BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men’s and women’s cross country program hosted the 45th Annual WWU Classic on Saturday at Sudden Valley Golf Course in Bellingham.
The 19th-ranked men’s team placed 3rd with 94 points, trailing only No. 8 Simon Fraser (40 points) and Alaska Anchorage (51 points), and edging 17th-ranked Colorado-Colorado Springs. The Vikings were led by a 9th-place overall finish by sophomore Eric Hamel (Enumclaw, WA), who finished the 10,000-meter course in 32:18. Redshirt sophomore Ed Kiolbasa (Stillwater, MN/Stillwater Area/North Dakota) finished 20th in 32:56, with WWU’s top five runners all placing in the top 30.
“I thought the men raced very aggressively today and had some great performances,” said WWU head coach Pee Wee Halsell. “They were determined from the start of the race, made up ground in several spots and overall had a great day.”
The 14th-ranked women’s team placed 4th among the seven college teams that raced with 101 points, trailing only No. 10 Simon Fraser (71 points), No. 8 Alaska Anchorage (76 points) and No. 12 Seattle Pacific (96 points). The Vikings were led by a 16th-place overall finish and 7th among collegiate runners by freshman Rebecca Lehman (Spokane Valley, WA/University), who finished the 6,000-meter course in 22:23. Junior Sophia Galvez (Los Alamos, NM) was 20th overall (10th among college runners) finishing in 22:28. Overall the Vikings had six runners in the top 20 among collegiate runners in the race.
“The women raced hard and had some good performances,” added Halsell. “They will continue to build up and I am confident they will have their best races of the season when they really count at the GNAC Championships and regional meet.”
The 45th Annual WWU Classic was raced at Sudden Valley Golf Course, after being hosted for several years at Lake Padden Park.
“We really enjoyed coming out to Sudden Valley Golf Course and appreciate all they did to accommodate this great event to make for a wonderful student-athlete experience. The weather was great, the course was great, the racing was great. It was a good day for the Vikings,” said Halsell.