Men's Cross Country Reaches No. 19 in USTFCCA Poll
10/5/2021 12:40:00 PM | Cross Country
SPOKANE, Wash. — Despite a week without racing, Gonzaga men's cross country's climb in the USTFCCA Coaches' Poll continued on Tuesday, with the Bulldogs reaching No. 19 nationally and mainting the No. 4 spot in the West Region in the most recent rankings released.
In GU's most recent action at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Springfield, Ore., on Sep. 24, the Zags placed three runners in the top five to finish only six points behind Oregon, which clocked in at No. 9 this week. When the Zags were ranked No. 20 last week, it was only the third time in program history that the Bulldogs have been ranked in the Top 20, and the first since 2015.
Yacine Guermali, James Mwaura and Wil Smith finished 3-4-5 behind Oregon's Cooper Teare and Aaron Bienenfeld for the bulk of GU's scoring at Dellinger, with Guermali putting down a 23:11.3 time for the third-fastest 8K in program history behind his and Mwaura's spring 2021 WCC Championships races. In his first race of the 2021 fall season, Mwaura finished just under five seconds behind Guermali at 23:16.1, and Smith recorded a personal record 23:25.8 for fifth.
In the process, the Bulldogs knocked off then-No. 19 Portland, from whom they usurped the No. 4 spot in the USTFCCA's West Region Rankings last week. The Zags maintained their hold on No. 4 in the West this week too, with no movement in the regional rankings.
Dellinger was only the culmination of a dominant start for the Zags, which swept the Top 10 of the Clash of the Inland Northwest in Cheney, Wash., and the Top Eight of the Cougar Classic in Colfax in their first two races.
The Zags will have another opportunity to test their mettle against elite national competition at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisc. on Oct. 15. Hosted by Nol 14 Wisconsin, Nuttycombe will feature 15 teams ranked nationally this week by the USTFCCA, giving GU another shot to top Oregon as well as West Region rivals No. 13 Washington and No. 3 Stanford as well as No. 22 Portland.
Players Mentioned
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