University of Washington
NCAA West Regional Championships
Husky Women Cruise To West Regional Title
November 15, 2008 | Cross Country
Nov. 15, 2008
PALO ALTO, Calif. - The top-ranked Washington women's cross country team cleared the final hurdle standing between themselves and the NCAA Championships, winning the NCAA West Regional Championships by a wide margin today at the Stanford Golf Course. The Regional title is UW's first since 1992.
The Husky women continued their exceptional pack running today as their top five finished in the No. 3 through No. 7 spots within 11 seconds of each other. For the second-straight meet, the Huskies outpaced No. 2-ranked Oregon, scoring 25 points to Oregon's 62. 11th-ranked Stanford was third with 91 points, 16th-ranked Arizona State was fourth with 128, and Portland took fifth with 215 points. Washington and Oregon earn the two automatic bids into the NCAA Championships on November 24.
Despite resting Pac-10 Champion Kendra Schaaf and sophomore Lauren Saylor, the Huskies still had plenty of depth to capture the team title. Freshman Christine Babcock led the team in third place, covering the 6,000-meter course in 20:02, just three seconds behind winner Alex Kosinski of Oregon. Rolling across the line behind Babcock were sophomore Mel Lawrence (4th; 20:03), junior Katie Follett (5th; 20:08), senior Anita Campbell (6th; 20:12), and senior Amanda Miller (7th; 20:13). Also turning in a great performance was senior Michelle Turner who was 15th in 20:24.
"Just another day at the office," said head coach Greg Metcalf. "Our young women did a great job. Every single person ran well for us to have just 11 seconds between one and five. Michelle ran without a doubt the best race of her career today. She should be incredibly proud. We were in control, packed together, and not real stressed today."
Babcock and Lawrence have now both finished in the top-five of every race they've entered this season. Washington's 11-second differential from their first to fifth runner was also their smallest gap of the season, a testament to the teamwork at Stanford this afternoon. The Huskies snapped the Cardinal's streak of nine-straight West Region titles, much as they broke Stanford's run of 12-straight Pac-10 crowns two week ago.
"Our women are right where we want to be heading to nationals," said Metcalf. "We will take care of ourselves this week and go to NCAA's with a shot."
The 23rd-ranked men's team also had a strong showing, placing fifth, and look to be in position to earn one of the 13 at-large bids to NCAA's. They will have to wait until Sunday at 4 p.m. when the field will be unveiled on www.ncaa.com to know whether or not they're on their way to Terre Haute, Indiana.
The West Region features three of the top four nationally ranked teams on the men's side, and those three took the top three spots today. No. 1 Oregon won the title with 38 points, followed by third-ranked Stanford in second-place with 72. No. 4 Portland was third with 85, then came 20th-ranked Cal with 116 and Washington with 122. The Huskies finished ahead of 26th-ranked UCLA, who was sixth with 145, and 19th-ranked Cal Poly, who took seventh with 184. Certain projections have all of those top seven teams moving on to NCAA's.
Senior Jeremy Mineau turned in an outstanding performance as the men moved up to 10,000-meters for the first time this season. Mineau was eighth overall in 29:06 for the second Top-10 Regional finish of his career. Three more Huskies finished in the Top-30, led by junior Kelly Spady in 29:48 for 24th-place. Junior Jake Schmitt was 26th in 29:53 and senior Jon Harding bounced back from a tough Pac-10 race to place 28th in 29:56. Rounding out the top five was Jordan Swarthout, who was 36th in 30:15.
"Jeremy is nails tough. He stuck his nose in it from the get-go," said Metcalf. "It was very hot out there today, around 80-degrees, and that affected our guys somewhat, but they did not wilt at all. Jon and Jordan were resilient; they were very patient, moving up the entire race. I thought those two guys really came through for us today."
The men will now wait anxiously to see if they are indeed headed to Terre Haute along with the women, who will line up on November 24th and aim for their first NCAA Championship.
"The men ran very solid today. We deserve to be at the national meet. It would be very cool if seven teams from the West Regional made it to Terre Haute. This is the deepest region in the country."
Should the men qualify, it would be the second time in Metcalf's tenure that both the men's and women's teams qualified for nationals in the same season, the last time coming in 2003.
Washington Cross Country
NCAA West Regional Championships
11/15/08 - Palo Alto, Calif.
Stanford Golf Course
Women's Race (6,000-meters)
Team Results (Top-20): 1. Washington 25
Individual Champion: Alex Kosinski, Oregon, 19:59
Husky Finishers: 3. Christine Babcock 20:02; 4. Mel Lawrence 20:03; 5. Katie Follett 20:08; 6. Anita Campbell 20:12; 7. Amanda Miller 20:13; 15. Michelle Turner 20:24 ; 37. Kenna Patrick 21:12.
Men's Race (10,000-meters)
Team Results (Top-20): 1. Oregon 38; 2. Stanford 72; 3. Portland 85; 4. California 116; 5. Washington 122; 6. UCLA 145; 7. Cal Poly 184; 8. Arizona State 290; 9. Washington State 298; 10. UC Santa Barbara 338; 11. UC Davis 353; 12. Arizona 369; 13. UC Riverside 370; 14. Fresno State 418; 15. Long Beach State 424; 16. San Francisco 451; 17. LMU 467; 18. Sacramento State 494; 19. UC Irvine 522; 20. Eastern Washington 565.
Individual Champion: Galen Rupp, Oregon, 27:41
Husky Finishers: 8. Jeremy Mineau 29:06; 24. Kelly Spady 29:48; 26. Jake Schmitt 29:53; 28. Jon Harding 29:56; 36. Jordan Swarthout 30:15; 72. Chris Ahl 31:21; 100. Colton Tully-Doyle 32:03.
