Women Fourth In Virginia; Houser Top-10 For Men

Saturday, September 23

Charlottesville, VA

5:45 AM

University of Washington

Virginia Invitational

September 23, 2023 | Cross Country

Complete Results Photo Gallery

By: UW Athletic Communications

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Cross country kicked off this morning at Panorama Farms, the eventual site of the NCAA Championships, as the Huskies battled against elite fields at the Virginia Invitational. The Husky women's team had a stellar opener, putting five women in the top-40 and finishing fourth overall, while the men got a top-10 finish from Luke Houser plus an impressive debut from freshman Tyrone Gorze.

The men's field featured 14 of the 30 ranked teams in the latest USTFCCCA coaches poll, while the women's field had 12 of the top-30 racing today as teams got an early season test, hoping to be back on the course on Nov. 18 when it hosts the NCAA Championships.

Women's Race

The 13th-ranked Husky women's squad outran eight ranked squads, placing fourth with 131 points. Second-ranked Northern Arizona won with 48, and No. 9 Stanford and No. 11 Virginia were second and third with 104 and 123 points, respectively. Behind the Huskies were No. 12 Georgetown, No. 26 Iowa State, No. 15 Michigan State, No. 14 Providence, No. 9 Colorado, Syracuse and No. 10 North Carolina.

Sophie O'Sullivan, after just finishing her summer track season two weeks ago and having been resting up since, jumped right back into racing the longer distances today. She led the Huskies with a 15th-place finish over the 5,000-meters in 16:40.

Just four seconds behind O'Sullivan was sophomore Chloe Foerster in one of several breakout runs for some young Dawgs. Foerster was 18th today in 16:44. Then three more Huskies crossed close together to cap the scoring. Julia David-Smith, in her first race back in uniform since tearing her ACL in the 2022 track season, placed 30th in 16:56. New Dawg India Weir finished 33rd in 16:59, then sophomore Ella Borsheim was a split second back in 35th-place, also in 16:59.

UW also had two of the top No. 6 and No. 7 finishers today, as Kosana Weir finished 61st and Tori Herman was 78th in their Husky debuts. According to Coach Powell, Herman only recently began running again in August.

Naomi Smith crossed in 89th-place overall in 17:33, and Marlena Preigh was 95th in 17:36. Samantha Friborg finished 163rd overall in the field of 200 runners.

Also for the women, Rosalie Fish raced in the mixed open 5k this morning, and she was the top female finisher in 18:15.

Men's Race

All-American and NCAA mile Champion Luke Houser led the Husky men's team to a 17th-place finish today, as the Dawgs ran without a few key pieces they will add to the mix as the season progresses.

Houser was 10th in the extremely strong field in a time of 23:36 for 8k.

In his collegiate debut, Central Point, Ore. product Tyrone Gorze earned a top-40 finish, as Gorze crossed the line in 23:50 for 34th overall. He was the No. 3 freshman finisher today.

Junior Leo Daschbach had a strong season-opener, as he was 68th overall in a time of 24:10. Redshirt freshman James Crabtree donned the UW singlet for the first time and he was the No. 4 scorer in 136th-place in 24:43. Sophomore Evan Jenkins was 149th in 24:49 to cap the scoring.

Two more first-timers in the 'W' were redshirt freshman Jamar Distel and Eric Gibson, a transfer from Dartmouth. Distel was 192nd overall and Gibson was 195th.

Washington will add more firepower soon as Joe Waskom, Nathan Green, and transfer Ronan McMahon-Staggs all were held out this week.

The next run for the Huskies is another three weeks away. Both teams will head to Madison, Wisc. For the annual Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Oct. 13.

Washington Cross Country
Virginia Invitational
Charlottesville, Va. | Panorama Farms
Sept. 23, 2023

Men's 8,000-meters
Team Standings: 1. Northern Arizona 71; 2. BYU 101; 3. North Carolina 157; 4. Syracuse 167; 5. Villanova 169; 6. Air Force 189; 7. Virginia 214; 8. Butler 259; 9. Stanford 175; 10. Eastern Kentucky 284; 11. Wake Forest 288; 12. Colorado 318; 13. Iowa State 336; 14. Michigan 344; 15. Princeton 353; 16. Utah State 364; 17. Washington 378; 18. Duke 456; 19. Navy 470; 20. Charlotte 471; 21. Providence 490; 22. Georgetown 496; 23. Columbia 651.
Individual Champion: Drew Bosley, Northern Arizona, 23:20
Husky Competitors: 10. Luke Houser 23:36; 34. Tyrone Gorze 23:50; 68. Leo Daschbach 24:10; 136. James Crabtree 24:43; 149. Evan Jenkins 24:49; 192. Jamar Distel 25:28; 195. Eric Gibson 25:33.

Women's 5,000-meters
Team Standings: 1. Northern Arizona 48; 2. Stanford 104; 3. Virginia 123; 4. Washington 131; 5. Georgetown 204; 6. Iowa State 231; 7. Michigan State 243; 8. Providence 246; 9. Colorado 254; 10. Syracuse 269; 11. North Carolina 288; 12. Duke 298; 13. Elon 359; 14. Northwestern 359; 15. Ohio State 370; 16. Columbia 405; 17. Air Force 446; 18. Utah State 476; 19. Liberty 535; 20. Navy 548; 21. Charlotte 551; 22. Eastern Kentucky 596; 23. James Madison 637.
Individual Champion: Elise Stearns, Northern Arizona, 16:18
Husky Competitors: 15. Sophie O'Sullivan 16:40; 18. Chloe Foerster 16:44; 30. Julia David-Smith 16:56; 33. India Weir 16:59; 35. Ella Borsheim 16:59; 61. Kosana Weir 17:16; 78. Tori Herman 17:27; 89. Naomi Smith 17:33; 95. Marlena Preigh 17:36; 163. Samantha Friborg 18:19.

Mixed 5,000-meters Open
Husky Competitors: 1. Rosalie Fish 18:15 (top women's finisher)