Women, Men Both Runner-Up At Big Ten Champs

Friday, November 1

Champaign, IL

8:30 AM

University of Washington

Big Ten Championships

November 01, 2024 | Cross Country

By: UW Athletic Communications

SAVOY, Ill. – Washington made a big impression in its first Big Ten Cross Country Championships, taking second in a pair of exciting team battles. Both teams had its top-five scorers finish in the top-20 at the Orange and Blue Golf Course where Illinois played host to the conference meet. Eleven Huskies walked away with All-Big Ten honors in UW's conference debut.

The women's race quickly turned into essentially a head to head battle between Washington and Oregon, as the Big Ten newcomers were far outpacing the rest of the teams. The Huskies turned in a truly stellar run, with three in the top-10, six in the top-20, and just 11 seconds separating their 1-5 finishers to score 60 points. But Oregon had the top two finishers today and five in the top-12 to win with just 33 points. 11^th-ranked Wisconsin was a distant third with 133 points.

Chloe Foerster made a big kick to climb up to sixth-place to lead the women in a time of 19:34. Foerster was 27^th at 2k before she began moving up and she still went from 13^th to 6^th over the final kilometer. Julia David-Smith was three spots back in ninth in 19:39 and India Weir came in right beside her in 10^th-place in the same time.

Maeve Stiles was 17^th overall in 19:44 and Sophie O'Sullivan was 18^th in 19:45, as she passed 11 runners over the final 1K. Amina Maatoug rounded out the top-20 in 20^th in 19:48, moving up throughout as she was back in 50^th at the 2K split. Ella Borsheim was the No. 7 Husky finisher in 45^th overall.

"I thought our women ran great today, they closed hard, they had 14 seconds one to six, so they're improving and getting better every week," said Head Coach Maurica Powell. "But we got beat by a good team today with two really low sticks in almost a dual meet format. But we ran really well and I think we still have a shot here to be a top-four team at the end of the season which is what we're trying to do. We've been good on that Wisconsin course, so we'll keep doing what we're doing and try to get a little better in two weeks."

In the men's 8,000-meters, 9^th-ranked Wisconsin took it out aggressively from the start and the Huskies were running in fourth at the halfway point, a full 50 points behind Oregon and 47 points behind Wisconsin.

At 7,000-meters, with just 1K to go, the Badgers still led the Huskies by 42 points but UW had closed to within just two points of the Ducks.

While the Huskies continued to push, with their top-three gaining a combined 18 places over the final kilometer, Wisconsin was able to hold on to win with 46 points with the Huskies closing to within just 12 points at the finish with 58. Oregon also finished with 58 but the Huskies won the tiebreak with three of their five scorers finishing ahead of their respective scorers for Oregon.

"Wisconsin is probably one of the top teams in the country, so to be within 12 points of them is pretty good," said Head Coach Andy Powell. "I think we were closing on them, they were starting to come back to us, with a little bit more room we could have caught them. I think over 10k, for the regional and national meet, I like our chances there."

Nathan Green led the men in third-place overall, matching his Pac-12 finish from a year ago, running 22:56. Green kicked from 10^th up to 3^rd over the final stretch. Evan Jenkins rose constantly from 91^st at the 2K up to 58^th then 36^th and soon into the top-10 and he finished sixth overall in 22:57. Jamar Distel gained seventeen spots over the final 2K to finish 14^th in 23:05.

The fourth Husky was sophomore Tyrone Gorze in 16^th-place in 23:08, and senior Leo Daschbach capped the scoring in 19^th-place in 23:10. Freshman Nathan Neil was the sixth Dawg in 33^rd overall and Ronan McMahon-Staggs was 37^th as the No. 7.

"Nathan Green in more ways than one continues to impress," said Powell. "Being our top runner, but being the leader of our team. He's vocal, the guys listen to him and follow him. He was our low stick, but his leadership qualities and the stuff he does outside the race is super impressive."

The Huskies will finally race on the West Coast for the first time since their dual with Seattle U. to open up the season, but they still head to the east side of the state for West Regionals in Colfax, Wash. on Nov. 15. With a solid performance there the Huskies should progress on to the NCAA Championships back in Madison, Wisc. on Nov. 23.

Washington Cross Country
Big Ten Championships
Nov. 1, 2024
Savoy, Ill. | Orange and Blue Golf Course

Women's 6,000-meters Championship
Team Standings: 1. Oregon 33; 2. Washington 60; 3. Wisconsin 133; 4. Penn State 134; 5. Minnesota 146; 6. Michigan State 173; 7. Northwestern 201; 8. Ohio State 226; 9. Michigan 262; 10. Illinois 277; 11. Nebraska 283; 12. UCLA 351; 13. Indiana 362; 14. Purdue 366; 15. Maryland 368; 16. Iowa 479; 17. Rutgers 520; 18. USC 604.
Individual Champion: Silan Ayyildiz, Oregon, 19:13
Husky Finishers: 6. Chloe Foerster 19:34: 9. Julia David-Smith 19:39; 10. India Weir 19:39; 17. Maeve Stiles 19:44; 18. Sophie O'Sullivan 19:45; 20. Amina Maatoug 19:48; 45. Ella Borsheim 20:14; 75. Claire Yerby 20:39; 110. Saskia Lloyd 21:01; 115. Josephine Welin 21:08; 124. Sam Tran 21:17; -- Stephanie Driscoll, DNF

Men's 8,000-meters Championship
Team Standings: 1. Wisconsin 46; 2. Washington 58; 3. Oregon 58; 4. Michigan State 125; 5. Michigan 158; 6. Indiana 175; 7. Purdue 203; 8. Penn State 250; 9. Illinois 252; 10. Ohio State 253; 11. Minnesota 301; 12. UCLA 367; 13. Iowa 370; 14. Nebraska 410; 15. Rutgers 446.
Individual Champion: Bob Liking, Wisconsin, 22:47.
Husky Finishers: 3. Nathan Green 22:56; 6. Evan Jenkins 22:57; 14. Jamar Distel 23:05; 16. Tyrone Gorze 23:08; 19. Leo Daschbach 23:10; 33. Nathan Neil 23:26; 37; Ronan McMahon-Staggs 23:28; 62. Rhys Hammond 23:53; 84. Thom Diamond 24:07; 97. Isaac Briggs 24:23; 107. James Crabtree 24:28; 127. Ben MacMillan 24:52.

Huskies on the All-Big Ten Team
Women
Chloe Foerster – First Team
Julia David-Smith – First Team
India Weir – First Team
Maeve Stiles – Second Team
Sophie O'Sullivan – Second Team
Amina Maatoug – Second Team

Men
Nathan Green – First Team
Evan Jenkins – First Team
Jamar Distel – Second Team
Tyrone Gorze – Second Team
Leo Daschbach – Second Team