THE WEEKEND AHEAD: Central & Saint Martin's open XC season; Fifth Avenue Mile & Beijing on the slate...
With all of the Washington Division I schools getting their first race of the season out of the way, Central Washington and Saint Martin's open up the 2025 cross country season with the CWU XC Opener Saturday with the women's race kicking things off at 9:30 a.m. with the men's race starting at 10:00 a.m.
The race will be held on the campus course at Tomlinson Stadium and the Nicholson Athletics Complex where spectators can watch for free from various spots in Tomlinson and the surrounding fields by Nicholson and the CWU Baseball Field where the race will happen.
Central Washington's Payton Conover (Paul Merca photo) is expected to be the Wildcats' lead runner. She was 31st in the GNAC cross country championships as a freshman, but made significant strides during the track season after placing second in the 10000, and fifth in the 5000.
On the men's side, Luke Hurd is Central's top returning runner. Hurd was 27th at the conference championships last year. The Wildcats have a huge void to fill after losing All American Johan Correa to graduation.
Both Saint Martin's squads have questions, as their teams aren't expected to contest for the upper half of the conference.
Eli Dale is their top returning runner. Dale was 44th at last year's GNAC championship meet.
While the pros are gearing up for the World Athletics Championships starting next week in Tokyo, several pros with Washington ties will run in Sunday's New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile on the streets of New York City.
Washington alum Luke Houser, who finished third at the world indoor championships in the 1500, is one of the headliners in this field as they traverse 20 blocks of one of the world's most iconic streets.
He'll be joined in the field by Seattle resident Sam Prakel, along with Waleed Suliman and Brannon Kidder of the Brooks Beasts.
On the women's side, Washington alums Kayley DeLay and Eleanor Fulton, along with Woodinville native Olivia Markezich, all of whom returned to the USA from racing in Europe, look to end their 2025 season on a positive note.
The women's Fifth Avenue Mile starts at 9:30 am Pacific time (12:30 pm in New York), while the men's race goes fifteen minutes later.
The race will be streamed on ESPN Plus ($).
Also happening on Sunday, Washington's Scott Toney will finish off his 2025 season by vaulting in the World Athletics Continental Tour-Gold meet in Beijing, alongside a number of athletes looking for one more meet before making the trip to Tokyo for the world championships.
The link to live results has not been posted as of yet.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Central Washington University, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the New York Road Runners, and World Athletics contributed to this report.
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