Men's and women's cross country to compete at NCAA West Regional on Saturday
By Andrew Moncada
Nov. 10, 2011 9:57 p.m.
And so it comes down to this.
For a season that saw the dedication of early September runs through the foothills of Mammoth Lakes; the tireless routine of morning and afternoon two-a-days during the quarter; the loss of standout runners and the rise of strong freshmen; and the experience gained from weekend meets, the men and women’s cross country teams will be defined by a matter of minutes, most likely no more than 25, on Saturday for the NCAA West Regionals in Palo Alto.
With NCAA Championship implications on the line, the Bruin runners will take on a field that includes some of the most talented teams they’ve faced all season.
The No. 21 men’s squad will go up against 26 schools, including No. 6 Stanford and No. 17 Oregon. The Bruins will be represented by redshirt seniors Kent Morikawa and Dylan Knight, junior Zack Torres, sophomores Nohe Lema and Dustin Fay, redshirt freshman Chase Zukerman and freshmen Shayne Collins and Lane Werley.
On the women’s side, redshirt junior Katja Goldring, junior Sarah Toberty, sophomores Melissa Skiba and Paisley Pettway, redshirt freshman Kelsey Smith and freshmen Annie Mooney, Bronte Golick and Hannah Valenzuela will compete against 33 schools, including No. 6 Washington and No. 8 Stanford.
The top two finishers from both the men’s and women’s meet will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championship meet on Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind. Thirteen additional selections will be announced on Sunday to complete the rest of the 31-team field.
