Cross country moves into full gear for Washington's D1/D2 schools this weekend...
The 2022 cross country season moves into high gear this weekend with four significant meets for the state's Division I and II schools.
On Friday, the number 21 ranked Gonzaga women's squad heads to Boston for the Coast to Coast Battle in Beantown at Franklin Park hosted by Boston College over a 5k course, starting at noon, local time (9 am Pacific).
In addition to host Boston College, the Zags will face number 20 Harvard, along with two schools who received votes in the latest USTFCCCA poll in Penn State and Syracuse.
In Springfield, Oregon, both Washington State squads (photo above courtesy WSU Athletics) will do battle at the Bill Dellinger Invitational hosted by the University of Oregon at the Pine Ridge Golf Club, starting at 11 am with the men's 8k race, followed at 11:45 am with the women's 6k.
Portland at number 19 is the only nationally ranked men's team in the field, though host Oregon received votes in the latest USTFCCCA poll.
Oregon at number 16, and Oregon State at number 24 are the two nationally ranked teams competing at Dellinger, with Texas receiving votes.
Media partner Runnerspace.com ($) will stream the Dellinger live.
From a national perspective, all eyes will be on the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Oklahoma, hosted by Oklahoma State University on Saturday as a number of teams who look to return in November for the NCAA championships on this course will get their first look this season.
The Washington Huskies, whose women's squad is ranked number 6, and its men's team is ranked number 8 will open their 2022 season at the Cowboy Jamboree, where they will face a number of nationally ranked teams, including Stanford, Colorado, BYU and host Oklahoma State.
The Husky women's squad will consist of several freshmen, including state champ Ella Borsheim from Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma. The only veterans competing are Anna Gibson, Andrea Markezich, Sophie O'Sullivan and Kirstie Rae.
On the men's side, the Dawgs have a group of eight making the trip, including Sam Affolder, Sam Ellis, Isaac Green, Nathan Green, Luke Houser, Evan Jenkins, Ed Trippas, and Joe Waskom. Jenkins is the lone true freshman making the trip, while Australian Olympian Trippas & Ellis make their UW debut as grad transfers from Princeton.
The Gonzaga men's team, currently ranked number 16 in the country in the latest USTFCCCA poll, will also run in the Cowboy Jamboree, as they look to make another appearance at the national championships.
The Zags will run most of the team that competed at last year's NCAA championships with the notable exception of James Mwaura.
UPDATE: The women's 6k race gets the meet started at 7:45 am local time/5:45 am Pacific, while the men's 8k starts at 8:30 am local time/6:30 am Pacific. The start times were moved up due to forecasted temperatures in the 90 degree range. The link to live results is available here.
Closer to home, Central Washington will head up to Ferndale, as Western Washington University hosts the Bill Roe Invitational at Hovander Homestead Park, with the men's 8k starting at 10 am, and the women's 6k commencing an hour later.
The two Washington schools will face a field that includes Alaska Anchorage, and defending GNAC team champs Simon Fraser.
EASTERN WASHINGTON TO HOST BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIPS AT FAIRWAYS GC IN CHENEY...
The venue for the Big Sky Conference cross country championships in Cheney on October 28th was announced by the conference.
The meet will be held at the Fairways Golf Course, which hosted the meet the last time Eastern Washington was the host school
The meet was originally slated for the Plantes Ferry Sports Complex in Spokane Valley, which hosted the NCAA Division II championships and the USATF national cross country championships. However, issues with the complex forced Eastern Washington to find another venue.
NOTE: The USTFCCCA, the Big Sky Conference and the sports information offices of the University of Washington, Washington State, Central Washington, Western Washington and Gonzaga University contributed to this report.
paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links.
Comments