Washington Readies For Pac-12 Champs

Friday, October 27

Springfield, OR

11:00 AM

University of Washington

Pac-12 Cross Country Championships

October 25, 2017 | Cross Country

Meet Notes

By: UW Athletic Communications

Pac-12 Championships
Friday, Oct. 27
Springfield, Ore. | Springfield Golf Club
Live On Pac-12 Networks

Live Results | Pac-12 Championships Home Page

RACE SCHEDULE
9:00 a.m. - Championship course open
10:50 a.m. - National Anthem
10:55 a.m. - Women called to Start
11:05 a.m. - Women's final instructions
11:10 a.m. - Women's 6k Championship Race
11:55 a.m. - Men called to Start
12:05 p.m. - Men's final instructions
12:10 p.m. - Men's 8k Championship Race
Approx. 12:50 p.m. - Awards Ceremony

SEATTLE - The Pac-12 Cross Country Championships are going live on Friday, assembling many of the top collegiate distance runners and programs in the country to decide the conference crowns. Washington will look to contend with some of the top-ranked squads in the country in both the women's race, starting at 11:10 a.m., and the men's race, which goes at 12:10 p.m.

For the first time ever, this season the championships will be televised live by the Pac-12 Networks, nationally and across all six Pac-12 regional channels. The broadcast will begin at 11 a.m.

The University of Oregon hosts this year's championships at the Springfield Golf Club, the first time Oregon has hosted since 2008, a historic year for the Huskies as their women became the first and only team to post a perfect score that season, finishing 1 through 6 en route to winning the NCAA title.

Both Husky squads are ranked in the top-25 of the USTFCCCA national poll heading into Friday's races, with the women's team coming in at No. 13 and the men at a season-high No. 21.

In the women's race, top-ranked Oregon is the favorite although No. 3 Colorado is the defending conference champions. The Huskies are one spot ahead of No. 14 Stanford in the rankings, with Utah at No. 27 and California at No. 27.

The Colorado men check in at No. 5 nationally while Stanford is No. 6 and the Ducks rank eighth. UCLA is the No. 14 team and Washington State is one spot ahead of the Huskies at No. 20.

At last year's Pac-12 meet, the Husky women's team went in ranked No. 2 nationally behind No. 1 Colorado, and finished second to the Buffs. Then-junior Amy-Eloise Neale came from behind over the final few strides to earn a dramatic victory in the women's race, becoming the third Husky ever to win the Pac-12 title. Andrew Gardner led the men's team to a seventh-place finish a year ago in Tucson, as he placed a career-best 18th overall.

Neale has led the Huskies in all three races so far this season and looks to be in the lead pack once again on Friday. Seniors Izzi Batt-Doyle and Anna Maxwell will race their final Pac-12s; Batt-Doyle was 28th a year ago while Maxwell was 30th in 2016 and had top-20 finishes in 2014 and 2015. Sophomore Kaitlyn Neal was 21st last season as a freshman. Also returning to the Pac-12 starting line is junior Emily Hamlin, and sophomore Nikki Zielinski. Racing at the meet for the first time this year are a freshman foursome, Allie Schadler, Camila David-Smith, Erica Schroder, and Kiera Marshall.

Gardner, 18th a year ago, is coming off a big run at the Wisconsin Invitational where he placed 37th overall. Seniors Colby Gilbert and Johnathan Stevens aim to lead as well. Gilbert has two top-20 finishes at the championships in 2014 and 2015. Junior Mahmoud Moussa had a strong run at the Springfield Golf Club just a few weeks ago when the Dawgs raced at the Dellinger Invite. Coming off the best race of his Husky career (91st at Wisconsin), sophomore Andy Snyder runs at a second Pac-12s, as will sophomore Charlie Barringer. Four Huskies will make their Pac-12 debuts, including true freshman Talon Hull, back after missing Wisconsin with an ankle injury, and Tibebu Proctor. Redshirt freshman Nate Beamer and Gavin Parpart round out the 10 Husky men set to race.