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Pac-12 posts strong showings at NCAA Cross Country Championships

Nov 18, 2017

RESULTS | 2017 FINAL RELEASE

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Four Pac-12 Conference teams posted top-five performances and 18 runners earned All-America honors at the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships at E.P. ‘Tom’ Sawyer Park on Saturday. The Pac-12 was especially strong in the women’s race with three top-five teams and a national-best and Conference-record 14 All-Americans.

In the women’s six-kilometer race, three-time defending Pac-12 champion COLORADO reached the podium with a third-place finish with 139 points, followed by STANFORD in fourth with 165 points and OREGON in fifth at 203. It marked the second straight year and just the third time (2007) in event history that Conference members recorded a trio of top-five team national finishes.

New Mexico, led by individual champion Ednah Kurgat, won the team title with 90 points. WASHINGTON (513 points) and CALIFORNIA (530) finished 21st and 22nd, respectively, in the 31-team field.

Individually, the Pac-12 led the way with 14 All-Americans – finishers inside the top 40 overall – which was more than double the next closest conference (Mountain West – six). The 14 All-Americans set a new record for the league, besting the previous mark of 12 from 2003.

Pac-12 Women’s Teams (with champion)
1. New Mexico – 90
3. COLORADO – 139
4. STANFORD – 165
5. OREGON – 203
21. WASHINGTON – 513
22. CALIFORNIA – 530

Pac-12 Women’s All-Americans (Finish)
Amy-Eloise Neale, Washington (2nd)
Grayson Murphy, Utah (8th)
Dani Jones, Colorado (10th)
Fiona O'Keeffe, Stanford (13th)
Katie Rainsberger, Oregon (16th)
Lilli Burdon, Oregon (21st)
Bethan Knights, California (23rd)
Claire Green, Arizona (24th)
Vanessa Fraser, Stanford (27th)
Vallery Korir, Washington State (33rd)
Carmela Cardama Baez, Oregon (34th)
Sage Hurta, Colorado (35th)
Kaitlyn Benner, Colorado (36th)
Brie Oakley, California (38th)

Since expanding to the Pac-12 in 2011, the Conference’s women’s programs lead the nation with a combined 13 top-five team finishes and 64 All-Americans at the NCAA Championship.

In the men’s 10-kilometer race, Pac-12 champion Stanford led the Conference’s six men’s teams in the 31-team field with a fourth-place showing with 221 points, the Cardinal’s fourth straight top-four finish at the NCAA meet. Top-ranked Northern Arizona won its second straight NCAA team crown with 74 points, while Syracuse’s Justyn Knight won the individual race title.

The Cardinal were one of four teams with at least three All-Americans – Grant Fisher, Alex Ostberg and Steven Fahy – along with champion NAU, runner-up Portland (127 points) and third-place BYU (165).

Oregon came in sixth with 274 points and Colorado was eighth with 294 points to give the Pac-12 three in the top 10 for the second time in the past three years. UCLA (21st, 485 points), Washington (488, 22nd) and WASHINGTON STATE (539, 24th) rounded out the league’s team finishes.

Since expanding to the Pac-12 in 2011, the Conference’s men’s programs lead the nation with a combined 12 top-five team finishes and 60 All-Americans at the NCAA Championship.

Pac-12 Men’s Teams (with champion)
1. Northern Arizona – 74
4. STANFORD – 221
6. OREGON – 274
8. COLORADO – 294
21. UCLA – 485
22. WASHINGTON – 488
24. WASHINGTON STATE – 539

Pac-12 Men’s All-Americans (Finish)
Grant Fisher, Stanford (5th)
Alex Ostberg, Stanford (16th)
Steven Fahy, Stanford (17th)
Eduardo Herrera, Colorado (33rd)