Dawgs, Cougs, Eags, Zags & Redhawks head to conference championship meets Friday and Saturday...
It’s championship week for the state’s five Division I schools, and here’s a quick guide to what’s happening this Friday and Saturday:
CAN THE HUSKIES COME UP WITH SOME MAGIC IN MONMOUTH?
Both Washington and Washington State make their way to Monmouth, Oregon for Friday’s Pac-12 cross country championships, hosted by Oregon State University.
If Monmouth sounds familiar, that’s the home of one of the few dedicated cross country courses in the Pacific Northwest, the Ash Creek Preserve, which is on the campus of Western Oregon University, and will host next weekend’s NCAA Division II West Regionals.
Due to springtime flooding at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, this year’s Championships move 20 miles north to be contested on a dedicated cross country course for the first time in event history.
"We’re appreciative of the administration at WOU for their flexibility and openness in allowing the Pac-12 and Oregon State to host the Conference’s Cross Country Championships at Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth,” said Teresa Gould, Senior Associate Commissioner for Sports Management & Institutional Services at the Pac-12 Conference.
On the men’s side, Washington goes into the Pac-12s ranked number 7 in the country, and have 2018 runner-up Talon Hull (left/photo by Paul Merca) returning.
However, Stanford and Colorado enter the meet as slight co-favorites for the conference crown, as they’re tied for third in the latest USTFCCCA coaches’ poll.
Besides Hull, nine other men who have placed in the top ten in past Pac-12 championship races return, including Mt. Spokane HS alum John Dressel, who has placed no lower than eighth in his three previous conference championship meets.
Like the men’s championship race, the women’s race will be hotly contested, featuring three of the nation’s top five teams, led by number 2 Stanford, the number 3 ranked Huskies, and defending national champion Colorado at number 5.
Six women who have placed in the top ten in previous Pac-12 championship meets are in the field, including the Huskies’ Katie Rainsberger and Lilli Burdon, both of whom did it when they attended Oregon.
The Cougars of Washington State go into the meet led by Amir Ado on the men’s side, and Zorana Grujic on the women’s squad. Ado could be in contention for a top-10 finish, based on his last outing, where he placed 20th at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational two weeks ago.
The men’s 8k kicks things off at 11:10 am Friday, while the women’s 6k follows at 12:10 pm. The meet will be televised live on the Pac-12 Network with Jim Watson & Tom Feuer calling the action.
CAN GONZAGA CLOSE THE GAP ON BYU AND PORTLAND?
In men’s cross country, BYU and Portland have been the dominant forces in the West Coast Conference, and the two nationally ranked squads face off Friday at the Woodley Lakes Golf Course in Van Nuys, California.
The Cougars are the clear favorites, entering the meet ranked number 2 in the country, while Portland is ranked number 12. After a strong showing at Nuttycombe in Madison, Wisconsin, the Bulldogs are ranked number 29 in the latest USTFCCCA national poll.
On the women’s side, it’s BYU, Portland, and everybody else, with the Cougar women’s squad, ranked number 4 in the country, and the only team in the conference with a national ranking, a clear favorite.
The Zags are led by sophomore James Mwaura from Tacoma, who finished ninth last year as a freshman, and could be poised for a major breakthrough. Aimee Piercy is Gonzaga’s top returning finisher from last year, where she placed 29th.
The 2019 West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships will be broadcast live and commercial-free on WCC Network. George Devine and Josh Muxen (analyst) will provide the commentary for both races.
EASTERN HEADS TO GREELEY FOR BIG SKY CHAMPS
The Eastern Washington men’s and women’s cross country teams head to Greeley, Colorado for Saturday’s Big Sky Conference championship hosted by the University of Northern Colorado at the Boomerang Golf Course, with the women’s 6k starting at 10:30 am, and the men’s 8k at 11:30 am (11:30 am, and 12:30 pm MT).
The Eagles are coming off a trip to California and the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational where they sent 16 runners to compete on Oct. 19. Carter Ledwith and Kenzie Gaines were top finishers for Eastern, leading the men's and women's teams.
Both Eastern teams are dominated by underclassmen – the women's team has no juniors or seniors on its 11-person roster, while just three of 12 men's competitors are upperclassmen.
REDHAWKS OFF TO KANSAS CITY FOR WAC CHAMPS
Saturday, coach Kelly Sullivan’s Seattle University Redhawks squad heads to Swope Park in Kansas City, Missouri for the Western Athletic Conference championship meet hosted by UM-Kansas City.
The Redhawks finished 16th on the men’s side, and 14th on the women’s side at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational two weeks ago.
Nathan Pixler was the top runner for SeattleU in Santa Clara, finishing 57th in a time of 25:02 for 8k, while Olivia Stein was 23rd in the women’s 6k race in 20:59.
Following Friday and Saturday’s conference championship meets, all five teams will congregate on November 15th in Colfax, as Washington State hosts the NCAA West Regionals at the Colfax Golf Club.
paulmerca.blogspot.com will be on site in Monmouth for coverage of the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships.
