STILLWATER, Okla. – No. 15 Gonzaga Men's Cross Country is set for its third-straight NCAA National Championship race appearance at Oklahoma State University on Saturday, looking to build off a historic nationals race at NCAA Regionals last weekend that saw the Bulldogs defeat four ranked teams en route to their first-ever automatic bid.
Oklahoma State University is hosting the national championship for the second time in the past two years, having also welcomed the nation for the rescheduled 2020 edition in March 2021. Thirty-one teams in each race will compete for an NCAA team championship with up to 255 runners per race vying for individual titles.
NCAA CROSS COUNTRY D-I NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Nov. 19 | Stillwater, Okla. | Greiner Family Cross Country Course
Men's 10K - 8:10 a.m.
Watch (ESPNU) | Live Results | Course Map | Program
Prior Experience at Nationals
In their first two appearances at Nationals in the spring and fall of 2021, the Zags finished 27th and 26th, respectively, with GU's 27th-place finish also coming in Stillwater.
GU's 26th-place team finish at the NCAA National Championships at Apalachee Regional Park last fall was led by the best individual performance at the national stage in program history by James Mwaura, who will be making his fourth consecutive nationals appearance after qualifying as an individual in 2019.
Mwaura's 36th-place finish with a time of 29:29.2 beat out Yacine Guermali's 55th-place finish the prior season as the highest in history, making Mwaura the first cross country All-American in program history -- all while breaking his own 10K record that he set a week prior at NCAA West Regionals.
The redshirt junior took a spill within the first 100 meters, but rallied back to the front of the pack to anchor a 612-point race for GU. Mwaura was followed by Kyle Radosevich (133rd, 30:28.2), Cullen McEachern (145th, 30:33.7), Riley Moore (179th, 30:58.6), Jake Perrin (233rd, 32:02.9), Evan Bates (238th, 32:22.2) and Wil Smith (241st, 32:35.1) to round out the Zags' scoring. Along with Mwaura, the Zags bring back five runners who hold one of the 10 fastest times in program history in both distances and six of their top seven from nationals, including 2021 All-West Region finishers Wil Smith and Cullen McEachern.
History at Chambers Creek
For the third year in a row, Gonzaga Men's Cross Country heard their names called at the NCAA Selection Show last Saturday afternoon, signifying a qualification for the NCAA National Championship race. But this year, the Zags didn't have to wait until the show to know whether they'd be getting in after snagging their first-ever automatic bid with a second-place finish at NCAA West Regionals on Friday. The Zags' performance in that race bumped them up fromNo. 26 in the USTFCCCA rankings to No. 15.
The Bulldogs's second-place finish behind No. 1 Stanford at the NCAA West Regional Championships at Chambers Creek Regional Park Friday morning was their highest finish and lowest point total at an NCAA Regional Championship in program history, with GU's three All-West Region finishers matching a program record.
In the team score, the Zags knocked off No. 14 Washington for the second time this year and No. 18 Oregon for the first time in program history as well as No. 24 Portland and No. 25 California Baptist — all of which were ranked above GU (No. 26) going into the meet.
Wil Smith's 4th-place finish with a time of 28:25.4 was the highest by a GU runner at Regionals, with Yacine Guermali (seventh, 28:28.7) making it two Zags in the Top 10. Kyle Radosevich (22nd, 28:56.3) also earned All-West honors, with James Mwaura (26th, 29:04.5), Cullen McEachern(33rd, 29:12.3), Riley Moore (59th, 29:47.9) and Bryce Cerkowniak (29:58.6) rounding out GU's lowest point total at Regionals in program history.
Zags Reach Highest-Ever Ranking
Gonzaga reached its highest-ever U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) Coaches' Poll ranking in program history on Sep. 28, coming in at No. 12 after a strong outing at the Cowboy Jamboree over the prior weekend in Stillwater. The ranking eclipsed the Bulldogs' previous highest national ranking at No. 13 back in the 2021 season. The Zags were also ranked a program-best second in the West Region.
Last Time in Stillwater
The Zags have already raced on the 2022 Nationals course at Oklahoma State University, knocking off six ranked teams en route to a 10th-place finish in the team score at the Cowboy Jamboree on Sep. 24.
Led by a 15th-place individual finish from Yacine Guermali (23:42.6), the Bulldogs beat out No. 8 Washington, No. 15 Harvard, No. 21 Princeton, No. 23 Furman, No. 24 Ole Miss and No. 29 Texas in the team standings to take 10th out of 27 teams. All of GU's top seven finished in the Top 100, with Guermali followed by Cullen McEachern (46th, 24:08.3), Wil Smith (49th, 24:09.3), Kyle Radosevich (64th, 24:15.3), Bryce Cerkowniak (71st, 24:19.1), Riley Moore (98th, 24:45.5) and Dominic Arce (99th, 24:47.0).
Tune in
The 2022 NCAA Championships are set for Nov. 19 in Stillwater, Okla. Live results and streaming links will be available via GoZags.com, with the action broadcast exclusively on ESPNU and available via the ESPN app. Follow @ZagRunning on IG and Twitter for updates, race day content and more.
