Washington State, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga women & SeattleU on road for XC meets...
Four of Washington's Division I schools return to action Friday and Saturday, as competition begins ramping up with the conference championship weekend only four weeks away.
Washington State and the Gonzaga women kick off the weekend, as the Cougars head to South Bend, Indiana for the Joe Piane Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame.
The Cougs are coming off a sweep of the podium positions and the team titles at their own Cougar Classic in Colfax two weeks ago, with Neema Kimtai (in center/photo courtesy WSU Athletics) winning the 6k race in 20:34, followed by Caroline Jerotich second in 20:53, and Cristina Molten third in 21:09.
In the men's 8k, the Cougs went 1-4 led by Brian Barsaiya, who ran 23:42 for the win.
The women's field includes Florida State, Montana State, San Francisco, Alabama, NC State, Minnesota, and Southern Utah. The women's 5k race starts at 7:30am, Pacific time.
The men's field has Kansas, NC State, Montana State, Pitt, Iowa, Furman, Florida State, Michigan State, Weber State, and Alabama. The men's 8k race starts at 8:15am, Pacific time.
The Gonzaga women head to Chicago for the Lakefront Invitational hosted by Loyola of Chicago, with the race starting at 9:25 am Pacific time.
The Zags will face four nationally ranked teams in Wisconsin (17th), Ole Miss (25th), Michigan (26th), and Ohio State (30th).
Gonzaga held out their top runners from the WSU meet, as they raced a week earlier at the Waves Invitational in Malibu, winning the meet on the course that will host the West Coast Conference championship meet at the end of October.
Saturday, Eastern Washington sends teams to Louisville, Kentucky for the Live in Lou Invitational hosted by the University of Louisville,
They'll face a field that includes Clemson from the ACC, Purdue from the Big 10, mid-majors Indiana State, Kent State, Memphis, Northern Colorado, plus Division II powerhouses Adams State, Grand Valley State and Azusa Pacific.
In their last meet, the Eagle men finished second at the Montana Invitational, led by Noah Hasselblad, who ran 24:46 for 8k to place seventh. The women were fourth at Montana, led by Nattie Ruzauskas, who took ninth in the 5k race in 18:01.
Seattle University makes the trek down Interstate 5 to Salem for the Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette University at McCulloch Stadium and Bush Park.
The field includes a number of Oregon schools including Oregon State, Portland, and Portland State,
The men's 8k starts at 8:30 am, with the women's 5k at 9:20 am.
Athletes from Washington State, Gonzaga and Eastern Washington not making the trips to South Bend, Chicago or Louisville will run at the Whitman Invitational in Walla Walla.
The link to live results is available here.
VIKINGS MAINTAIN POSITIONS IN USTFCCCA TOP 30...
Both Western Washington cross country teams stayed in the USTFCCCA national top 30 in the latest coaches poll released Wednesday.
The Viking men repeated as team champions of its own Bill Roe Classic meet last Saturday in Bellingham in what essentially was a preview of next month's GNAC championships in Anchorage, with seven conference schools competing.
In the poll, the Vikings dropped one spot to number 10. Western is the only school from the conference ranked in men's national top 30.
There were no changes to the national top five. It remains, in order: Colorado School of Mines, Adams State, Wingate, Grand Valley State, and Colorado Christian.
On the women's side, Western Washington, which finished second to the University of Victoria at the Bill Roe Classic, dropped one spot from last week's national poll to number 28. The Viks are the only GNAC team in the national top 30.
Like the men's poll, there were no changes in the top five. It remains, in order: Adams State, Grand Valley State, Colorado School of Mines, Winona State, and UC-Colorado Springs.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Washington State University, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga University, Seattle University, Western Washington University, and the USTFCCCA contributed to this report.
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