PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State men's and women's cross country teams travel to Riverside, Calif., for the 2022 Cross Country Pac-12 Championship Friday at UC the Riverside's Agricultural Operations Course.
 
"The surface that is at Riverside is very similar to one of our favorite places to run between here (Pullman) and Palouse so we're definitely going to be comfortable with the venue," said head coach Wayne Phipps.
 
The women's 6k race will get going first at 8:40 a.m PST followed by the men's 8k race at 9:40 a.m. PST.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
Alaina Stone-Boggs (20:37.7, 4th) finished top-five while Caroline Jerotich (21:15.6 15th) finished 15th to help the Washington State women's cross country squad record a top-five team finish at the Weis-Crockett Invitational at the OSU Cross Country Course.
 
The Cougar women had two top runners finish in the top 15 of the 6k race. Stone-Boggs has led the way in every race this season for the Cougars, taking fourth place. Caroline Jerotich followed Stone-Boggs finishing in 15th for attached collegiate runners.  The Cougar women finished fifth as a team and scored 250 points.
 
"(WSU women's cross country) has been doing absolutely amazing this season.  Coach (Laura) Harmon has done a great job with that team. That group has really improved a lot from last year and from week to week, race to race.  I'm really excited to watch them compete this weekend," said Phipps.
 
Brian Barsaiya took 25th in the 8k race to lead the Cougar men, who finished 12th overall with 349 team points. Kelvin Limo (24:31.7, 49th) and Leif Swanson (24:36.4, 55th) followed suit notching top-55 finishes.
 
"What these guys have been able to accomplish in practice gets me really excited about what they can do in the championship part of our season. The way Brian and Kelvin and Leif have really worked well together in practice; I know that they're ready for a big race," said Phipps.
 
LAST TIME AT THE PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The Washington State men's and women's cross-country teams turned in multiple top-20 performances at the 2021 Pac-12 Championships in Salt Lake City.  The Cougar men finished fifth as a team, while the WSU women placed seventh overall at last season's conference championship meet.  The fifth-place finish was the highest team finish since placing fifth in 2018.
 
IN THE RANKINGS:
The women's team has jumped up two spots while the men's teams have remained steady in the rankings. The women are still sitting at No. 9 in this week's West Region rankings. Washington State's men stayed at No. 12.
 
Brian Barsaiya, (No. 48) Alaina Stone Boggs, (No. 71) and Caroline Jerotich (No. 76), Mevin Jelagat (No. 243) each remain in the top-100 of the FloTrack NCAA Division I individual cross country rankings (Oct. 17).
 
PREVIEWING THE FIELD:
Pac-12 boasts one of the top cross country fields in the country. Both the men's and women's fields have multiple top-10 teams in the country. Stanford's men team is top ranked team in the country while the women's team is number 10. Colorado, Washington, Oregon each have both teams ranked in the top 20. Utah and Oregon State have their women's squad ranked.
 
PARTICIPATING TEAMS

• UCLA
• USC
• Cal
• Stanford (No.1 Men, No. 9 Women)
• University of Washington (No. 20 Men, No. 19 Women)
• Oregon State (No. 30 Women)
• University of Oregon (Women No. 12 (tied), No. 15 Men)
• Colorado (No. 10 Men ,No. 11 Women)
• Utah (No. 10 Women)
• Arizona
• Arizona State

 
UP NEXT:    
Washington State will take a two-week break in action before the NCAA West Regionals in Seattle, Wash., on Friday, November 11.
 
For all the latest WSU Cross Country news, photos and videos, like the team on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/wsucougartrack) or follow on Twitter (@ WSUCougarXCTF)
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