SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga women's and men's cross country teams run against the top competition from the region at the 2018 NCAA West Regionals Friday morning in Sacramento, Calif.
 
Many of the best cross country runners in Div. I will make their way to Sacramento. The Sacramento State cross country programs will host the 2016 NCAA West Regional. The meet will take place at Haggin Oaks Golf Course and will be co-hosted by Sacramento State and the Sacramento Sports Commission. This is the third time that Sacramento has hosted the NCAA West Regional since 2013. The top two team finishers from both races will earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships. Each of the nine regions across the nation receive two automatic qualifiers and 13 more teams will be selected from the remaining top teams in the country.
 
"We are chasing a possible birth to the NCAA Championships next week," Director of GU Cross Country Pat Tyson said. "We'll line up our best seven 10,000-meter runners to compete on the three-loop, roughly two-miles per loop, layout. I love this team and believe in this team! Our goal is to just go down and have some fun! We need to stay composed and relaxed! These guys are united They understand they not only represent themselves, but all their mates who will be staying home and sending positive energy as they tour their first 10K distance of 2018. 
 
"The West is the toughest and deepest region in Div. 1, with eight teams nationally-ranked (No. 4 Portland, No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Washington, No. 9 Boise State, No. 11 Oregon, No. 22 Washington State, No. 24 and No. 28 Gonzaga). We are in the hunt for one of those births to nationals, and I'm really excited for our seven!"
 
"Our women have had two really good weeks of work coming off of the conference meet," Gonzaga Women's Head Coach Jake Stewart said. "We are going into this weekend with some very tangible goals and expectations we all are very much attainable. We're going to do a very good job of focusing on the things we can control and running our own race, we will go down and have the best day we possibly can and finish the season with momentum. We're very excited for the opportunities to grow we have on Friday."
 
Last time Haggin Oaks hosted the regionals, GU completed its 2016 schedules with 12th and 16th place finishes. Jordan Thurston led the GU women to a 16th place team finish. She finished the 6k course with a time of 20:31.0, nearly beating her personal record of 20:30.4. On the men's side, Max Kaderabek paced the Bulldog men to a 12th place finish. Kaderabek's time of 30:45.4 was 52^nd. Dillon Quintana and Jake Perrin were not far behind in 61st and 63rd. Kellen Manley was 82nd at 31:37.5.
 
Last season at regionals, the Zag men ran three of the top-10 fastest 10k times in program history in a 10th place finish in Seattle. Peter Hogan narrowly finished ahead of teammate Phillip Fishburn in 48th place. Fishburn was 49th, while Kaderabek crossed the line in 52nd place. Hogan's time of 30:39.0 ranks fourth on the GU all-time 10k list, and Fishburn ranks fifth with his 30:40.1 finish. Perrin was 65th at 30:58.1. Manley and Sumner Goodwin ran the 15th and 16th fastest 10k times in GU history at 31:12.8. Manley edged out Goodwin at the line in 80th place, Goodwin was right behind in 81st place.
 
The GU women were led by Jordan Thurston's 21:12.6 finish. The senior placed 80th in the field of 243 runners. The next four GU runners crossed the line within 20 seconds of each other, led by Aimee Piercy's 22:14.1 finish in 142nd place. Jenna Rogers was 157th with a time of 22:24.8. Amanda Kiefer (22:29.0) and Ally Legard (22:34.2) rounded of the Bulldog scoring in 162nd and 171st place. As a team, Gonzaga finished 24th.
 
San Francisco edged out Stanford for the women's title. The Dons totaled 59 points, while Stanford had 76. USF had three runners place in the top-10. Oregon (92), Boise State (104) and California (183) were third, fourth and fifth. On the men's side Portland's 63 points just beat out Washington's 65 for the title.
 
The Portland men enter this year's regional as the favorite. Stanford and Washington are second and third. The Oregon women top the regional rankings, followed by Boise State and Stanford.
 
Live video from FloTrack and live results will be available with links on GoZags.com. The women's 6k championship race will start at 11 a.m., with the men following in the 10k at 12.
 
GU Women's Runners
Aimee Piercy
Katherine Gustafson
Monica Ripple
Ally Legard
Lauren Bourgeois
Claire Gillett
Caroline McCarthy
 
GU Men's Runners
James Mwaura
Kyle Thompson
Ciaran O'Leary
Yacine Guermali
Andrew Clusserath
Bennett Gagnon
Peter Hogan