Men Win West Region For Second Time In History

Friday, November 15

Colfax, WA

11:00 AM

University of Washington

NCAA West Regionals

November 15, 2024 | Cross Country

By: UW Athletic Communications

Complete Results

COLFAX, Wash. – For just the second time in more than forty years, the Husky men's cross country team won the NCAA West Regional title today at the Colfax Golf Club in eastern Washington. The Dawgs secured their spot at the NCAA Championships in just eight days with the victory, while the UW women's team placed third to also earn a trip to NCAAs.

The 12^th-ranked Husky men's team took the title for the first time since 2015, edging out 15^th-ranked Oregon and 7^th-ranked Stanford in what was a three-team back-and-forth battle not decided until the final meters of the 10,000-meter course.

Halfway through the race, the Dawgs were sitting in fourth and 52 points behind the leading Cardinal. But just over a kilometer later, at the next split, UW had jumped into the lead, three points ahead of Stanford and six ahead of the Ducks. Stanford regained the lead at the 7k mark, then UW was back on top at the 8k. With a thousand meters left, Stanford had a 10-point lead over the Huskies, who were just one point in front of Oregon.

But the Dawgs caught Stanford one more time at the finish, and just held off Oregon by two points. Washington finished with 66 points, Oregon with 68, and Stanford with 73. 16^th-ranked Cal Baptist was fourth with 99 points.

Dubs Up!! The Dawgs are the Champs

?????#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/18bWWa6P0Z
— Washington Track & Field and Cross Country (@UWTrack) November 15, 2024

Nathan Green led the Dawgs in seventh-place overall in 29:12, picking up a key six places over the final 1k. Evan Jenkins was right behind in 29:14 for ninth-place. Tyrone Gorze was 14^th in 29:21 and Leo Daschbach was two seconds behind him in 15^th. Capping the scoring was Jamar Distel in 22^nd overall in 29:33, as Distel also gained six key places over the final split. Washington's 1-5 runners finished within just 21 seconds of each other.

Ronan McMahon-Staggs in 36^th-place and Nathan Neil in 47^th (out of a field of 207 finishers) also had solid days.

Washington had finished second at Regionals in 2018 and 2021 under Head Coach Andy Powell. Last year UW was fifth and missed NCAAs for the first time since 2016, but the Dawgs responded in a big way this year and will head back to Madison and the NCAA Championships with some momentum.

The women's team will be joining the men in Madison but will have to wait for an at-large bid to be announced on Saturday, as the Huskies were one spot out of the auto-qualifiers. Washington finished third with 101 points, behind No. 2 Oregon with 43 and No. 12 Stanford with 67. It's the third-straight third-place finish for the women at Regionals.

Maeve Stiles led the women in 14^th-place in 19:49. Julia David Smith was 17^th in 19:53, and Chloe Foerster was 19^th in 20:00. India Weir was 23^rd in 20:10, and Sophie O'Sullivan was the fifth scorer in 33^rd-place in 20:27. Amina Maatoug finished 39^th overall and Ella Borsheim was 43^rd in 20:35.

The women punching their ticket on Saturday would make their 18^th consecutive trip to nationals, and 28 of the past 30 years.

The NCAA Championships will be held at the Thomas Zimmer Course in Madison, which UW has run twice already this season, next Saturday, Nov. 23. The women's race will go at 7:20 a.m. PT, and the men will start at 8:10 a.m. PT.

Washington Cross Country
NCAA West Regional Championships
Nov. 15, 2024
Colfax, Wash. | Colfax Golf Club

Women's 6,000-meters Championship
Team Standings (Top-25 of 39): 1. Oregon 43; 2. Stanford 67; 3. WASHINGTON 101; 4. Gonzaga 134; 5. Portland 156; 6. Boise State 168; 7. Washington State 169; 8. Cal Poly 237; 9. Oregon State 297; 10. Cal Baptist 317; 11. UC Davis 365; 12. UCLA 381; 13. California 463; 14. San Diego State 478; 15. Idaho 480; 16. UC San Diego 510; 17. Seattle U. 522; 18. Long Beach State 570; 19. San Francisco 571; 20. UC Riverside 583; 21. Eastern Washington 584; 22. UC Irvine 585; 23. Arizona 638; 24. Saint Mary's 653; 25. Cal State Fullerton 676.
Individual Champion: Amy Bunnage, Stanford, 19:17.
Husky Finishers: 14. Maeve Stiles 19:49; 17. Julia David-Smith 19:53; 19. Chloe Foerster 20:00; 23. India Weir 20:10; 33. Sophie O'Sullivan 20:27; 39. Amina Maatoug 20:32; 43. Ella Borsheim 20:35.

Men's 10,000-meters Championship
Team Standings (Top-25 of 31): 1. WASHINGTON 66; 2. Oregon 68; 3. Stanford 73; 4. Cal Baptist 99; 5. Portland 102; 6. Gonzaga 135; 7. Boise State 181; 8. Cal Poly 235; 9. Washington State 244; 10. Cal State Fullerton 324; 11. California 327; 12. UC Davis 357; 13. Santa Clara 362; 14. Saint Mary's 432; 15. UC Riverside 456; 16. Arizona 457; 17. Eastern Washington 534; 18. UC San Diego 541; 19. UC Irvine 617; 20. UC Santa Barbara 641; 21. Pepperdine 643; 22. Utah Tech 659; 23. Idaho 663; 24. San Francisco 702; 25. Grand Canyon 709.
Individual Champion: Evans Kurui, Washington State, 28:53.
Husky Finishers: 7. Nathan Green 29:12; 9. Evan Jenkins 29:14; 14. Tyrone Gorze 29:21; 15. Leo Daschbach 29:23; 22. Jamar Distel 29:33; 36. Ronan McMahon-Staggs 29:53; 47. Nathan Neil 30:03.