Western places sixth among 310 Division II schools in final 2009-10 Sports Directors' Cup standings

WWU Athletics

June 24, 2010

Paced by a sixth straight national title in women's rowing and fourth and eighth place national finishes, respectively, by the men's and women's cross country teams, Western Washington University placed sixth nationally among 310 NCAA Division II schools in the final 2009-10 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings released Wednesday.

It is the Vikings' highest placing in school history and the school's second top 10 finish as they placed 10th last year.

"I'm ecstatic about our finish and where that puts us among the best programs in Division II," said Western director of athletics Lynda Goodrich. "That certainly reaches our goal of being among the top 20, and hopefully this stretch of top 10 finishes will continue for some time."

Western's sixth-place national finish is the highest ever by a Great Northwest Athletic Conference school and led all West Region schools, beating out UC San Diego which was eighth with 626.00 points.

Western finished with 642.75 points, 206.50 of those in the spring, 146.00 in the fall and 191.25 in the winter.

The Vikings tied for 14th in the women's division and tied for 16th in the men's division at the indoor track and field nationals, and the men's and women's outdoor track and field teams both tied for 18th at nationals.

Western reached the regional semifinals in men's basketball and the first round in women's basketball. The women's golf squad placed seventh at the Super West Regional and the men's golf team tied for seventh at the Central/West Super Regional.

Grand Valley State (Mich.) captured its fifth straight Division II championship with 1021.50 points. Stanford (Calif.) claimed its 16th consecutive Division I title and Williams (Mass.) took its 12th straight Division III championship.

Western, which was the GNAC combined sports team champion for 2009-10, won league titles in men's cross country, men's golf and men's outdoor track & field. The Vikings also took the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference championship.

2009-10 Final Standings:

  1. Grand Valley State MI 1021.50
  2. California PA 703.00
  3. Central Missouri 672.50
  4. Minnesota State Mankato 660.50
  5. St. Cloud State MN 643.50
  6. Western Washington 642.75
  7. Ashland OH 636.75
  8. UC San Diego 626.00
  9. Abilene Christian TX 616.75
  10. Adams State CO 613.50