Men's Cross Country places three on All-WCC Preseason List
9/1/2021 11:46:00 AM | Cross Country
Picked to finish third in conference
SPOKANE, Wash. — Three Gonzaga men's runners were named to the West Coast Conference's Preseason All-League rosters, the league announced Wednesday, with the GU men picked to finish third in the conference.
Yacine Guermali, James Mwaura and Will Smith — all of whom raced in the Bulldogs' first appearance as a team at NCAA Nationals in the spring — were named to the preseason list along with four BYU runners and three from Portland for a program record three preseason selections. Guermali's 55th-place finish in the spring was the highest by a GU runner in program history.
With nine of its top ten runners from the spring season returning this fall, GU was slated as high as 27th national and fifth in the West Region by the USTFCCA. The Bulldogs finished one point behind Portland, who also qualified for nationals as a team and finished 21st overall.
2021 WCC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
|
Place |
Team |
First Place |
Points |
|
1. |
BYU |
9 |
64 |
|
2. |
Portland |
1 |
54 |
|
3. |
Gonzaga |
53 |
|
|
4. |
Santa Clara |
43 |
|
|
5. |
San Francisco |
36 |
|
|
6. |
Pepperdine |
24 |
|
|
7. |
Saint Mary's |
22 |
|
|
8. |
LMU |
21 |
|
|
9. |
San Diego |
|
7 |
|
2021 Men's Cross Country Preseason All-WCC Team |
|||
|
Name |
Institution |
Yr. |
|
|
Casey Clinger |
BYU |
So. |
|
|
Brandon Garnica |
BYU |
Jr. |
|
|
Gonzaga |
Jr. |
|
|
|
Jacob Klemz |
Portland |
Sr. |
|
|
Zak Kirk |
Portland |
Jr. |
|
|
Connor Mantz |
BYU |
Sr. |
|
|
Gonzaga |
Jr. |
|
|
|
Evert Silva |
Portland |
Jr. |
|
|
Will Smith |
Gonzaga |
So. |
|
|
Aidan Troutner |
BYU |
So. |
|
