The Viking men finished third and the women earned a fourth place finish in the 2016 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships hosted by Western at Lake Padden, Saturday, Oct. 22.
Junior Isaac Derline finished third place overall in the men’s 10,000-meter race with a time of 25:07.80, earning him All-Conference honors.
“Isaac is running great,” cross country head coach Pee Wee Halsell said. “I’m very excited about him and how he’s running, and it’s only going to get better.”
Fellow junior Matthew Lutz also earned All-Conference honors with an eighth place finish and a time of 25:36.20.
“It’s not a sure thing and we just got to really work for it.”
Isaac Derline
Junior Lillianna Stelling was the top runner for the Viking women in the 6,000-meter race, completing the course in 22:29:30 and earning a 12th place overall finish. Senior Brittany Grant had the other top-25 finish for Western, at 23rd overall with a time of 22:59.10.
“A lot of ladies stepped up today,” Halsell said.
The men finished behind Simon Fraser University and the University of Alaska Anchorage. On the women’s side, the University of Alaska Anchorage earned its seventh team title in the last eight years.
The Vikings will have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships held in Billings, Montana on Saturday, Nov. 5.
“It’s on the line right now,” Derline said. “It’s not a sure thing and we just got to really work for it.”
In order to qualify for the national championships, Western will have to finish among the top five teams for men and top six teams for women at the regional championship.
