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POSTED: Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY: WWU men and women headed to nationals

Western Washington University had the best combined showing in school history as its men's team placed second and the women's squad finished fourth at the NCAA Division II West Region Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Golden Gate Park's Speedway Meadow in San Francisco.

The finishes qualified both Viking teams for the national meet Nov. 21 at Evansville, Ind. The men were ranked sixth nationally and women 10th in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Top 25.

"We hit our goals and got to nationals," Western coach Pee Wee Halsell said in a press release. "Now, we just need to fine-tune and I can still see improvement happening."

Western's Jordan Welling was second individually in the men's race as was the Vikings' Sarah Porter in the women's run.

In all, five Viking runners earned all-region honors by placing among the top 15. Anthony Tomsich was seventh and Bennett Grimes 12th in the men's division, and Lauren Breihof was 12th in the women's division.

The top three West Region men's teams and the first four women's squads advanced to nationals.

The runner-up finish by Western's men matched their best ever at regionals. The Vikings also were second in 2007, and third in 2008.

Chico State took the men's title for the eighth straight year with 42 points. Western was second in the 20-team field with 74, and Alaska Anchorage was third with 96, edging out Western Oregon, fourth at 105.

Alaska Anchorage's Marko Cheseto was the individual champion, completing the 10-kilometer course in 30:42.5. Welling was second in 30:59.4, Tomsich seventh in 31:23.7 and Grimes 12th in 31:42.9.

Grimes received all-region recognition for the third straight year and Welling for the second consecutive season. Last fall, Welling was eighth and Grimes 11th, and in 2007 Grimes was fifth.

There was a spread of 1:45.4 between Western's five scoring runners with Eric Brill placing 27th in 32:35.7, and Blake Medhaug 28th in 32:44.8.

Completing the Vikings' contingent were Yonas Berhe, 32nd in 32:53.4, and Greg Kubitz, 41st in 33:16.7.

"Our depth carried us through as we had a couple of flat spots," Halsell said. "That's nice to be able to rely on that in this caliber of a race."

Western placed fourth in the 25-team women's division with 121 points. Alaska Anchorage took top honors with 35. Defending champion Chico State was second with 58, and Seattle Pacific was third with 75. Finishing fifth was Cal Poly Pomona at 197.

Seattle Pacific's Jessica Pixler was the individual winner, touring the six-kilometer course in 20:08.9. Porter was second in 20:42.3 and Breihof was 12th in 21:44.5.

It was the third all-region performance for Porter, who was third last year and 13th in 2007 as a freshman.

Also among the Vikings' scoring five were Courtney Olsen, 20th in 21:54.7; Danielle Slaughter, 38th in 22:54.0; and Sierra Brisky, 49th in 23:16.7.

Western's Kirsten Moore placed 57th in 23:23.1, and Emily Wallen was 64th in 23:33.9.

"The women had some good races, they did what they needed to do," said Halsell. "We had improvement from our four through seven runners, with Danielle (Slaughter) doing an excellent job."

In 2008, Western qualified both teams for nationals for the first time since joining the NCAA in 1998, the men placing third and the women fifth as five West Region teams qualified for nationals that year. Both Viking squads finished 10th at nationals with Grimes, Medhaug, Porter and Welling all earning All-America recognition.