who was the 2023 GNAC Freshman of the Year after finishing 15th at the conference meet, is also back for the stacked Vikings roster.
Ben Stensland is in his second season as head coach of WWU’s cross country and track programs, and is assisted by distance coach
T.J. Garlatz.
If anyone can give WWU a run for its money at this year’s conference championship meet, it figures to be the Alaska Nanooks who return the most talented one-two punch of any GNAC unit. Reigning GNAC and NCAA West Region champion
Kendall Kramer will be the one to beat, after helping put her hometown program on the map two years ago and lifting it into prominence last fall. Kramer won the 2023 GNAC title with a time of 20:46.2, took home the regional crown in 20:29.8 and capped her year with an All-American performance in 23rd place with a time of 20:31.2. She was the GNAC’s top national finisher last season.
From L to R Alaska's Kendall Kramer and Rosie Fordham and Seattle Pacific's Annika Esvelt were the top-three finishers at the 2023 GNAC Cross Country Championships.
Alongside Kramer is Australian harrier
Rosie Fordham, who was also an All-American last fall. Fordham crossed the finish line right behind Kramer at the GNAC Championships, finishing as the runner-up in 20:55.5. She followed with an all-region performance placing sixth in 20:57.3 at the regional meet, and capped her stellar year by placing 36th at the NCAA Championships with a time of 20:40.3. Fordham’s national meet time was a 6k PR. The Nanooks placed third at last year’s conference meet with a team score of 86 points.
Eliska Albrigtsen is in her seventh season in charge of the program and is assisted by
Conrad Haber.
SFU's Charlotte Prangley and Grace Chalk.
Checking in third in the GNAC preseason poll was Simon Fraser, which garnered 78 points to finish three behind Alaska. SFU’s top-five finishers from last year’s conference meet, where it placed fourth with 103 points, are all back on the roster this fall. Fifth-year
Grace Chalk was SFU’s top finisher at the regional meet in 32nd place (21:56.5), after placing 22nd at the GNAC Championships in 22:23.0. Junior
Rachael Watkins led her team at the GNAC Championships in 17th place (21:58.6), before crossing the line 41st at the regional meet (22:10.1). Senior
Kate Cameron (GNAC 20th/Regional 46th), senior
Charlotte Prangley (GNAC 23rd/Regional 45th) and sophomore
Alicia Ranahan (GNAC 25th/Regional 78th) each also return to
Brit Townsend’s squad.
Saint Martin’s was picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll with 67 points, and is coming off a strong women’s season with a second-place finish at the 2023 GNAC Championships. The Saints will have to replace a swath of talent from last year’s squad, including All-American Cassidy Walchak-Sloan who transferred to NCAA Division I Eastern Washington after placing 27th (20:34.1) at last year’s NCAA Championships. The Saints lost three other all-conference performers in Alisha Saucedo (GNAC 8th/Regional 39th), Sara Sabra (GNAC 9th/Regional 56th) and Elke Wijkmans (GNAC 10th/Regional 22nd). Senior
Kya Ramirez is the team’s most experienced returner, running a PR of 23:41.5 at last year’s GNAC Championships and representing her team at the NCAA West Region Championships. SMU will be under the guidance of
first-year head coach Gabriel Trimbur.
Placing fifth in the preseason poll was Alaska Anchorage, the same position the Seawolves finished in at the 2023 GNAC Championships with 137 points. UAA brings back one of the conference’s top runners in senior
Nell Baker, who was a USTFCCCA all-region performer last year. Baker took home GNAC Newcomer of the Year honors by placing fifth at the conference meet (21:18.5) on her home course. She followed that with a 25th-place finish (21:44.1) at the regional championships to cap off a successful season. Another key returner for UAA is
Tressa Wood, who ran a PR time of 22:21.1 at last year’s regional meet on her way to a 52nd-place finish.
Ryan McWilliams is in his sixth season in charge of the program alongside associate cross country coach
Chas Davis.
Like the Saints, Western Oregon said goodbye to one of the conference’s top runners in 2023 senior Caitlin Heldt. The Wolves were picked sixth in the GNAC preseason poll with 56 points, and will rely on veteran returning talent in an effort to improve upon last year’s sixth-place conference meet finish. Junior
Riley Smith was WOU’s top finisher at last year’s conference meet, crossing the line in 22:32.1 for 26th place. Other returning upperclassmen with GNAC experience are junior
Holly Hutton (30th place/22:50.0), senior
Kate Chapman (34th place/23:03.9), senior
Olivia Flack (48th place/23:45.2) and junior
Ali Clifton (68th/25:15.3).
