Western Washington University’s cross country teams are the favorites in the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
The men and women have each won the previous two GNAC titles and will look to win a third straight at the Sudden Valley Golf Course Oct. 26.
“What sets us apart from other teams is we are very close with each other outside of running,” senior Kevin McDermott said. “It translates to how we race because everyone supports each other and expects the best from each other.”
The men and women paved their own path to becoming the top squads in the conference.
“In the last five years, both teams have almost mirrored each other,” assistant coach T.J. Garlatz said. “Our women came in with nothing a few years ago and got to establish their identity.”
Women’s cross country
The women’s team has had success the last 20 years, including placing top 10 three times at the NCAA Division II Championships. However, the Vikings struggled immediately after the pandemic because of a large graduating class and very few recruits coming into the program.
In 2020, neither team competed because of the pandemic. In 2021, the Vikings placed second at the GNAC Championships and seventh at the NCAA Division II West Regionals. In 2022, the women began to find success again with an older roster, winning the GNAC and placing sixth at regionals.
“It has been brick-by-brick,” senior Meaera Nystrom said. “We have been showing up every day and it’s been a few years coming. The whole group has risen up together to the level of the competition.”
The Vikings found their new identity when seven freshmen landed in Bellingham in 2021.
“Those girls were the first ones that came in when we couldn’t have cross country,” Garlatz said. “When they had their first season, the guys were clicking and the ladies weren’t. I remember driving back from a meet and they asked, ‘What would it take to have what the guys have?’”
Garlatz believed the women had the passion and desire, but needed to challenge the new recruits to have the same sentiments. Garlatz’s wife, Kristin, who competed for the Vikings, challenged him to show the women what they were capable of and provide them the confidence and framework for success.
Nystrom transferred from Northeastern University in 2022 and became the final piece of the puzzle.
“I enjoy the team environment at Western,” Nystrom said. “I knew what other teams were like and Western has the emphasis of being people as well as athletes. Our coaches want to see us succeed in life. There is a big difference in confidence and comfortability.”
Garlatz said Nystrom, who was a sophomore when she joined the Vikings, provided another form of confidence for the women’s program and had a calming effect on a young roster. She helped the women’s team make history last season, when it won the first NCAA Division II West Regionals title in program history.
“Nobody would have believed it two years ago that the first title would be the women,” Garlatz said. “These girls are onto something special.”
The squad came into the 2024 season ranked seventh in the nation, its highest preseason ranking since 2019. Nystrom said it’s still a learning phase to be on a team with high expectations. However, she believes the team can excel under pressure and reach new heights.
Men’s cross country
The men’s team looks to improve steadily in the 2024 season.
“It’s all about pushing the envelope and never being satisfied with where you are at,” McDermott said. “It’s easy to be satisfied after winning a conference or national title but if you get to the point where you are fine, you will stop getting better.”
The men’s program placed 16th at nationals last season, their 13th time competing at nationals and fourth time in the last five years. The men have been successful the last decade because of the upperclassmen being great role models.
“Mac Frank and Eric Hamel showed us how to get it done, how to get to the top and how to compete,” McDermott said. “I feel like a lot of guys look at me as the guy who has made it to that level. What I hope is the younger guys can see how it is done and how they can get better than me.”
Despite being ranked 12th in the preseason rankings, the goal for the men’s team is to try and place in the top 10.
Both the men’s and women’s teams believe they can achieve their goals because of their work ethic and training in one of the premier running locations in the Northwest.
“Bellingham is the cream of the crop for providing great access,” Garlatz said. “It is great being on softer surfaces like the Interurban trail or Lake Padden and having the access of the hills like Chuckanut. We are enjoying training compared to running on a sidewalk and hoping a car doesn’t hit you.”
Both teams are confident they can earn an NCAA Division II team trophy in the next few years because they each return several key runners and use Bellingham as their training ground.
“While it would be the best scenario, I won’t sell us short,” Garlatz said. “We are not training to be average but to be great.”
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
