Western Washington men ninth in USTFCCCA D2 pre-season poll; Diamond League finals preview...
NEW ORLEANS--The Western Washington men's cross country team (Shi Robison/GNAC photo), which finished ninth at the NCAA Division II championships last season, enter the USTFCCCA NCAA D2 coaches pre-season poll ranked ninth in the country.
The Vikings return five of seven from the team that ran in the D2 championships last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin: Jared Alderfer (55th), Jonah Billings (56th), George Fernandez (86th), Sten Brakstad (88th), and Spencer Zeljak (143rd).
The nation's top five teams in the pre-season poll are in order: defending champion Wingate, Colorado School of Mines, Adams State, Grand Valley State, and Western Colorado.
Western Oregon is the only Great Northwest Athletic Conference school ranked in the top 30, coming in at number 28.
No teams from the GNAC are ranked in the national top 30 in the women's pre-season poll.
The nation's top five women's teams in the poll are in order: defending national champion Grand Valley State, Adams State, Wingate, Colorado School of Mines, and Western Colorado.
Meanwhile, Western Washington swept both men's and women's coaches' Great Northwest Athletic Conference pre-season poll as heavy favorites to defend their conference titles.
The Western men will look to become the second GNAC cross country program to win five consecutive conference titles in each gender.
In the men's poll, Central Washington is projected to finish sixth, Seattle Pacific seventh, and Saint Martin's ninth.
On the women's side, Central Washington is projected to finish second, with Seattle Pacific fifth, and Saint Martin's tenth.
Central Washington and Saint Martin's open their season Saturday morning when the Wildcats host the CWU XC Opener on campus.
BRANDON MILLER TO SKIP WANDA DIAMOND LEAGUE FINAL IN BRUSSELS...
Late Tuesday, the Wanda Diamond League released the start list for Friday & Saturday's Diamond League Finals in Brussels at the Van Damme Memorial Meeting.
Brandon Miller of the Brooks Beasts, who was fourth in the Diamond League standings with 20 points and had an automatic qualifying spot, has opted to skip the meet in order to prepare for next week's World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, according to a text sent to publisher Paul Merca from Beasts head coach Danny Mackey.
With Miller's withdrawal from the meet, that only leaves three athletes with Washington ties competing in Brussels.
Washington alum Gianna Woodruff, who raced on Sunday in Brescia, Italy at the Banca Valsabbina Grand Prix, will run in the 400 hurdles on Friday.
Woodruff goes into the meet fourth in the Diamond League women's 400 hurdles in fourth place with 27 points after racing in all six meets this season (Rabat, Rome, Oslo, Doha, Lausanne and Zürich).
Her highest placing were three fourth place finishes in Rabat, Oslo and Doha. In the other three Diamond League races, she was fifth.
Woodruff races Friday at 11:04 am Pacific against a field that includes three of the top four world ranked athletes, including world number one Emma Zapletalová of Slovakia.
The Panamanian national will also race against training partners Anna Cockrell and Dalilah Muhammad of the USA in the eight woman field.
On Saturday, Washington's Hana Moll, who is on a bit of a hot streak going into the Diamond League finals, will compete in the women's pole vault at 10:58 am Pacific.
Moll, currently ranked sixth in the world, enters the Diamond League finals having won the last two Diamond League meets in Lausanne and Zürich, the latter in a personal best, where she cleared 16-0.75 (4.90m).
Moll competed in three Diamond League scoring meets: a seventh place finish in Monaco, and her two wins in Lausanne and Zürich. Her fourth place finish in Eugene at the Nike Prefontaine Classic was a non-Diamond League scoring event.
Moon, who is taking a low-key approach this season, finished third in Rabat, fifth in Monaco, and third in Lausanne and Zürich.
She'll face a field that includes former Pullman resident and reigning world and Diamond League champion Katie Moon, along with fellow American Emily Grove. Switzerland's Angelica Moser, who Moll beat in Zürich, is also in the field.
Flotrack ($) will stream both days of the Wanda Diamond League finals.
NOTE: The USTFCCCA, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and the Wanda Diamond League contributed to this report.
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