Dawgs look to extend NCAA qualifying streak, while Zags looking to make history at regionals...
The top two teams in both races will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships. The remaining teams will be eligible for one of 13 at-large berths which will be handed out by the committee. The four highest individuals outside of the advancing teams will also earn invitations to the NCAA Championships in Tallahassee, Florida on November 20.
Oregon enters the meet as the highest ranked women's team in the West Region. The Ducks recently placed third at the Pac-12 Championships and had the best finish among teams in the region. Washington, which was fourth at Pac-12s despite a tough 27th place by All-American Allie Schadler (Paul Merca photo) and a DNF by Madison Heisterman with 80 meters to go in the altitude of Salt Lake City, is ranked second in the West, followed by Gonzaga, Stanford and Portland.
The men's rankings have a similar look as Stanford, Washington, Oregon and Gonzaga occupy the top four sports. The Cardinal placed second at the Pac-12s to maintain their top spot in the poll. Boise State completes the top five.
Gonzaga is looking to make school history at the West Regionals. Should both teams advance to the NCAA nationals in Tallahassee, it would mark the first time that both squads qualify for the national championships in the same season.
While the Zags qualified their men's squad for the first time at the delayed 2020 championships this past March, the last time the Bulldog women qualified for nationals was in 2015.
Gonzaga finished sixth at the 2015 West Regionals in Seattle and advanced as an at-large selection on the strength of winning the West Coast Conference championship.
Both Gonzaga squads enter the regionals nationally ranked simultaneously for the first time in school history, with the men sitting at number 15, and the women at number 29. The Zags finished second at the West Coast Conference championship meet in Concord, California two weeks ago.
The Washington men had a get-right third place performance at the Pac-12s after finishing 14th at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, while the women finished fourth after a disappointing 15th place finish in Wisconsin.
Washington looks to extend its 14 straight seasons of qualifying a women's team to nationals, while the men look to qualify for the national championships for the fifth consecutive season.
Washington State, Eastern Washington and Seattle University are also scheduled to send teams to Sacramento. Of the three, only Washington State is in the USTFCCCA West Regional rankings, with the mens team coming in at number 8, and the women's team at number 11.
The preliminary entries are listed here, while the link to live results is available here.
NOTE: The NCAA and the sports information offices of Sacramento State, the University of Washington, Washington State University, Eastern Washington University and Gonzaga contributed to this report.
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