MADISON, Wisc.- Gonzaga cross country continues to make an impact in national races, as the men's and women's team each beat ranked opponents at the Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday.
The women's 6k Championship kicked off the day, with the Zags taking 16th in the event behind an impressive run of 20:29.2 from Logan Hofstee as she captured the 33rd overall finish.
The only teams to finish in front of the Zags were also ranked in the USTFCCCA Poll, showing the depth of the competition in one of the most important meets of the cross country schedule. GU finished ahead of Northern Arizona, a team that was ranked 6th overall in the national coaches poll, a huge result to continue to show the Zags as a key team on the national stage. They also defeated a ranked Providence College team, a squad that was also initially ranked in the top ten in the preseason national poll. Gonzaga women's cross country was ranked 20th in the most recent edition of the poll.
The women's team results were anchored by strong runs from Jessica Frydenlund and Willow Collins, who finished with respective times of 20:33.1 and 20:34.2. Charlotte Dillon continued to make in impact in her debut season, scoring as the fourth runner for the Zags with a time of 21:12.1. Dillon moved up over 50 spots in the standings from the 4k mark to the finish line to secure her spot in the top 110 runners. Nina Yeats and Alexi Fogo rounded out the top contributors by finishing back to back with times of 21:45.8 and 21:46.3.
The Gonzaga men's cross country team also made an impact in the 8k championship, beating three ranked teams. The Bulldogs finished 18th overall, finishing ahead of #26 Eastern Kentucky and #27 Tulsa and defeating WCC rival Portland. The top ranked Iowa State Cyclones finished behind the Zags as well, but ISU did not appear to bring their top runners to compete at Nuttycombe, making it hard to compare their top five to the best runners at GU. Still, the Zags made an impact, led by Logan Law's team best time of 23:55.6 to take the 45th overall spot. He was followed by Bryce Cerkowniak, who finished in 24:07.4. The Bulldogs improved their standings in the team results at every 2k interval, making progress while other teams faded as the race wore on. The Zags pride themselves on finishing races well, and the results and success from this race will likely give way to further improvements as the season continues.
Full results from the prestigious Nuttycombe Invitational can be found here. Gonzaga Cross Country will return to action in a week when they race in Spokane on Friday. The Zags will compete at the Sasquatch Invitational, where both teams have won the event the past five times it has taken place.