NOTE: The Pac-12 Conference, Big Sky Conference, Western Athletic Conference, West Coast Conference, and the sports information offices of the University of Washington, Washington State University, Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University and Seattle University contributed to this report.
CAN THE HUSKIES COME UP WITH SOME MAGIC IN MONMOUTH?
If Monmouth sounds familiar, that’s the home of one of the few dedicated cross country courses in the Pacific Northwest, the Ash Creek Preserve, which is on the campus of Western Oregon University, and will host next weekend’s NCAA Division II West Regionals.
Due to springtime flooding at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, this year’s Championships move 20 miles north to be contested on a dedicated cross country course for the first time in event history.
"We’re appreciative of the administration at WOU for their flexibility and openness in allowing the Pac-12 and Oregon State to host the Conference’s Cross Country Championships at Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth,” said Teresa Gould, Senior Associate Commissioner for Sports Management & Institutional Services at the Pac-12 Conference.
On the men’s side, Washington goes into the Pac-12s ranked number 7 in the country, and have 2018 runner-up Talon Hull (left/photo by Paul Merca) returning.
However, Stanford and Colorado enter the meet as slight co-favorites for the conference crown, as they’re tied for third in the latest USTFCCCA coaches’ poll.
Besides Hull, nine other men who have placed in the top ten in past Pac-12 championship races return, including Mt. Spokane HS alum John Dressel, who has placed no lower than eighth in his three previous conference championship meets.
Like the men’s championship race, the women’s race will be hotly contested, featuring three of the nation’s top five teams, led by number 2 Stanford, the number 3 ranked Huskies, and defending national champion Colorado at number 5.
Six women who have placed in the top ten in previous Pac-12 championship meets are in the field, including the Huskies’ Katie Rainsberger and Lilli Burdon, both of whom did it when they attended Oregon.
The Cougars of Washington State go into the meet led by Amir Ado on the men’s side, and Zorana Grujic on the women’s squad. Ado could be in contention for a top-10 finish, based on his last outing, where he placed 20th at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational two weeks ago.
The men’s 8k kicks things off at 11:10 am Friday, while the women’s 6k follows at 12:10 pm. The meet will be televised live on the Pac-12 Network with Jim Watson & Tom Feuer calling the action.
CAN GONZAGA CLOSE THE GAP ON BYU AND PORTLAND?
In men’s cross country, BYU and Portland have been the dominant forces in the West Coast Conference, and the two nationally ranked squads face off Friday at the Woodley Lakes Golf Course in Van Nuys, California.
The Cougars are the clear favorites, entering the meet ranked number 2 in the country, while Portland is ranked number 12. After a strong showing at Nuttycombe in Madison, Wisconsin, the Bulldogs are ranked number 29 in the latest USTFCCCA national poll.
On the women’s side, it’s BYU, Portland, and everybody else, with the Cougar women’s squad, ranked number 4 in the country, and the only team in the conference with a national ranking, a clear favorite.
The Zags are led by sophomore James Mwaura from Tacoma, who finished ninth last year as a freshman, and could be poised for a major breakthrough. Aimee Piercy is Gonzaga’s top returning finisher from last year, where she placed 29th.
The 2019 West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships will be broadcast live and commercial-free on WCC Network. George Devine and Josh Muxen (analyst) will provide the commentary for both races.
EASTERN HEADS TO GREELEY FOR BIG SKY CHAMPS
The Eastern Washington men’s and women’s cross country teams head to Greeley, Colorado for Saturday’s Big Sky Conference championship hosted by the University of Northern Colorado at the Boomerang Golf Course, with the women’s 6k starting at 10:30 am, and the men’s 8k at 11:30 am (11:30 am, and 12:30 pm MT).
The Eagles are coming off a trip to California and the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational where they sent 16 runners to compete on Oct. 19. Carter Ledwith and Kenzie Gaines were top finishers for Eastern, leading the men's and women's teams.
Both Eastern teams are dominated by underclassmen – the women's team has no juniors or seniors on its 11-person roster, while just three of 12 men's competitors are upperclassmen.
REDHAWKS OFF TO KANSAS CITY FOR WAC CHAMPS
Saturday, coach Kelly Sullivan’s Seattle University Redhawks squad heads to Swope Park in Kansas City, Missouri for the Western Athletic Conference championship meet hosted by UM-Kansas City.
The Redhawks finished 16th on the men’s side, and 14th on the women’s side at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational two weeks ago.
Nathan Pixler was the top runner for SeattleU in Santa Clara, finishing 57th in a time of 25:02 for 8k, while Olivia Stein was 23rd in the women’s 6k race in 20:59.
Following Friday and Saturday’s conference championship meets, all five teams will congregate on November 15th in Colfax, as Washington State hosts the NCAA West Regionals at the Colfax Golf Club.
paulmerca.blogspot.com will be on site in Monmouth for coverage of the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships.
NOTE: The Pac-12 Conference, Big Sky Conference, Western Athletic Conference, West Coast Conference, and the sports information offices of the University of Washington, Washington State University, Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University and Seattle University contributed to this report.
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