It's also conference championship time for Gonzaga, Eastern Washington & SeattleU...

While Washington and Washington State are in Tucson for the Pac-12 cross country championships Friday, Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, and Seattle University are also competing in their conference championship meet Friday and Saturday.

EASTERN WASHINGTON makes a short drive to Moscow, Idaho for the Big Sky championship meet starting at 11 am with the men’s 8k, followed by the women’s 5k at 12:15 pm.

Last year, the Eagles finished in the top five, with the women’s team taking second, and scoring the best team finish in school history.  The men’s squad was fourth, one spot off its all-time best finish of third in 2008.

One of the most intriguing story lines in the women’s race is whether or not Eastern’s Sarah Reiter (left/photo by Paul Merca) can reclaim the Big Sky championship that she won in 2014.

Acoording to Eagle coach Chris Shane, the Lindbergh/Renton product enters the meet as one of the favorites to claim the women’s title.

On the men’s side, Shane feels the senior Isaac Kitzan, who has been the team’s #1 runner all season has a strong chance of claiming all-conference honors.

Eastern Washington’s release is available here.

GONZAGA heads down to San Diego for Friday’s West Coast Conference meet at Tecolote Shores Park, starting at 10 am with the women’s 6k race.

The Zags, who rode the momentum of winning the team title last year in Spokane all the way to their first berth at the NCAA championships, will face three nationally ranked teams in #8 Portland, #13 San Francisco, and #20 BYU.  Gonzaga will be led by season-long #1 runner Jordan Thurston.

On the men’s side, Gonzaga will face two nationally ranked teams in fourth-ranked BYU, and #12 Portland as they contest the championship meet over 8k at 11 am.  Max Kaderabek leads the Bulldogs into battle in San Diego.

Gonzaga’s release is available here.

Saturday, SEATTLE UNIVERSITY hosts the Western Athletic Conference championship meet at Jefferson Park Golf Course on Seattle’s Beacon Hill, with the women’s 6k race starting at 9 am, and the men’s 8k starting at 10 am.

Utah Valley goes into the meet as the favorites on both the men’s and women’s competition. Utah Valley looks to win its fourth straight men’s team title, while their women’s squad is aiming to repeat as conference champs.

SeattleU’s release is available here.

NOTE:  The sports information offices of Gonzaga, Eastern Washington and Seattle University contributed to this report.