WSU Men Fifth, Women 18th at NCAA West Region XC Championships

Photo by: Paul Merca

WSU Men Fifth, Women 18th at NCAA West Region XC Championships

November 11, 2016 | Cross Country

2016 NCAA West Region XC Results

By: Washington State Athletic Communications

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The No. 17 Washington State men's cross country team finished fifth Friday afternoon at the NCAA West Region Cross Country Championships and are predicted to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year. The Cougar and the women's team placed 20th at the West Region races held at the Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento, Calif.

No. 4 Stanford won the men's team title with 75 points followed by No. 12 Portland 90, No. 8 UCLA 112, No. 10 Oregon 122, and No. 17 Washington State 143. Oregon's Edward Cheserek was the men's individual winner for the third time in his career, running the 10,000m in a time of 29 minutes, 23.7 seconds. The women's team title was won by No. 7 Stanford with 71 points followed by No. 4 Washington 88, No. 16 San Francisco 101 and No. 11 Oregon 107. The Cougar women scored 525 points for 18th place. Washington's Amy-Eloise Neale won the women's individual title in a time of 19:27.8 on the 6,000m course.

Running a 10k race for the first time this season, WSU junior Michael Williams and senior John Whelan finished 17th and 18th, respectively, earning All-Region honors. Williams ran a time of 29:59.8 while Whelan's time was 30:02.5. Other Cougar men scoring were Chandler Teigen, 27th in 30:10.9, Sam Levora, 36th in 30.24.7, and Nathan Wadhwani, 47th in 30:39.0. Other WSU men racing Friday and their finishes: Paul Ryan, 65th (30:58.6) and Nathan Tadesse, 73rd (31:10.7).

"Everyone ran solid race and we got the job done," WSU men's team captain Whelan said. "I personally didn't run at my best level, so it's good that it's the team score that counts. We're in a good position to get selected for NCAAs and we know what we need to improve on there to accomplish our goals there. The guys are confident and excited going into this next week."

Junior Devon Bortfeld was the top Cougar woman to cross the finish line at 38th overall, covering the 6k course in a time of 20:28.0. Other WSU women scoring included: Morgan Willson, 69th in 21:06.5; Morgan Lash, 135th in 22:02.2; Josie Brown, 143rd in 22:10.0; and Steffie Pavey, 155th in 22:19.1. Also racing Friday were Katherine Dittmann, 159th (22:21.8) and Tracy Myers, 236th (25:54.1).

"The men's team was great today. We did exactly what we needed to do to qualify for nationals and be ready to run our best race of the year in eight days. It was a strong team effort and our gap between our first and fifth runners is gradually closing," WSU Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Wayne Phipps said. "Devon ran another awesome race and has progressed so well over the season. This time next year I see her be an NCAA qualifier for us."

The Cougar men's team will wait for official word from the NCAA on the at-large bid which would be for second consecutive year, and 14th time in the program's history. The NCAA Cross Country Championships are Saturday, Nov. 19, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.