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TSR's 2023 Preseason D2 XC Top 10 Rankings (Men): #8 Western Washington Vikings
- Gavin Struve
- Sep 7, 2023
- 6 min read
Written by Gavin Struve, edits and additional commentary by Garrett Zatlin
NOTE: Earlier this summer, The Stride Report reached out to nearly every team that was considered for a possible ranking this summer. While we did receive numerous responses and great clarity, we did not get a 100% response rate. On rare occasions, we are referencing TFFRS in order to talk about returners and athletes who are out of eligibility.
Western Washington has not been a powerhouse in recent years, particularly compared to their west coast contemporaries. And yet, they’ve been quite competent throughout the past decade -- now they have a chance to build on their recent success thanks to enviable continuity.
The Vikings may well find themselves right in step with a number of power programs over the coming months. We see them as the kind of team that should be consistently good throughout the season and hold steady come time for the postseason.
They feel like an unexpected breakout contender if a couple of men can make a star turn.
* * *
The Western Washington men started their 2022 fall campaign in-state with a tune-up. They predictably dominated the CWU Invitational as they swept the top-five spots of the 6k race.
Of course, the Vikings had a bigger task ahead with their home meet two weeks later. At that meet, WWU didn’t crowd the front of the field, but they still squeaked out a team win which was led by Kevin McDermott and Andrew Oslin in 3rd and 4th place, respectively.
With their next three scorers all in the top-16 spots (going 10-13-16), the Vikings narrowly defeated the usually-strong Simon Fraser men to continue their winning ways. It was their firepower that, in the end, gave Western Washington the win.
Despite their solid start, the Bellingham-based men would struggle to control a deeper field at the Lewis Crossover, although they still finished a respectable 3rd overall. While they fell behind Colorado Christian and Illinois-Springfield, the Vikings still defeated talented distance programs such as Michigan Tech and Saginaw Valley State.
McDermott delivered a low-stick result, placing 7th. In a field that large, a potent performance like that was needed in order to be competitive. From there, WWU relied on their depth as Jeret Gillingham, Ryan Clough, Jared Alderfer and Oslin finished 16-19-21-22, respectively. Those were solid results, but the pack would need to make a collective improvement as the season went on.
Another competitive field awaited the Vikings at D2 Pre-Nationals where they yet again performed capably. McDermott placed 17th while Oslin took 22nd, two results that hinted at All-American potential. Meanwhile, four other WWU runners finished in the top-50 as Ryan Clough emerged as a strong scorer in 29th place.
That combination of lead scoring and passable depth landed the Vikings at 4th place among 27 teams, but they were still a ways behind the clear-cut top-three teams.
The Vikings unsurprisingly proved to be the class of the GNAC, taking down Simon Fraser once again. Gillingham and Oslin finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, while the Vikings also took places 7-8-9 behind a breakout performance from George Karamitsos while finding more success from McDermott and Clough.
After finishing runner-up at the West Regional XC Championships, the Vikings advanced to the national stage and ended up performing admirably in their home state.
No top-tier low-stick materialized for this team, but Oslin performed mostly in line with expectations by placing 65th. Karamitsos continued his pleasant postseason progression by finishing 83rd and Clough continued to be steady in 88th place. With Gillingham in 95th, the Western Washington men had a strong core four of scorers.
But when their fifth runner came across the line in 151st place, the Vikings had to come to terms with the idea that it wasn’t going to be their best day. Even so, a 14th place result put them in the top-half of the team standings at the NCAA XC Championships and represented their best team finish since 2017.
That performance also suggested that this roster was built for the future.
* * *
The Vikings came away from last November with a result that they could be proud of. However, the notion that they could have been even better should serve as a motivating factor as they attempt to emerge as a top-10 squad this fall.
The most notable loss for this team is George Karamitsos who became one of this team’s lead scorers late last fall. It’s tough to lose the guy who was your second scorer on the national stage, but it feels even worse to be without someone who continued to get better in each race a year ago.
And yet, the Vikings still appear primed for improvement this fall.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a team as good as Western Washington was last fall who returns five of their top-six runners heading into the 2023 cross country season. That level of continuity gives the Vikings a pretty high floor in our eyes and makes us feel confident that they won’t make us look overzealous with this ranking.
Of course, if this entire group takes a collective step up in their fitness, then by November, this ranking might actually look slightly conservative.
* * *
The Western Washington men still have no clear-cut low-stick or All-American a year later. They do, however, have candidates to fill those roles. And at the very least, this team appears to have multiple lead scorers.
That conversation starts with Andrew Oslin who was probably the team’s most valuable runner last fall based on his consistency. He finished 22nd at both the Lewis Crossover and D2 Pre-Nationals. He was among the top-four in three other fields and led his squad at the national meet.
Simply put, he is super reliable.
However, we think another athlete on this team may hold even greater upside. Kevin McDermott was the Vikings’ first runner across the line at the WWU Bill Roe Classic, the Lewis Crossover and D2 Pre-Nationals. Suffice to say, he was their top runner throughout the regular season.
And while we weren’t concerned by McDermott finishing outside of the top-five at his conference meet, perhaps it was a bit of foreshadowing that he was fading come time for the postseason. His national meet performance was not an abject disaster, but it feels fair to say McDermott could have been over 100 spots better than his 163rd place finish.
After running multiple personal bests over the spring months, including times of 14:09 (5k) and 29:48 (10k), this Evergreen State native feels due for a bounce back.
Both Oslin and McDermott feel like they are due for breakout seasons. But even if that doesn't happen, then simply having McDermott in top shape for the postseason (while being an effective lead or secondary scorer) would already be a step in the right direction.
What about Jeret Gillingham? He took a couple of turns as WWU’s top scorer last year as he won the team’s first meet, snagged a bronze medal at the GNAC XC Championships and placed in the top-100 at the national meet. It feels fair to expect him to finish closer to the range that Oslin occupied on the national stage in 2022.
We then come to Ryan Clough who was one of the team’s more steady runners on an already stable team last year. He offers a fourth dose of veteran reliability in their scoring lineup. Of course, his performance at D2 Pre-Nationals (29th) suggests that he also has some untapped upside within him as we enter the fall of 2023.
Perhaps the most likely candidate to close out the scoring at a number of WWU’s meets this fall is Jalen Javurek who filled that role at the NCAA XC Championships last year. If he can get closer to being a top-100 runner nationally, then that would be a significant step toward closing out the Vikings' scoring in a respectable manner.
However, the person who gives this team some exciting upside and acts as a key x-factor is someone who wasn't even on this roster last year.
The Vikings’ biggest addition figures to be Portland State transfer Samuel Lingwall who finished 18th at the 2022 BIG Sky XC Championships. If he can immediately convert his Division One experience and talent into results, WWU will have no shortage of lineup options.
It would also make sense for Western Washington to attempt to develop a couple of their 20 freshmen or redshirt freshmen given the quantity of options in that group.
* * *
We feel pretty comfortable saying that the Vikings have four top-80 runners entering this fall. But in order to really make a jump on the national stage and match their 8th place finish back in 2017, they likely need a couple of those men to emerge as All-Americans -- or close to it.
Of course, the national meet is not the end-all, be-all and we truthfully don’t have a lot of concerns about this team. The Vikings appear primed for a successful fall campaign over the next three months.
The Western Washington men leave the Pacific Northwest just twice this season, assuming you don’t count Anchorage where they’ll be a favorite at the GNAC XC Championships. And don’t be surprised to see a number of men taking turns as WWU’s lead scorer in 2023.
