Kicking off the New Year has been a little brighter for Western Washington University athletics, as the Vikings finished the fall 2024 season ranked No. 15 in the nation in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings.
The Vikings placed 15th out of 151 NCAA Division II programs, according to a Jan. 3 announcement. Western was the top Great Northwest Athletic Conference school, and the second-highest West Region program behind No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona.
The Vikings recorded 179 points and were bolstered by performances from women’s cross country (66), men’s cross country (63) and women’s soccer (50).
Western men’s and women’s cross country swept the team titles for the third straight year at the GNAC Championships and both teams placed second at regionals.
Women’s cross country, which placed 11th at nationals, was led by junior All-American Ashley Reeck’s 33rd-place finish. The men’s team placed 13th at nationals, led by GNAC champion Jeret Gillingham’s 48th-place showing.
Women’s soccer advanced to the West Regional semifinals en route to its 50-point contribution in the Directors’ Cup standings. The Vikings (14-4-5) won their 10th GNAC regular-season title with an undefeated league record (11-0-3). They then placed second at the GNAC Championships to clinch their 13th overall appearance in the NCAA Championships.
Western has placed in the top 50 in the Directors’ Cup standings in 20 of its 24 seasons at the Division II level dating back to the first year in 1998–99. The Vikings’ highest finish was sixth place in 2009–10.
Women’s basketball
After starting the season 1-3, Western women have won four out of their last five games to improve to 8-5 overall and 3-1 in conference. That includes, most recently, a pair of road wins at Western Oregon (63-30) Jan. 2 and at Saint Martin’s (63-50) Jan. 4.
Senior guard Olivia Wikstrom was named GNAC Player of the Week for her performances during those two games, averaging 19 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals. She was 6-for-12 from long range.
Wikstrom is the Vikings’ leading scorer and ranks seventh in the GNAC with 14.7 points per game, and is second in the conference with 8.2 rebounds per game.
“Olivia had a great week on the road for us,” Western head coach Carmen Dolfo said in a news release. “She is a great shooter but also can take the ball to the basket so strong.”
Men’s basketball
Viking men have lost three of their last four games by a combined eight points, including back-to-back conference defeats to the Alaska schools last week: 88-73 to Alaska Fairbanks Jan. 2 and 71-67 to Alaska Anchorage Jan. 4.
The Vikings held a seven-point lead over Anchorage with just over six minutes remaining but surrendered a 20-9 run to the Seawolves down the stretch. Sophomore guard Tijan Saine led all players with a career-high 29 points.
The Vikings (8-6) are tied for sixth place in the GNAC with a 0-4 conference record. Senior guard Will Wilson is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.8 points per game.
Western will continue GNAC play with a two-game road stand, beginning at Seattle Pacific on Thursday, Jan. 9, then to Montana State University Billings on Saturday, Jan. 11.
BEST BETS
7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9 – Women’s basketball vs. Northwest Nazarene, Bellingham. Western’s next game is Dolfo’s first opportunity to clinch career win No. 700. The Vikings are currently third in conference and will have a good chance of getting that 700th victory when they face sixth-place Northwest Nazarene (7-5, 1-2 GNAC) at home.
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9 – Men’s basketball at Seattle Pacific, Seattle. The Vikings will look to earn their first conference victory of the season on the road against a Seattle Pacific team (5-9, 1-2 GNAC) that has won three of its last four.
Tickets. See wwuvikings.com/Tickets or in person one hour prior to game time.
Parking. Free for sports. For basketball, lot 19G for general audience; 9G for season ticket holders. See the map at wwu.edu/parking.
Can’t make it? Stream it
All home games and most road contests are streamed via a live and free YouTube webcast. Find links online at cascadiadaily.com.
If you have a smart TV, search for “WWU Athletics” on YouTube.
We want to hear from you
Got a WWU sports-related news tip or interesting item for this notebook, or a good story idea? We’re all ears. Send to newstips@cascadiadaily.com, subject line: WWU sports notebook.
Eric Trent is CDN’s news producer; reach him at erictrent@cascadiadaily.com.
