SAN MATEO, Calif. – The Gonzaga women's cross country team was picked third in the West Coast Conference preseason poll the league announced Friday.
Claire Manley was named to the league's preseason team.
The preseason poll and All-WCC team were selected solely by a vote of the conference's head coaches. Coaches cannot vote for their own teams and student-athletes.
The BYU women's cross country team finished first in the 2020-21 West Coast Conference Spring Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll with a perfect score.
The Cougars collected nine first-place votes and 81 points and were followed by Portland with one first-place vote and 72 points. Rounding out the top five were Gonzaga (62 points), San Francisco (55) and Santa Clara (44). Spots 6-10 were claimed by Saint Mary's (38), Loyola Marymount (35), San Diego (31), Pacific (20) and Pepperdine (12).
BYU finished second at the 2019 NCAA Championships and has won the last two WCC titles. The Cougars, currently ranked No. 2 in the country, have finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships in three of the last four years.
The 2020-21 All-WCC Preseason Spring Women's Cross Country Team includes four runners from BYU, two from Portland and one each from Gonzaga, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara.
Whittni Orton from BYU, the 2019 WCC individual champion and an All-American, is one of four members of the preseason team who finished in the top 10 at last season's WCC championships. The others are Manley (6th) from Gonzaga and BYU's Anna Camp-Bennett (7th) and Sara Musselman (9th). Portland's Anna Pataki (11th) and San Diego's Hannah Rasmussen (12th) finished just outside the top 10 last season.
The 2020-21 WCC Championships are scheduled for Feb. 24 in Las Vegas.
| 2020-21 WCC Spring Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll |
| Team (First Place Votes) |
Points |
| BYU (9) |
81 |
| Portland (1) |
72 |
| Gonzaga |
62 |
| San Francisco |
55 |
| Santa Clara |
44 |
| Saint Mary's (CA) |
38 |
| Loyola Marymount |
35 |
| San Diego |
31 |
| Pacific |
20 |
| Pepperdine |
12 |
| 2020-21 All-WCC Preseason Spring Women's Cross Country Team |
| Name |
Institution |
Yr. |
| Anna Camp-Bennett |
BYU |
Sr. |
| Aubrey Frentheway |
BYU |
Jr. |
| Stella Gillman |
Portland |
Jr. |
| Claire Manley |
Gonzaga |
Sr. |
| Sara Musselman |
BYU |
Sr. |
| Janie Nabholz |
Santa Clara |
Sr. |
| Whittni Orton |
BYU |
Sr. |
| Anna Pataki |
Portland |
Jr. |
| Hannah Rasmussen |
San Diego |
Sr. |
| Anna Tait |
San Francisco |
Sr. |