Zach Holloway is in his second season in charge of the Wolves cross country program.
Seattle Pacific appeared seventh in the preseason poll with 42 points, and will ride one of the top athletes in all of the GNAC once again this fall.
2023-24 GNAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year Annika Esvelt is back for her final cross country campaign, after displaying dominance during both the cross country and track and field seasons last year. Esvelt placed third at last year’s GNAC Cross Country Championships with a time of 21:04.5, and earned USTFCCCA all-region honors with a 20th-place finish in 21:35.1 at the regional meet.
Karl Lerum is in his 20th season piloting the Falcon cross country and track program, and is assisted by distance coach
Eric Hanson.
Another of the conference’s top returners is set to lead the Northwest Nazarene women’s program in junior standout
Morgan Erler. The Nighthawks were slated eighth in the
NNU's Morgan Erler.
preseason poll with 29 points, after finishing eighth at last year’s conference meet. Erler was NNU’s top performer in Anchorage last fall, placing 16th with a time of 21:57.3. She went on to lead the Nighthawks at the regional meet with a 55th-place finish in 22:22.9.
Greg Mitchell was elevated to the role of interim head coach of the NNU program beginning in the fall of 2024.
Central Washington checked in at ninth in the preseason poll with 23 points, representative of last year’s ninth-place team finish at the conference meet. Youthful talent will be the key for the Wildcats, whose top returner is sophomore
Hannah Mikkelsen. The East Wenatchee, Wash., native turned in a 47th-place finish at last year’s conference meet in 23:45.0.
Jonathan Hill begins his second season in charge of the CWU cross country and track & field program.
Rounding out the women’s preseason poll was Montana State Billings with 11 points, as the Yellowjackets will look to improve upon last year’s 10th-place conference meet finish.
Carey Berendsen is MSUB’s top returner, after taking 50th at the 2023 GNAC Championships with a time of 23:46.4.
Jonathan Woehl begins his eighth season running the Yellowjacket cross country and track & field program.
GNAC Men’s Cross Country 2024 Season Outlook
The Vikings put forth a dominant showing in 2023, cruising to the GNAC title, placing fourth at the NCAA West Region Championships and capping the year by placing 16th as a team at the NCAA Championships. WWU is the clear favorite entering the 2024 season, sweeping all 10 first-place votes from the conference’s coaches.
Individually WWU is in great shape to repeat, as it returns all but one of its runners who competed at the conference, regional and national meets. Heading the pack is reigning GNAC champion
Kevin McDermott, who gutted out a victory in a finish for the ages down the stretch in Anchorage last fall. Using a final push to kick past Central Washington’s
Johan Correa, McDermott crossed the line in 24:43.5 (8k) to claim the crown. He went on to an all-region finish (15th/31:03.9 – 10k) and capped his cross country season 90th at the national meet (31:02.5 – 10k).
WWU's Kevin McDermott won the 2023 GNAC Cross Country Championships individual title in Anchorage, Alaska.
The Vikings’ top finisher at the national meet was
Ryan Clough, who checked in 73rd with a time of 30:51.7 (10k). Clough also garnered all-region honors after finishing ninth in 30:56.5 (10k) and all-conference honors after finishing ninth in 25:21.2 (8k).
Jeret Gillingham is the Vikings’ other returner who earned both all-conference (10th/25:21.6) and all-region (25th/31:19.2), before finishing 146th (31:39.9) among the field of 263 competitors at the national meet.
Jalen Javurek (GNAC 12th/Regional 27th/National 153rd) and
Jason Blinn (GNAC 19th/Regional 74th/National 253rd) are two more Vikings who competed in all three postseason meets last fall.
Samuel Lingwall returns after placing 16th at the GNAC Championships (25:53.3) and
Will Henry earned a spot on the NCAA Championships squad finishing 158th (31:49.8) last November in Joplin, Mo.
Simon Fraser was picked second in the preseason poll with 83 points, after turning in a third-place team finish at last year’s conference meet. Fifth-year
Sebastian Brinkman is the headline returner for the Red Leafs, after crossing the line fourth at last year’s GNAC Championships (25:02.0). Brinkman was also SFU’s top performer at the regional meet, placing 31st with a 10k time of 31:34.5.
Jose Castro and
Ephrem Mekonnen both return after finishing 14th (25:49.2) and 15th (25:52.7), respectively at last year’s conference meet.
