The 2021 collegiate cross country season begins Wednesday in the state of Washington...

Gonzaga's James Mwaura, who qualified for the 
US Olympic Trials in the 10000, looks for All-
America honors in cross country in 2021
(Paul Merca photo)

Just when you thought that you just had a cross country season this past winter and early spring, the 2021 collegiate cross country season begins for real on Wednesday afternoon, as Washington State hosts the WSU Open at the Colfax Golf Course.

The WSU Open has traditionally been an intrasquad meet for the Cougars, with a few alums running for good measure, as well as anyone in the community who wishes to enter. 

Events get underway at 5:15 pm with the women's 4k, and the men's 6k starting 30 minutes later.

Seattle University and the University of Washington gets their season started Friday with the UW/SeattleU Invitational at Magnuson Park in Seattle on the 800 meter gravel loop surrounding the soccer fields, with the women starting at 10 am, and the men following an hour later.

That same morning, Eastern Washington hosts the Clash of the Inland Northwest on their campus course surrounding the practice fields in Cheney, with Gonzaga making the short drive to provide the opposition, along with the University of Idaho.

The 2020 Division II season, which other than a meet between Central Washington and Seattle Pacific on February 20th in Ellensburg, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, begins Saturday, as the Falcons and Saint Martin's travel to Fort Steilacoom State Park for the Puget Sound Invitational, hosted by the University of Puget Sound.

The two other Great Northwest Athletic Conference schools in the state of Washington--Central Washington and Western Washington, opens their 2021 campaign on September 11th when the Wildcats host the Central Washington Invitational against Western Washington.

With all nine NCAA Division I and II school in the state releasing their 2021 cross country schedules, here are some key regular season dates and meets to look forward to:

September 23rd: Gonzaga and Washington State head to Springfield, Oregon for the Bill Dellinger Invitational, hosted by the University of Oregon, in what could be one of the first major meets with national implication. Gonzaga, which is looking to return to the NCAA championships, will face WCC rival Portland, as well as host Oregon, while the Cougars will test themselves against two teams that went to nationals in March.

September 24th: Western Washington heads east to Minnesota for the Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota. The Griak meet's Division II section has traditionally been one of the country's best invitationals, and will be a major test for the Viking men, who head into the 2021 season as the pre-season favorites according to the GNAC coaches' poll.

October 1st: Washington heads to the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by Notre Dame, which always features several nationally ranked squads.

October 2nd: Seattle Pacific hosts the Chambers Creek Invitational at Chambers Creek Park in University Place, featuring Central Washington and Saint Martin's. This meet is serving as a dry run, as the Falcons will host the 2022 NCAA Division II cross country championships on this course.

October 9th: Western Washington hosts the WWU Bill Roe Classic at Bellingham's Sudden Valley Golf Course to honor long time Viking distance coach and former USA Track & Field president Bill Roe, who died in 2020 while at the Pan Am Cross Country Cup in Victoria, British Columbia.

The meet has traditionally been a preview of the GNAC championships, with nearly all schools in the conference making the trip to Bellingham.

October 15th: Gonzaga, Washington and Washington State all head to Madison, Wisconsin for the Nuttycombe Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin. The Nuttycombe is one of the biggest NCAA Division I invitationals, and the results of this meet plays a part in what teams get selected as at-large selections for the NCAA championships, which this year will be contested in Tallahassee, Florida on November 20th.

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship meet is October 23rd in Lacey, hosted by Saint Martin's, while championship weekend for the state's five Division I schools is October 29-30.

The NCAA D2 West Regionals are November 6th, hosted by Western Oregon, while the NCAA Division I regionals are November 12th, hosted by Sacramento State.

Both the NCAA D1 and D2 championships are in the state of Florida on November 20th, with Florida State hosting Division I and St. Leo University hosting the Division II championships.

The composite Washington Division I and II cross country schedule is available as a PDF file below.

Composite Washington d1_d2 XC Schedule by Paul Merca on Scribd

NOTE: The sports information offices of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Central Washington, Saint Martin's, Seattle Pacific, Western Washington, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, Seattle University, University of Washington, and Washington State University contributed to this report.

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