Zags and Eagles kick off 2026 NCAA XC season Friday with Clash of the Inland NW...
In the state of Washington, the 2026 NCAA cross country season starts Friday with the Clash of the Inland Northwest, hosted this time by Gonzaga, at The Course in Spokane Valley (photo courtesy Spokane Sports).
The Course, located next to the Spokane River, had a soft opening last October when the Zags hosted the West Coast Conference championships. The venue will play host to the Nike Cross Northwest Regional high school meet, as well as next year's NCAA Division I West Regional meet.
There are two major storylines going into the Clash of the Inland Northwest: on the men's side, this is the start of coach Pat Tyson's final season leading the Zags before his impending retirement on June 30, 2027.
On the women's side, this is McKenna Hansen's first meet as interim coach, after her appointment last month to step into the spot left vacant when Jake Stewart left to become the director of track and cross country for the combined Cal Poly/San Luis Obispo program.
With All-American Rosina Machu graduated, the Bulldogs will be led by 2025 NCAA qualifiers Logan Hofstee and Jessica Frydenlund.
However, both will sit out the opening meet, along with Nina Yeats, the fifth year runner who was a scorer at the NCAA West Regional meet last year.
Both Bulldog squads this season will compete in the new Pac-12 Conference after being one of the top teams in the West Coast Conference.
Eastern Washington enters the season after being selected eighth on the women's side with 43 points and ninth on the men's side with 46 points in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches Polls. At last year's Big Sky Conference Championships, the Eastern men finished seventh, while the women placed eighth.
Both Sara Sanders and Conner Wirth, who were the Eagles' top finishers at last year's NCAA West Regionals in Sacramento, return and will race Friday.
In addition to Gonzaga and Eastern Washington, Idaho is the other D1 team in the field, while Northwest Nazarene is the lone Division II team. Several D3, NAIA, and local colleges are also in the field.
The women's 6k race gets underway at 8:30 am, with the men's 8k following at 9:15 am.
The start list and link to live results for the Clash of the Inland Northwest is available here.
MARTIN WINS 1500 IN SERBIA WEDNESDAY...
At the Serbia Athletics Meeting, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet in Smederevo, Serbia, Gary Martin of the Brooks Beasts won the men's 1500 Wednesday night.
Martin, one of the newest members of the Seattle based team, ran 3:33.53 to hold off Kenya's Danson Kiplangat's 3:33.60
It was a rough outing for Washington alum Luke Houser, as he finished tenth in 3:49.04.
In the women's 1500, Brooks Beasts newcomer and Paris Olympian Juliette Whittaker moved up in distance and finished tenth in 4:11.51. Teammate Teagan Schein-Becker was one spot behind, running 4:15.57.
Nelly Jepkosgei of Burundi won in 4:04.82.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Gonzaga and Eastern Washington, Spokane Sports, and World Athletics 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. You can also support the site by clicking the yellow "Buy Me A Coffee" link below or the blue icon on the lower right hand side.
Comments