University of Washington
NCAA West Regional
Husky Men Win First Ever West Regional Title
November 14, 2015 | Cross Country
SEATTLE – The weather was fitting for the Washington men's cross country team to make some history in its own backyard today, as the West Region Championship was won by the Dawgs for the first time in school history. The Huskies were as persistent as the rain at Jefferson Park Golf Course, churning through the increasingly muddy course, and taking the win to earn an automatic bid to next weekend's NCAA Championships.
The Washington women also all but secured a ninth consecutive NCAA bid with a third-place finish today. Only the top-two teams in each regional around the country automatically advance to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 21 in Louisville, but the 12th-ranked Washington women figure to be one of the first of the “at-large” selections.
“We looked at the hourly forecast during the week and it was never getting any better so we knew what we were getting into. I think our men were prepared for it,” said Head Coach Greg Metcalf. “Running 10k is all about being ready at the end of the season, and being strong and committed. Our guys went out today and just delivered. They were aggressive. To have five guys in the top-25 at this meet is just fantastic. To beat Stanford and Oregon and win the West is a huge deal for our guys and it's a great momentum builder heading into Louisville next week.”
While the Husky women's team has six Regional titles over the years, the men had six runner-up finishers, but never a win, the last second-place showing back in 1993. Neither had the Huskies finished higher than fourth on the men's side since 1994. That all was thrown out today, as the 17th-ranked Dawgs put all of their five scorers in the top-25, scoring 63 points to easily outpace fourth-ranked Stanford, which was second with 83, and seventh-ranked Oregon, which was third with 99 points.
The men were led by a tremendous effort from senior Tyler King, who had been waiting for a breakthrough effort all season after an All-American finish to his junior year. King covered the 10,000-meter course in 31-minutes, 8.1 seconds to take fifth overall. Oregon's Edward Cheserek won in 30:43, and two Washington State runners and another Duck followed, but the Huskies had their entire top-five in before the No. 3 finishers for either Oregon or WSU.
Sophomore Andrew Gardner had his best ever race as a Husky as he was 10th today in 31:19. Sophomore Colby Gilbert came across in 12th-place in 31:21, and senior Izaic Yorks was right behind in 14th-place, career-bests at Regionals for the pair. Sophomore Fred Huxham capped the scoring with a 22nd-place finish in 31:37. Sophomore Johnathan Stevens also came in 59th and redshirt freshman Mahmoud Moussa was 73rd out of the field of 205 finishers.
#DirtyDawgs loving this mud! pic.twitter.com/ZgsUHhAy6N
— UW Track (@UWTrack) November 13, 2015
King saw not just the weather but the support along the course as a big boost for the Dawgs. “We had an advantage being here in Seattle. We had a bunch of teammates and our coaches the second half of the race yelling at us, saying 'you guys are going to win this!' and (Coach Jason Drake) is yelling at me 'come on Tyler, you've just got to finish!' So halfway around the race I looked around and there were five of us up in the front group so right then I knew we were going to run well,” King said. “Just the energy that we've been feeling the last couple weeks, it's no huge surprise I guess.”
In the last home cross country race of her outstanding career, senior Maddie Meyers was rock solid again leading the 12th-ranked Husky women's team to a third-place finish, as Meyers herself finished third once again after taking third two weeks ago at the Pac-12 Championships. Meyers completed the 6,000-meters in 20:37, with Boise State freshman Allie Ostrander getting a big win in 20:10.
Sophomore Katie Knight had her best run of the year with a 10th-place finish in 20:59, and freshman Charlotte Prouse was impressive once again in 14th-place in 21:04. Meyers, Knight and Prouse, and the top-five Husky men all earn All-West Region honors for the top-25 finishes.
Junior Kaylee Flanagan was the fourth Husky across the line in 33rd-place in a time of 21:21. Sophomore Anna Maxwell was 45th in 21:30 and senior Eleanor Fulton was 50th in 21:34 as she lost a shoe early in the race but kept on trudging through the mud. Freshman Emily Hamlin completed the top-seven with a 55th-place effort in 21:37.
Fourth-ranked Oregon won the women's race with 79 points, barely eding ninth-ranked Boise State which finished with 80. The Huskies were third with 105 points, beating out 11th-ranked Stanford which scored 121. A total of 35 teams and 242 individuals made up the big women's field.
“Our women's group has had interchangeable parts all year long,” said Metcalf. “Charlotte Prouse went out and ran solid today. That was Katie Knight's best effort as a Husky actually today to finish 10th. Maddie has just been a pillar of consistency. Her succession of runs at Jefferson Golf Course has been pretty good. Kaylee Flanagan ran tough today. Anna Maxwell will run better than she ran today. Eleanor Fulton looked great for a mile, lost a shoe, so she ran the rest of the race with just one shoe. But all in all the goal at the end of the day is to get the team to the NCAA Championships, and we did that today.”
We're off!! pic.twitter.com/jMiqpGzDSS
— UW Track (@UWTrack) November 13, 2015
The Huskies will get the official word on selections tomorrow and then get set to head for Louisville and E.P. Sawyer State Park for the final races of the year on Nov. 21.
