Photo by: Kyle Terada
Zag Women Slated Fifth in WCC Preseason Poll
8/21/2018 3:27:00 PM | Cross Country
Gonzaga opens the season on Aug. 31
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga women's Cross Country team was picked fifth in the 2018 West Coast Conference Preseason Poll, the league office released Tuesday.
The Zags placed fifth at last year's West Coast Conference Championships. Six Bulldogs that ran in that event return this season.
Defending West Coast Conference champion San Francisco and BYU have been picked by the coaches to share this year's WCC Cross Country title, a year removed from a historic podium finish for the Dons at the NCAA Championships in Louisville. Each program garnered 77 total votes while splitting the first place votes at five apiece.
Portland was tabbed third with 62 votes, while Loyola Marymount was slated to finish fourth with 58. Gonzaga just beat out San Diego for fifth place, as the Zags picked up 47 with the Toreros getting 42.
Saint Mary's and Pacific made up the second tie in this year's poll, sharing seventh place with 27 votes apiece. Santa Clara (24) and Pepperdine (9) finished out the poll.
San Francisco landed four student-athletes on the Preseason All-WCC squad to lead the way, two of which - Weronika Pyzik and Isabelle Brauer - broke the tape at last year's NCAA Championships in the top 15. BYU put three student-athletes on the team, Portland landed two and Alexandra Beitia was the lone representative from Loyola Marymount.
The 2018 WCC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will take place Oct. 27, at East Bay Golf Course in Provo, Utah.
Gonzaga opens its season at the Clash of the Inland Northwest, hosted by the University of Idaho, in Moscow, Idaho, on Aug. 31. The women's 4K race begins at 6 p.m., followed by the men's 6K race at 6:30 p.m.
2018 WCC Women's Cross Country Poll
No. Team Votes (First Place)
T1. BYU 77 (5)
T1. San Francisco 77 (5)
3. Portland 62
4. Loyola Marymount 58
5. Gonzaga 47
6. San Diego 42
T7. Pacific 27
T7. Saint Mary's 27
9. Santa Clara 24
10. Pepperdine 9
2018 All-WCC Women's Cross Country Preseason Team
Name School Year
Elizabeth Bird San Francisco Gr.
Isabelle Brauer San Francisco Jr.
Olivia Hoj BYU Jr.
Lauren LaRocco Portland Sr.
Sara Musselman BYU So.
Weronika Pyzik San Francisco Sr.
Taryn Rawlings Portland Sr.
Aoibhe Richardson Portland Jr.
Tatjana Schulte San Francisco Sr.
Courtney Wayment-Smith BYU Jr.
The Zags placed fifth at last year's West Coast Conference Championships. Six Bulldogs that ran in that event return this season.
Defending West Coast Conference champion San Francisco and BYU have been picked by the coaches to share this year's WCC Cross Country title, a year removed from a historic podium finish for the Dons at the NCAA Championships in Louisville. Each program garnered 77 total votes while splitting the first place votes at five apiece.
Portland was tabbed third with 62 votes, while Loyola Marymount was slated to finish fourth with 58. Gonzaga just beat out San Diego for fifth place, as the Zags picked up 47 with the Toreros getting 42.
Saint Mary's and Pacific made up the second tie in this year's poll, sharing seventh place with 27 votes apiece. Santa Clara (24) and Pepperdine (9) finished out the poll.
San Francisco landed four student-athletes on the Preseason All-WCC squad to lead the way, two of which - Weronika Pyzik and Isabelle Brauer - broke the tape at last year's NCAA Championships in the top 15. BYU put three student-athletes on the team, Portland landed two and Alexandra Beitia was the lone representative from Loyola Marymount.
The 2018 WCC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will take place Oct. 27, at East Bay Golf Course in Provo, Utah.
Gonzaga opens its season at the Clash of the Inland Northwest, hosted by the University of Idaho, in Moscow, Idaho, on Aug. 31. The women's 4K race begins at 6 p.m., followed by the men's 6K race at 6:30 p.m.
2018 WCC Women's Cross Country Poll
No. Team Votes (First Place)
T1. BYU 77 (5)
T1. San Francisco 77 (5)
3. Portland 62
4. Loyola Marymount 58
5. Gonzaga 47
6. San Diego 42
T7. Pacific 27
T7. Saint Mary's 27
9. Santa Clara 24
10. Pepperdine 9
2018 All-WCC Women's Cross Country Preseason Team
Name School Year
Elizabeth Bird San Francisco Gr.
Isabelle Brauer San Francisco Jr.
Olivia Hoj BYU Jr.
Lauren LaRocco Portland Sr.
Sara Musselman BYU So.
Weronika Pyzik San Francisco Sr.
Taryn Rawlings Portland Sr.
Aoibhe Richardson Portland Jr.
Tatjana Schulte San Francisco Sr.
Courtney Wayment-Smith BYU Jr.
Tuesday, June 30
Monday, June 29
Monday, June 29
Friday, June 26
