SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga women's and men's cross country teams open their postseasons at the 2018 West Coast Conference Championships Saturday.
 
The Zags will run against the top competition from the conference at the East Bay Golf Course in Provo, Utah. The women's 6,000-meter race begins at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time, followed by the men's 8K race at 10:30 a.m.
 
The Gonzaga men enter the championships with the program's first-ever national ranking at No. 26. Defending champion BYU enters the race at No. 2 for the second consecutive year. The Cougars, who are seeking their fourth consecutive WCC crown, earned 328 points in the latest USTFCCCA Poll (seven out of first place) and two first-place votes. Portland checks in at No. 5. BYU and Portland have not relinquished their top-five placings all season long, with the Cougars holding down the No. 2 slot all season long and the Pilots reaching as high as third.
 
"To start off with, our men are off to their best season in Gonzaga history," Director of GU Cross Country Pat Tyson said. "To win meets in Moscow, Colfax, Missoula, Lewiston, and Spokane (5-0) against mostly Inland Northwest collegiate teams is a new precedent. Add to the fact that our top seven placed ninth out of 36 NCAA Div. 1 regional teams at NCAA Pre Nationals two weeks ago, it confirms that the 2018 Gonzaga Cross Country team is incredibly special. Peter Hogan said it perfectly; 'This is the most fun team I've ever been a part of. Now it is time to make it even better.' 
 
"This is by far the toughest the West Coast Conference has ever been. At the same time, the Bulldogs have the deepest talented team in school history. Our nine competitors are ready to go. We have great team depth, with a great attitude! These guys love each other and are raring to rock the postseason elite competitions over the next three weeks."
 
For the women, No. 9 BYU leads the charge while the Portland women check in at No. 19. The Cougars have made a remarkable leap in the standings this year, opening up the season at No. 16 before three consecutive first-place team finishes and a fourth-place showing at Pre-Nationals vaulted them into the top ten.
 
"Our women are excited about the opportunity to head to Provo and compete in our conference championships," GU Women's Head Coach Jake Stewart said. "Collectively I believe we all know we still have our best race in front of us. We want to go into the meet eager, understand how we have to execute our race plan, and know that if we run to the best of our abilities we'll have the chance to feel really good about our day! That's all that we expect, do our best on the day. These women are a team. They want success as much for one another as they do themselves. They've worked hard, they've prepared well, we know we have a lot of good running in front of us."
 
This will be the 34th women's race. No. 9 BYU, who has registered top-five finishes in all four of its races (including three wins), enters as the favorite behind No. 19 Portland. Four teams have won championships in the last five races: Portland (2016), Gonzaga (2015), BYU (2014) and San Francisco (2013, 17).
 
This will be the 44th men's race, and the second straight year two teams enter the race in the top-five of the USTFCCCA national poll - No. 2 BYU and No. 5 Portland. The Pilots and Cougars have combined to win the last 39 WCC Championships, highlighted by an unprecedented 32 consecutive by Portland (1979-2010). The two powerhouses figure to battle it out once again in a field laden with talent. No. 26 Gonzaga coupled with a stacked resume of regionally ranked squads - Santa Clara (11), San Francisco (12), Pepperdine (14) and Loyola Marymount (15) - makes that seven of the nine WCC men's teams with either a regional or national ranking entering the race.
 
Graduated seniors Jordan Thurston and Max Kaderabek both had top-20 finishes to lead Gonzaga at last year's WCC Championships. Kaderabek placed 17th with a time of 24:21.09, just missing out on a Second Team All-Conference finish. He paced the Zags to a fourth place team finish, marking the sixth straight season GU has placed in the top-four. The GU women were fifth. The Zags totaled a score of 166 on the 6K course. Thurston led Gonzaga with a time of 20:52.9 in 18th place.
 
The No. 4 nationally-ranked San Francisco women took the team title. The Dons swept the top three spots and placed four runners in the top-five, led by Charlotte Taylor, with a time of 19:10.5. No. 18 BYU was second, followed by Loyola Marymount and Portland. On the men's side, No. 2 BYU cruised to first place behind a top-five sweep. Connor McMillan crossed the line at 23:22.8. Third-ranked Portland placed second and San Francisco was third.
 
Gonzaga Women's Entries
Lauren Bourgeois
Molly Foster
Claire Gillett
Katherine Gustafson
Lauren Haas
Ally Legard
Caroline McCarthy
Aimee Piercy
Monica Ripple
 
Gonzaga Men's Entries
Stefan Bradley
Bennett Gagnon
Yacine Guermali
Peter Hogan
Scott Kopczynski
Kellen Manley
James Mwaura
Ciaran O'Leary
Kyle Thompson