Season Opens

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Stanford opens its cross country season at the USF Invitational at Hellman Hollow in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

The men's 8-kilometer (4.97-mile) race begins at 10 a.m. The women's 6K (3.72 miles) is at 10:45 a.m. and there is a 4x2K mixed gender relay at 11:30 a.m.

Stanford enters with two top-five national rankings. The Cardinal men are No. 3 nationally and No. 1 in the West Region, and the women are No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in the region. 

The Stanford runners reported to campus on Monday and had their first practices on Tuesday. After the meet, the team travels to Bend, Oregon, for two weeks of training before returning for the fall quarter, which begins on Sept. 26.

There are 14 entries for the Stanford women's team, including Zofia Dudek and Lucy Jenks, two juniors academically who could lead the team this season.
Freshmen women entered are Julia Flynn, Ava Parekh, Riley Stewart, and Caroline Wells. Two 2022 track All-Americans are among the Stanford entries: Jenks (5,000) and Melissa Tanaka (1,500).

There are 15 entries for the Cardinal men, including reigning Pac-12 cross country and 10,000-meter champion Charles Hicks and Cole Sprout, a five-time All-American in track and cross country. Stanford freshmen men scheduled to make their collegiate debuts are Zane Bergen, and twins Callum and Gavin Sherry. 

Twelve four-year schools will be represented, all from California. Opponents ranked regionally are the No. 8 Santa Clara men, No. 8 USF women, and No. 10 UC Davis women.