Notes from Terre Haute and Sacramento in advance of the NCAA cross country championships...

TERRE HAUTE, Indiana--On a cold and clear day, the University of Washington cross country teams (above & left/photos by Paul Merca)  got their final look Friday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in advance of Saturday's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

Publisher Paul Merca toured the course this morning before the teams arrived to inspect the course.

For the most part, the course was firm, though there is a spot on the downhill descent short of the first right hand turn that is muddy, due to precipitation in the days leading up to the race, and the fact that there was  a race on the course the previous weekend. There were other areas of the course that were slightly muddy.

Organizers roped off the muddy areas so that teams could not run over those spots before Saturday's race.

Once daybreak hits Saturday, weather.com forecasts showers in the Terre Haute area, with temperatures hitting 38 degrees for the women's 6k race race at 11:15 am local time (8:15 am in Seattle), and 39 degrees an hour later for the men's 10k.

One name overlooked in Thursday's post is Yukino Parle of Boise State (Edmonds/Woodway HS), who was seventh in the women's 6k at the NCAA West regionals in Colfax.

A live webcast of the meet will be streamed on media partner Flotrack.org ($).

In Sacramento, the Seattle Pacific women and both Western Washington squads are preparing for Saturday's NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on the Arcade Creek Golf Course at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex.

Sacramento State University and the Sacramento Sports Commission will serve as hosts for the event, with the women's 6K race beginning at 10 am, followed by the men's race at 11:15 am.

Like the D1 championship races, the Division II will be streamed live via media partner Flotrack ($).

This is the 18th time that Seattle Pacific will compete in the biggest meet of the season. Last year in the slip and slop at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, the Falcons placed 15th – and five of those runners, including a trio of seniors, led by Kate Lilly, will toe the starting line again on Saturday.

For Western Washington, this marks the eighth time in program history that both the men's and women's programs have been selected to race for the NCAA II national championship. This marks the 9th trip to nationals for the women's program, and the second consecutive year after placing 20th in 2018 at the NCAA II Fall Championships Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. WWU's previous trip to nationals was in 2015 when the team earned a 6th-place finish. This is the 11th selection for the men's team and second consecutive season after finishing 26th last year at nationals.

Seattle Pacific's preview is here, while Western Washington's preview is here.

NOTE: The NCAA and the sports information offices of Seattle Pacific, Western Washington, the University of Washington and Gonzaga University contributed to this report.