Saturday, November 18
Charlottesville, VA
7:20 AM
University of Washington
vs
NCAA Championships
10th-Ranked Huskies Head For National Championships
November 15, 2023 | Cross Country
2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Saturday, Nov. 18
Charlottesville, Va. | Panorama Farms
Live on ESPNU | Live Results
Women's 6,000m Race: 7:20 a.m. Pacific
SEATTLE – The Dawgs have run a lot of miles, and must fly a lot more miles this week, to run one more 6,000-meter race this Saturday for the national championship. Washington's women's cross country team is set to cap the fall season at NCAAs in Charlottesville, Va. at 7:20 a.m. Pacific time. The race will be televised live on ESPNU.
The Pac-12 Champion Huskies are in the 31-team championship field for the 17th year in a row. Ranked 10th, the Huskies are chasing a top-10 finish that would be their first since 2018, though they have finished 11th two times since then.
Last year the Huskies ran to 17th but they have run their way back to NCAAs with only three of the seven women from last year's NCAA squad returning. A year ago Sophie O'Sullivan was 73rd, Naomi Smith was 158th, and Ella Borsheim was 174th.
Panorama Farms is the site of the championships for the first time. The Huskies ran well on that same course in their season opener, taking fourth at the Virginia Invitational on Sept. 23 with O'Sullivan and Chloe Foerster both running in the top-20.
From there the Huskies had a so-so outing at the Wisconsin Invitational, but then hit their stride at the final Pac-12 Championships, winning the team title for the first time since 2009 by a mere two points over Stanford. The Dawgs then locked up an at-large bid to NCAAs with a third-place finish at West Regionals.
Eight Huskies are headed to Charlottesville, with seven to race on Saturday and one alternate. The eight women will be sophomore Ella Borsheim, sophomore Julia David-Smith, sophomore Chloe Foerster, senior Samantha Friborg, junior Tori Herman, junior Sophie O'Sullivan, junior Naomi Smith, and senior India Weir.
Washington's top-five scorers have been the same at the past three meets, though with different orders among the five. O'Sullivan, Foerster, David-Smith, Weir, and Herman have accounted for the points of late.
O'Sullivan, coming off a brilliant track season that included an Olympic Standard in the 1,500-meters run at the World Championships, has continued straight into fall and earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors and All-West Region.
Foerster has had a huge breakout fall in her second season as a Dawg. She went from 212th at Wisconsin in 2022 to 40th this year, and from 44th at Pac-12s last year to 7th this season. This will be her first NCAA Championship.
David-Smith tore her ACL near the end of the 2022 track season and she came back this fall better than ever. Her huge improvement since her freshman year in 2021 has been another key to UW's success. David-Smith was 175th at Wisconsin in 2021 and 50th this year, and she went from 42nd at Pac-12s in 2021 to 10th in 2023.
Weir, Herman, and Friborg all transferred into the team this year and have made big impacts. Weir, who came from Princeton, has been enjoying her best cross country season, earning All-Pac-12 Second Team honors and All-West Region honors as the No. 4 Husky at Pac-12s and No. 3 at Regionals. Weir will run her first career nationals on Saturday.
Herman, a transfer from Kentucky, has been an All-American in cross country and track, but she came to UW after missing the 2023 track season due to injury, and only started running again in August. Even without a big base, Herman has helped the Dawgs immensely as their fifth scorer at the past three meets. Her veteran experience should come in handy on Saturday, as she was 17th at this meet in 2021.
Friborg is typically an 800-meter specialist on the track, but the Yale transfer has shown her range with solid runs for the Dawgs this fall. She was 42nd at the Pac-12 Championships in her most recent race.
Smith would be making her fourth-straight appearance at nationals, most on the squad. She was 39th at Pac-12s and 80th at Regionals this season.
Borsheim opened the fall with a great 35th-place finish at the Virginia Invite. In her second season, Borsheim was also 34th at Pac-12s and one of just three Dawgs who ran at nationals last year.
