UW's Kieran Lumb wins NCAA West Regionals as both Husky squads advance to nationals...
SACRAMENTO--For the second consecutive NCAA West Regional championship, the individual men's crown went to a Washington Husky.
On a perfect day for running at Sacramento's Haggin Oaks Golf Course, Washington's Kieran Lumb (Paul Merca photo), a former Canadian collegiate champion from the University of British Columbia, surged on the final straightaway to win the men's 10k at the regional championships, matching Andrew Jordan's feat at the 2019 regionals in Colfax, Washington.
Lumb ran 29:29 to win over Stanford's Pac-12 champ Charles Hicks, and 2021 NCAA 5000 meter champ Cooper Teare of Oregon.
Also finishing in the top ten were Gonzaga's James Mwaura in fifth at 29:36, the Huskies' Brian Fay in sixth at 29:36, and Washington's Leo Daschbach in ninth at 29:46.
Washington's other scorers were Joe Waskom in 23rd in 30:19, and Tibs Proctor in 27th at 30:22.
Gonzaga had two other runners finish in the top 25, with Wil Smith in 14th at 30:05, and Cullen McEachern in 17th at 30:11.
The Zags' other scorers were Kyle Radosevich in 29th at 30:24, and Evan Bates in 42nd at 30:42.
The Huskies earned one of the two automatic qualifying spots to next Saturday's NCAA championships in Tallahassee, Florida, with a final team score of 66 points, five short of Stanford's 61.
Gonzaga must wait until Saturday's selection show to see if they get one of the at-large berths, as they finished fifth with 107 points, as WCC rival Portland was third with 94 points, and Oregon was fourth with 100 points.
Washington State was seventh with 244 points, led by Amir Ado in 13th place in 30:03. Eastern Washington was 22nd with 584 points, as Justin Roosma led the way for the Eagles in 86th in 31:43. Seattle University was 29th with 880 points, led by Giuliano Scasso in 176th at 33:50.
According to Husky head coach Andy Powell, "We didn't get cute with it--we said let's run together."
"We were always in a qualifying position. Kieran felt good at the end and got the win. It was a really good team effort and they were all up in the front. They were talking and communicating with each other like a normal practice. I think that energy helped propel Kieran to the win."
Gonzaga head coach Pat Tyson, who must wait until the selection show on Saturday at 2 pm at NCAA.com, was proud of his squad's effort.
"They battled hard against big time ranked programs and they endured! Our next goal: Qualify!"
GONZAGA'S KRISTEN GARCIA FINISHES THIRD...
Garcia's third place finish is the highest by a Gonzaga runner at the regionals.
Meanwhile, the Washington Huskies placed all five scorers in the top 25 to finish second and get one of the two automatic qualifying spots to the national championships next Saturday.
The Huskies scored 84 points, as Stanford also won the women's title with 84 points.
All-American Allie Schadler led the way for the Dawgs in 10th, running 20:13. One spot behind Schadler was last season's Pac-12 cross country champion Haley Herberg in 20:26.
Madison Heisterman led a trio of Dawgs together at the line in 20th in 20:28, while Sophie Cantine in 21st and Naomi Smith in 22nd crossed the line one second behind Heisterman.
"The plan was just to run a really business-like straightforward race, and they executed really well," said Husky Director Maurica Powell. "Haley and Schadler got up near tenth and stayed there, we had five in the top-25, and we had to be a little conservative with Madi as she had a tough recovery from the Pac-12 race, so she did a really nice job of playing her cards late. It was a disciplined, controlled effort."
Behind Garcia for the Zags were Elisabeth Danis in 27th at 20:36, Alicia Anderson in 35th at 20:46, Sadie Tuckwood in 39th at 20:48, and Rosina Machu in 44th at 20:52.
Gonzaga finished fourth with 148 points, the highest placing in school history by the Zags.
Washington State was 12th with 317, Eastern Washington was 28th with 800, and Seattle University was 29th with 846 points.
Neema Kimtai was the the Cougars' top finisher in 18th at 20:26, while Nicole Deherrera was the top finisher for the Eagles in 119th at 22:09. Seattle University's top runner was Emily Harris in 142nd at 22:30.
Like the men's team, the Bulldog women's squad will have to wait until Saturday's selection show at 2 pm to see if they will also advance to next week's NCAA championships in Florida. Garcia is assured of advancing to nationals for the second season in a row as an individual, as she ran in the delayed 2020 championships in Stillwater this past March.
Complete results of the NCAA West Regionals are available here.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Sacramento State, the University of Washington, Gonzaga, Washington State, Eastern Washington and Seattle University contributed to this report.
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