Dawgs & Redhawks go at Magnuson Park Friday, while Eags & Zags race in Cheney...

Pac-12 cross country champ Haley Herberg
(Paul Merca photo)

After Washington State kicked off the 2021 cross country season Wednesday night at the WSU Open, the remaining four Washington NCAA Division I schools go into action Friday morning at 10 am.

On the west side of the Cascades, the University of Washington hosts the annual dual meet against Seattle University at Magnuson Park, starting with the men's 4 mile at 10 am, and the women's 3 mile at 10:45.

The Huskies, who just reported earlier this week, are expected to treat this race as a glorified tempo run over the 800 meter gravel loop at Magnuson. 

"For UW and ourselves, we use this as an early season rust buster to determine where everyone stands at this moment. We are looking forward to competing once again," said Seattle University head coach Kelly Sullivan.

In Cheney, Eastern Washington hosts the Clash of the Inland Northwest meet at the EWU Sports & Recreation Center fields.

The meet begins at 10 a.m. with the women's 4,000-meter race, followed by the men's 6,000 at 10:30 a.m. Joining EWU will be Gonzaga, Idaho, Montana Lewis-Clark State, Community Colleges of Spokane, Whitman, Whitworth and Walla Walla University.

Fresh off qualifying as a team to the NCAA championships for the first time in school history in March, the Gonzaga men's squad starts the season with the goal of returning to the nationals this fall.

According to Gonzaga head coach Pat Tyson, "Our goal is to go and have a fun race but get the job done," Tyson said. "James Mwaura will sit out this one, but everyone else will go out for a workout race and get ready for the next one the next week."

The releases of Seattle University, Eastern Washington, University of Washington, and Gonzaga are available by clicking on the school name.

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

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