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Fay Gets Third-Straight Regional Win For Dawgs

by gohuskies.com
Nov 11, 2022

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Senior Brian Fay extended Washington's ownership of the men's individual title at the NCAA West Regional Championships today, which Washington played host to at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place. Fay led the UW men's team to a third-place finish, which was matched by the Husky women's team, as both squads put themselves in solid positions to earn NCAA Championship bids.
 
Only the top two teams at each of the nine NCAA regional meets automatically advance to the NCAA Championships, so both Husky squads will have to seek at-large qualification, but third-place in the difficult West is almost always in. The qualifying formula will be double and triple checked tonight and the NCAA will announce the 31 qualifying teams tomorrow at 2 p.m.
 
If the Huskies qualify, they will be off to Stillwater, Okla. for the National Championships on Nov. 19, just eight days away.
 
Prior to 2019, no Husky had ever won the men's West Regional title. Andrew Jordan broke that drought with his win in 2019. There was no 2020 meet due to the pandemic, but when the meet returned in 2021, Kieran Lumb took the title for the Dawgs.
 
One year later, it was Fay's turn, as the Husky All-American made a decisive move late on the final loop to break away from a lead pack of nine men and win in a time of 28:17 for the 10,000-meters.

 
Luke Houser was the second Husky men's finisher in ninth in 28:38, followed by Joe Waskom in 28th-place in 29:08, then Isaac Green in 32nd (29:10) and Leo Daschbach to finish the scoring in 35th in 29:16. Ed Trippas was 49th and Sam Affolder was 70th.
 
The Dawgs scored 105 points on the men's side for third. Stanford, ranked No. 1 nationally, got the win with 45 points. 26th-ranked Gonzaga had an impressive day to edge the Huskies for second with 92 points. Behind UW came 18th-ranked Oregon with 141, then 25th-ranked Cal Baptist with 145 points. Boise State was sixth with 146 and 24th-ranked Portland was seventh with 156.
 
"I think we have the toughest region of them all, so get out of here in third was good," Head Coach Andy Powell said. "Typically that gets into the NCAA meet. The projections look like we should be good, but we'll find out tomorrow. Brian and Luke being in that front group the whole way was exciting, and Brian getting the win for us for the third year in a row now. Brian's in shape at the right time.
 
"Our other guys were tough and secured that important third spot for us," which Powell attributed partly to the home town fans. "Some of that effort had to do with the great home crowd and a lot of family and friends and teammates cheering them on. I appreciate everyone that came out and supported the team, and our staff and administration coming out. It made this a special event."

 
Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Maurica Powell echoed those sentiments, saying "It was a fantastic meet environment and we owe a huge thank you to all our staff who made it happen today."
 
As for her team, "We got the job done. We knew we needed to be top-four. Made a calculated decision to hold out Haley Herberg, and try to put her in next week. That said, we needed to run a pretty safe race all the way down. Huge performance from Sophie O'Sullivan and a great bounce back for Anna Gibson. Really good solid runs all around. Everyone is fit and healthy and we'll roll out on Wednesday."
 
Sophie O'Sullivan was 70th one year ago at West Regionals. Today she was in the top-10, placing ninth in a time of 19:34 to lead the women for the first time in her cross country career. Anna Gibson shook off a tough Pac-12 meet and was 13th today in 19:38.
 
Washington's third-through-fifth finishers all came through within five seconds of each other. Andrea Markezich was 27th in 19:55, then Madison Heisterman was 29th in 19:57, and Naomi Smith was 36th in 20:00. Freshmen Sophia Nordenholz and Ella Borsheim were 46th and 71st, respectively.

 
The 16th-ranked Husky women were third with 114 points. 11th-ranked Stanford got the win with 76 points, then 10th-ranked Oregon was second with 96. Oregon State and 14th-ranked Cal Baptist both scored 150 points, with OSU winning the tiebreaker to place fourth. Boise State, receiving votes in the last coaches poll, was sixth with 159. There were 35 women's teams on the course today.
 
 
Washington Cross Country
2022 NCAA West Regional Championships
Nov. 11, 2022
University Place, Wash. | Chambers Creek Regional Park
 
Women's 6,000-meters
Team Results (Top-20 of 35): 1. Stanford 76; 2. Oregon 96; 3. Washington 114; 4. Oregon State 150; 5. Cal Baptist 150; 6. Boise State 159; 7. Gonzaga 230; 8. San Francisco 258; 9. Portland 292; 10. Idaho 319; 11. Cal Poly 342; 12. Washington State 353; 13. UCLA 368; 14. UC Irvine 398; 15. UC Davis 402; 16. Portland State 403; 17. UC Santa Barbara 449; 18. Santa Clara 515; 19. Saint Mary's 546; 20. Arizona 551.
Individual Champion: Kaylee Mitchell, Oregon State, 19:19
Husky Finishers: 9. Sophie O'Sullivan 19:34; 13. Anna Gibson 19:38; 27. Andrea Markezich 19:55; 29. Madison Heisterman 19:57; 36. Naomi Smith 20:00; 46. Sophia Nordenholz 20:09; 71. Ella Borsheim 20:35.
 
Men's 10,000-meters
Team Results (Top-20 of 31): 1. Stanford 45; 2. Gonzaga 92; 3. Washington 105; 4. Oregon 141; 5. Cal Baptist 145; 6. Boise State 146; 7. Portland 156; 8. Cal Poly 198; 9. Santa Clara 235; 10. UCLA 281; 11. Portland State 300; 12. Washington State 415; 13. Loyola Marymount 423; 14. Arizona 476; 15. UC Santa Barbara 480; 16. Idaho 488; 17. UC Riverside 508; 18. Arizona State 537; 19. Cal State Fullerton; 20. UC Irvine 569.
Individual Champion: Brian Fay, Washington, 28:17.
Husky Finishers: 1. Brian Fay 28:17; 9. Luke Houser 28:38; 28. Joe Waskom 29:08; 32. Isaac Green 29:10; 35. Leo Daschbach 29:16; 49. Ed Trippas 29:32; 70. Sam Affolder 29:58.
 

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