Huskies set to host Sundodger Invitational; Zags and Eagles to race at Erik Anderson Invite...

The bulk of Washington’s Division I and II schools will converge upon Seattle’s Lincoln Park Saturday morning for the annual Sundodger Invitational cross country race hosted by the University of Washington.

Action gets underway at 9 am with the women’s 6k open race featuring all four Division II schools—Seattle Pacific, Western Washington, Saint Martin’s, and nationally ranked Central Washington, (#22) featuring NCAA D2 steeplechase All American Dani Eggleston.  They’ll go up against defending Sundodger open champs University of British Columbia

The men’s 8k starts at 9:40 with all four Washington D2 schools, led by Western Washington, ranked #19 in the first USTFCCCA national poll, expected to challenge defending champs University of British Columbla over 8k.

After the girls’ high school varsity 5k race at 10:25 am, the women’s 6k invitational race gets going at 11am, with the #14 ranked Huskies going against cross state rival Washington State, Tulane, Oregon State, Fresno State, Nevada, Portland State and SeattleU.

NCAA cross country All-American Maddie Meyers (above/photo by Paul Merca) is expected to lead the charge for the Dawgs, along with NCAA competitors Kaylee Flanagan, Anna Maxwell, and Eleanor Fulton. Add to the mix for the Dawgs are freshman Pan Am Jr steeple champ Charlotte Prouse, and graduate student Sydney Harris from Villanova.

The men’s invitational 8k starts at 11:35, where the # 21 ranked Huskies look to regain the Sundodger title it surprisingly lost to Washington State, when the Cougs packed all five scorers in the top seven, despite a win by senior Aaron Nelson.

Nelson has graduated, but Washington will be led by All-American Tyler King, who was 12th in this meet last year.  Last year’s Sundodger was a wakeup call for the Huskies, who ended up qualifying for the NCAA championships, while the Cougs faltered down the stretch.

One athlete that could make things interesting up front is Tulane’s Moses Aloiloi, as the Kenyan, who won the Jaguar Opener, is expected to mix it up with the top runners from the Huskies, Cougars, SeattleU, Portland State, and Club Northwest.

The high school varsity boys’ 5k race follows at 12:20 pm, followed by junior varsity girls’ and boys’ races to conclude the day.

Across the state, Gonzaga and Eastern Washington will compete at the Erik Anderson Invitational at Plantes Ferry Sports Complex in Spokane Valley, with several West Coast Conference schools, including Portland and BYU.  This meet serves as a preview for next month’s WCC championship meet which Gonzaga will host. Eastern Washington was originally scheduled to run at Sundodger, but opted to stay close to home.

The men's 8k starts at 9 am, with the women's 6k starting 45 minutes later.

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