SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The Gonzaga men's cross country team was selected third in the West Coast Conference preseason poll, the league office released Tuesday.
The Zags were led by preseason All-WCC selections
Peter Hogan and
James Mwaura. The conference's preseason poll and team were selected by the league's coaches. It's the first time in program history that two GU runners have been named Preseason All-WCC.
At last year's WCC Championships, Hogan had a second team All-WCC finish in 13th place. He finished at 24:11.2, the eighth-fastest time over an 8,000-meter course in program history.
Mwaura returns for his sophomore season. He was named All-Region last season, after he had the best-ever finish by a Gonzaga men's runner at the regional championships. He broke the program's 10,000-meter course record with a time of 29:48.9 at last season's regionals, placing 10
th.
Last season, Mwaura became the program's first-ever West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year. The Tacoma, Wash., native paced the Zag men to a third-place team finish at the WCC Championships, with a ninth-place individual finish at the event. He crossed the line at 23:57.7, after running with the front pack for the majority of the race.
Gonzaga was picked fourth in last season's WCC Preseason Poll, before finishing third at the conference championships.
Gonzaga runs at the Cougar Classic on Sept. 13, in Colfax, Wash. The Bulldogs will have an opportunity to run on the same course that will host the NCAA West Regionals. Friday's women's 6K race begins at 5:15 p.m., followed by the men's 8K race at 5:45.
2019 WCC Men's Cross Country Coaches Poll
| Team (First Place) |
|
Pts. |
| 1. No. 2 BYU |
(8) |
64 |
| 2. No. 6 Portland |
(1) |
57 |
| 3. RV Gonzaga |
|
50 |
| 4. San Francisco |
|
40 |
| 5. Santa Clara |
|
37 |
| 6. LMU |
|
30 |
| 7. Pepperdine |
|
19 |
| 8. Saint Mary's |
|
17 |
| 9. San Diego |
|
10 |
2019 All-WCC Men's Cross Country Preseason Team
| Name |
Institution |
Yr. |
| Jacob Heslington |
BYU |
Sr. |
| Peter Hogan |
Gonzaga |
Jr. |
| Zac Jacklin |
BYU |
So. |
| Reuben Kiprono |
Portland |
Jr. |
| Brayden McLelland |
BYU |
Sr. |
| Conner Mantz |
BYU |
So. |
| James Mwaura |
Gonzaga |
So. |
| Riley Osen |
Portland |
Jr. |
| Clayson Shumway |
BYU |
Jr. |
| Evert Silva |
Portland |
So. |
| Caleb Webb |
Portland |
Sr. |
The Gonzaga women's cross country team was picked sixth in the West Coast Conference preseason poll. The Zags opened the 2019 season with a first place team finish at the Clash of the Inland Northwest last Saturday.
Emily Phelps led the Zag women with fifth place at 14:31.4.
Brittney Hansen was sixth (14:32.4) and
Paxton Depoe was eighth (14:37.5).
Grace Fahrney placed 11th with a time of 14:45.0.
2019 WCC Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll
| Team (First Place) |
Pts. |
|
| 1. No. 6 BYU (9) |
81 |
|
| 2. Portland (1) |
69 |
|
| 3. San Francisco |
68 |
|
| 4. LMU |
50 |
|
| 5. Saint Mary's |
46 |
|
| 6. Gonzaga |
39 |
|
| 7. San Diego |
35 |
|
| 8. Santa Clara |
32 |
|
| 9. Pacific |
19 |
|
| 10. Pepperdine |
11 |
|
2019 All-WCC Women's Cross Country Preseason Team
| Name |
Institution |
Yr. |
| Erica Birk-Jarvis |
BYU |
Sr. |
| Anna Camp-Bennett |
BYU |
Jr. |
| Lacey Conner |
Portland |
Jr. |
| Aubrey Frentheway |
BYU |
So. |
| Jasmine Gonzalez |
Pacific |
Sr. |
| Olivia Hoj |
BYU |
Sr. |
| Sara Musselman |
BYU |
Jr. |
| Aoibhe Richardson |
San Francisco |
Grad. |
| Maddi Vorgitch |
LMU |
Sr. |
| Courtney Wayment |
BYU |
Sr. |
