Pac-12 cross country teams compete at NCAA regionals
SAN FRANCISCO - Fresh off winning its fifth-straight Pac-12 Men’s Cross Country and second Pac-12 Women’s Cross Country title in five years, COLORADO competes at NCAA Regional competition this Friday, Nov. 13, as will the rest of the Pac-12 men’s and women’s cross country teams, to try and clinch berths to the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 21 in Louisville, Ky.
The No. 1 team in the country, the Colorado men begin their journey to defend their NCAA title. The two-time defending national champions have a seasoned team that looks to claim one of the two automatic berths at the Mountain Regional in Albuquerque, N.M. The Buffs take with them three runners that ran at last year’s national meet and another who was a member of the 2013 NCAA Championship-winning team.
On the women’s side, the Buffs are the No. 2-ranked team in the nation and edged out OREGON by six points to win the Pac-12 crown. The Colorado women also have plenty of experience with them, boasting three runners from last year’s seventh-place NCAA squad, but will run up against the No. 1 team in the country in the University of New Mexico this Friday at the regional meet. UTAH will also be at the Mountain Regional and will be looking for its first-ever NCAA Championship appearance. The Utes are having one of their best seasons in program history, earning its first-ever national ranking in the USTFCCCA poll this season and ranks No. 20. Utah is also coming off its best showing at the Pac-12 Championships, placing fifth.
The rest of the 10 Pac-12 teams will compete at the NCAA West Regional in Seattle, hosted by WASHINGTON. Historically one of the toughest cross country conferences in the nation, the Pac-12 has the most men’s teams ranked and is tied for the most women’s teams with five on each side. Three men’s squads are in the top five alone, with STANFORD soaring 19 spots to No. 4 after placing second at the Conference meet, just nine points behind the Buffs. The Cardinal appear to be at full strength and are looking to vie for the West crown and claim one of the two automatic berths. Seventh-ranked OREGON is led by junior Edward Cheserek who just won an unprecedented third-straight Pac-12 crown and is the two-time defending NCAA Champion. Meanwhile, the No. 12 Huskies will try to play spoiler at home.
On the women’s side, OREGON is the highest-ranked team in the West region, coming in at No. 4 team in the country. The Ducks are looking to defend their regional crown but will be challenged by No. 11 STANFORD and No. 12 WASHINGTON. The Cardinal is led by senior Aisling Cuffe, the two-time Pac-12 Champion. After winning the 2013 league crown, she sat out the 2014 campaign because of injury but has come on strong in 2015 to reclaim the Conference individual title. She was the Conference’s highest finisher at the 2013 NCAA Championships, placing fourth to easily nab All-American honors. A Pac-12 team has claimed the West Region title every year since the event began in 1987 with the Cardinal, Ducks, Huskies and ARIZONA winning the race at least twice.
The six-kilometer women’s Mountain Regional race begins at 12 p.m. MT and the men’s 10k starts at 1 p.m. MT at the UNM North Golf Course. The West region races will be at 12 p.m. PT and 1 p.m. PT, with the women running first. Both will be at the Jefferson Park Golf Course in Seattle. A full list of team and individual qualifiers for the NCAA meet will be released on Saturday. To follow the regional races, visit www.gohuskies.com or www.golobos.com.