MONMOUTH, Ore. – The SFU Red Leafs came close to successfully defending their GNAC Cross Country titles but in the end fell just short, with the men finishing second and women third Saturday at Western Oregon University's Ash Creek Preserve.
 
Instead, it was Western Washington who pulled off the double, winning both men's and women's titles.
 
Charlie Dannatt was lead runner for the Red Leafs finishing second in the men's 8-kilometre race which Grace Chalk finished 10^th in the women's 6 km race.
 
 
Simon Fraser, the 2021 men's champion, placed second with 52 points after placing all five scoring runners in the top 18 while Western Washington placed all five scoring runners in the top 10 to finish first with a score of 31 points.
 
Western Washington secured its team victory with an impressive 16-second gap between the five scoring runners. Only the Vikings and Simon Fraser finished with a gap of less than a minute between the scoring five.
 
Simon Fraser's Charlie Dannatt placed second in 23:03.4 while junior Sebastian Brinkman placed fifth in 24:07.9 to earn All-GNAC honours based on their top-10 finishes.
 

Coleman Nash (UAA) left little doubt in victory, building an eight-second lead over the first 3,000 meters in the race. He built the gap to 18 seconds at 4,500 meters and was a dominant 21 seconds ahead of the chase pack at 6,500 meters. He finished first in 23:46.2.
 
Women's Race
 
Western Washington used a solid team performance to win the program's second women's championship. The Vikings placed two runners in the top 10 and a score of 64 points. Saint Martin's placed three runners in the top 10 and finished second with 78 points.
 
Western Washington and Saint Martin's emerged from a competitive team race that saw the top-five teams separated by 27 points and second through fifth separated by just 13 points. Simon Fraser placed third with 86 points, followed by Western Oregon with 87 points and Alaska with 91 points.
 

 
Grace Chalk was an All-GNAC performer, placing 10th in a time of 21:45.4.
 
After running neck-and-neck the entire 6,000 meters, it was Nanooks' sophomores Kendall Kramer and Naomi Bailey holding hands across the finish line to make it as much of a team victory as it was an individual victory. One runner had to be declared the winner, however, and finish-line cameras gave the nod to Kramer in a time of 20:37.0 while Bailey was second in 20:37.1.
 
The conference's teams now look ahead to the NCAA West Region Championships, hosted by Montana State Billings, which take place on Sat., Nov. 19 at Amend Park in Billings, Montana.
 

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