Saturday, Nov. 18
Charlottesville, Va. | Panorama Farms
Live on ESPNU | Live Results
Women's 6,000m Race: 7:20 a.m. Pacific
SEATTLE – The Dawgs have run a lot of miles, and must fly a lot more miles this week, to run one more 6,000-meter race this Saturday for the national championship. Washington's women's cross country team is set to cap the fall season at NCAAs in Charlottesville, Va. at 7:20 a.m. Pacific time. The race will be televised live on ESPNU.
The Pac-12 Champion Huskies are in the 31-team championship field for the 17th year in a row. Ranked 10th, the Huskies are chasing a top-10 finish that would be their first since 2018, though they have finished 11th two times since then.
Last year the Huskies ran to 17th but they have run their way back to NCAAs with only three of the seven women from last year's NCAA squad returning. A year ago Sophie O'Sullivan was 73rd, Naomi Smith was 158th, and Ella Borsheim was 174th.
Panorama Farms is the site of the championships for the first time. The Huskies ran well on that same course in their season opener, taking fourth at the Virginia Invitational on Sept. 23 with O'Sullivan and Chloe Foerster both running in the top-20.
From there the Huskies had a so-so outing at the Wisconsin Invitational, but then hit their stride at the final Pac-12 Championships, winning the team title for the first time since 2009 by a mere two points over Stanford. The Dawgs then locked up an at-large bid to NCAAs with a third-place finish at West Regionals.
Eight Huskies are headed to Charlottesville, with seven to race on Saturday and one alternate. The eight women will be sophomore Ella Borsheim, sophomore Julia David-Smith, sophomore Chloe Foerster, senior Samantha Friborg, junior Tori Herman, junior Sophie O'Sullivan, junior Naomi Smith, and senior India Weir.
Washington's top-five scorers have been the same at the past three meets, though with different orders among the five. O'Sullivan, Foerster, David-Smith, Weir, and Herman have accounted for the points of late.
O'Sullivan, coming off a brilliant track season that included an Olympic Standard in the 1,500-meters run at the World Championships, has continued straight into fall and earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors and All-West Region.
Foerster has had a huge breakout fall in her second season as a Dawg. She went from 212th at Wisconsin in 2022 to 40th this year, and from 44th at Pac-12s last year to 7th this season. This will be her first NCAA Championship.
David-Smith tore her ACL near the end of the 2022 track season and she came back this fall better than ever. Her huge improvement since her freshman year in 2021 has been another key to UW's success. David-Smith was 175th at Wisconsin in 2021 and 50th this year, and she went from 42nd at Pac-12s in 2021 to 10th in 2023.
Weir, Herman, and Friborg all transferred into the team this year and have made big impacts. Weir, who came from Princeton, has been enjoying her best cross country season, earning All-Pac-12 Second Team honors and All-West Region honors as the No. 4 Husky at Pac-12s and No. 3 at Regionals. Weir will run her first career nationals on Saturday.
Herman, a transfer from Kentucky, has been an All-American in cross country and track, but she came to UW after missing the 2023 track season due to injury, and only started running again in August. Even without a big base, Herman has helped the Dawgs immensely as their fifth scorer at the past three meets. Her veteran experience should come in handy on Saturday, as she was 17th at this meet in 2021.
Friborg is typically an 800-meter specialist on the track, but the Yale transfer has shown her range with solid runs for the Dawgs this fall. She was 42nd at the Pac-12 Championships in her most recent race.
Smith would be making her fourth-straight appearance at nationals, most on the squad. She was 39th at Pac-12s and 80th at Regionals this season.
Borsheim opened the fall with a great 35th-place finish at the Virginia Invite. In her second season, Borsheim was also 34th at Pac-12s and one of just three Dawgs who ran at nationals last year.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
Raising the Bar | Hana & Amanda Moll
Monday, August 04
Women's 1500m final - 2025 NCAA outdoor track and field championship
Sunday, June 15
Nathan Green | 2025 NCAA 1500m Champion
Saturday, June 14
Track & Field NCAA Championships | Huskies Highlights
Friday, June 13