Scott Arndt is another SFU returner who competed in both the conference and regional meets, finishing 21st (26:04.2) in the GNAC 8k and 52nd (32:11.8) in the regional 10k.
Alaska Anchorage was the other GNAC unit to advance to the NCAA Championships as a team in 2023, and the Seawolves checked in at No. 3 in this year’s preseason poll with 79 points. One reason for the dip in forecast is the departure of
three-time GNAC Scholar Athlete of the Year Coleman Nash, who transferred to Notre Dame for his final collegiate season. Nash finished third at last year’s conference meet (25:01.8) and earned all-region honors with a 16th-place finish (31:07.8 – 10k). A trio of Seawolves who competed at the national meet are back on the roster in 2024, including junior
John Peckham. The Sisters, Ore., native just missed all-conference with an 11th-place finish at the GNAC Championships (25:22.0 – 8k), before placing 30th at the regional meet (31:33.2 – 10k).
Ty Elliott is the other UAA returner who competed in all three postseason meets, highlighted by an 18th-place finish on his home course at the GNAC Championships (25:56.9 – 8k).
Ries Tveit is back after a spot on the national championships team as well.
Western Oregon was tabbed fourth in the preseason poll with 77 points, and will rely on a veteran roster that features seven seniors.
Easton Pomrankey had the most cross country success last year among the returners, finishing 25th at the GNAC Championships (26:13.9 – 8k) and 125th at the regional meet (34:24.1 – 10k).
Keeton Sanchez is back on the roster after a strong track & field season in which he won the 2024 GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships title in the 800 meters. The Wolves will look to remain in the upper half of the conference, after finishing fourth at last year’s championship meet.
NNU's Brody Kemble.
Another middle-pack team from last year’s meet that was projected fifth in the preseason poll was Northwest Nazarene, which claimed 59 points. One of the conference’s biggest stars is at the forefront of the Nighthawk roster, with junior
Brody Kemble displaying steady improvement throughout his collegiate career. The Middleton, Idaho, native made waves with an all-conference performance at last year’s GNAC Championships, placing seventh with a time of 25:12.0. He followed with a strong 35th-place showing at regionals (31:42.4 – 10k), before capping the year by winning the GNAC outdoor title in the 10,000 meters (30:46.90). The Nighthawks were just three points (145) behind WOU in fifth place at last year’s conference meet.
While Correa was disappointed with his finish at last year’s conference meet, he emerged as the GNAC’s most successful individual athlete during the 2023 cross country season. The senior – who returns to lead a Wildcat team that was picked sixth in the preseason poll with 51 points – was the conference’s top finisher at both the regional and national meets. Correa cruised to a 10k time of 30:42.1 at the NCAA West Region Championships, topping a field of 162 competitors to take home the regional crown. He followed with an All-American finish at nationals, leading the GNAC by taking 17th place with a time of 29:50.3.
Saint Martin’s was projected to mirror last year’s conference finish, earning 39 points to place seventh in the preseason coaches poll. The top returner for the Saints from a season ago is senior
Kainalu Pagente, who placed 34th at the GNAC Championships (26:38.0 – 8k) and 80th at the regional meet (32:57.8 – 10k). Senior
Elijah Dale and junior
Noe Ortega are other notable names that return to the SMU lineup.
Close behind Saint Martin’s in eighth place in the preseason poll was Seattle Pacific, which garnered 31 points. The Falcons will lean on junior
Isaac Venable and sophomores
Silas Demmert and
Jonathan Lieb who all competed at last year’s GNAC meet. Among the Falcon returners, Demmert was the top performer at the 2023 conference meet placing 38th with an 8k time of 26:44.0.
Alaska Fairbanks checked in at No. 9 in the preseason poll with 17 points, after it finished three points behind SPU (220) for ninth place at last year’s conference meet. Sophomore
Ben Dohlby was the Nanooks’ top finisher at both the GNAC Championships (32nd place/26:36.1 – 8k) and the NCAA West Region Championships (100th place/33:26.9 – 10k) and returns to the roster this fall.
Completing the 2024 poll was Montana State Billings, which checked in 10th with 14 points. The Yellowjackets will seek to improve upon last year’s 10th-place GNAC Championships finish.
2024 GNAC Cross Country Championships: The conference meet will be held on Oct. 26 at Sudden Valley Golf Course in Bellingham, Wash., and will be hosted by Western Washington University. The men’s 8k championship race will kick off at 10 a.m. (Pacific), with the women’s 6k championship race following at 11 a.m. (Pacific). All 10 GNAC schools will compete in the conference championship meet.