SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga women's cross country, along with men's cross country runner
Wil Smith were selected to the NCAA Championships, the committee announced during their annual selection show on Saturday.
Rosina Machu placed fourth as an individual on Friday at the NCAA West Regional, earning her own bid to nationals next weekend, but the Zag women are set to join her as the team will compete on the final weekend in just their second-ever appearance and first since 2015. The NCAA committee announced the Gonzaga women as one of 13 at-large teams for the women's 6K championship race in Madison.
In Friday's West Region 6K race, Machu (4th, 19:34.5) led the Bulldogs to a fourth-place team finish.
Willow Collins (20:05.6) was next in 21st place, whileÂ
Jessica Frydenlund (32nd, 20:26.2),Â
Logan Hofstee (37th, 20:31.6), andÂ
Anna Grabowski (44th, 20:35.6) rounded out the scoring for Gonzaga. Their 134 team points is second lowest in program history, and all seven runners for the Bulldogs placed in the Top 50, withÂ
Alexi Fogo (20:37.9) andÂ
Jade Rypkema (20:38.3) crossing the finish line in 46th and 47th.
Smith will be the lone GU men's runner at nationals for the first time since 2019. Coming into the 2024 season, the Zag men had qualified as a team for four straight NCAA Championships. The Spokane-native finished sixth at the NCAA West Regionals in Colfax, crossing the finish line in 29:11.9 and leading six Bulldogs in the Top 50.
The Gonzaga men placed sixth as a team on Friday in a loaded West Region field, finishing behind No. 12 Washington, No. 15 Oregon, No. 7 Stanford, No. 16 Cal Baptist, and No. 25 Portland. With Washington and Oregon earning the automatic bids, Stanford and Cal Baptist were selected as at-large teams out of the West Region on Saturday.
The NCAA Championships are scheduled to kick off at 7:20 a.m. PT on Saturday (Nov. 23) and will air on ESPNU and stream on ESPN+. Live results will be available at www.gozags.com.
Â