SPOKANE, Wash. – For the second straight season, the Gonzaga men's and women's cross country teams cracked the Top Ten in the West Region in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Regional Rankings on Tuesday. With the season set to start on Friday, the GU men ranked sixth and the women ranked ninth in the region, respectively.
Regional Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams' strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining a rank-order of squad potential.
The Gonzaga women placed fourth as a team at the West Coast Conference Championships and seventh at the NCAA West Regional Championships in 2022. Head Coach
Jake Stewart's squad reached as high as fourth in the West rankings last season.
The Zag women return three of their top runners from 2022, including NCAA All-West and WCC First Team recipient
Rosina Machu, who currently holds the second-fastest times in both the 4K and 6K races at Gonzaga. Also returning are seniors
Alicia Anderson and
Brittney Hansen. Anderson, a 2x NCAA Qualifier in the 1500m and 5000m in the spring of 2022, and Hansen both cracked the Top 100 at the NCAA West Regionals last season.
Coming off their third straight NCAA Championships appearance and first-ever automatic bid,
Pat Tyson's men's squad looks to build off another historic season. Led by 2x All-West Region and 2020 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year
Wil Smith, the Zags return four of their top runners in Smith,
Kyle Radosevich,
Riley Moore, and
Bryce Cerkowniak. All four were a part of a 2022 team that saw its best team finishes in program history at both the West Regional and National Championships, placing 2nd at the West Regionals and 13th at the NCAA Championships.
Both teams are set to kick off their fall season on Friday at the Clash of the Inland Northwest in Cheney. The men look to capture their seventh straight team title at the event, while the women aim to win their third title in the last four years. The women's race is set to start at 8:30 a.m., with the men's race following right behind at 9 a.m. Check GoZags.com for live results and follow @ZagRunning on Twitter and Instagram for more.
| Women's West Region Preseason Top 10 |
|
Men's West Region Preseason Top 10 |
| Rank |
School |
2022 Finish |
|
Rank |
School |
2022 Finish |
| 1 |
Stanford |
1 |
|
1 |
Stanford |
1 |
| 2 |
Oregon |
2 |
|
2 |
Portland |
7 |
| 3 |
Washington |
3 |
|
3 |
Washington |
3 |
| 4 |
Oregon State |
4 |
|
4 |
Cal Baptist |
5 |
| 5 |
Cal Baptist |
5 |
|
5 |
Oregon |
4 |
| 6 |
Boise State |
6 |
|
6 |
Gonzaga |
2 |
| 7 |
Portland |
9 |
|
7 |
Cal Poly |
8 |
| 8 |
Washington St. |
12 |
|
8 |
Boise State |
6 |
| 9 |
Gonzaga |
7 |
|
9 |
Santa Clara |
9 |
| 10 |
San Francisco |
8 |
|
10 |
Washington St. |
12 |
