Friday, September 28
Missoula, Mont.
4:00 PM
Gonzaga University
vs
Montana Invitational
Photo by: Torrey Vail
Zags Head to Montana Invitational Friday
9/27/2018 12:17:00 PM | Cross Country
Gonzaga looks to continue hot starts in Missoula
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga women's and men's cross country programs close September at the Montana Invitational Friday.
The Zag men are off to one of their best starts to a season in program history. GU has placed first in its first two races of the season, and are ranked eighth in the deep West Region. James Mwuara has led the Bulldog men with a pair of first place finishes in his first two collegiate races.
In his second collegiate race, Mwaura coasted to a first place finish at the Cougar Classic on Sept. 14. His 23:55 finish over the 8,000-meter course was the fourth-fastest in program history. The freshman has now placed first in both of his first two collegiate races. The Gonzaga men dominated the field placing their top six runners in the Top 10, with the seventh finishing 12th. In all, six of the program's top-25 times were run at the meet in Colfax.
"This will be chapter three of our 2018 XC season," Director of GU Cross Country Pat Tyson said. "We will be taking the quick trip to Missoula with roughly 24 runners. Our main goal is to determine which seven guys are going to compete at the Pre-NCAA Championship meet in Madison, Wis. in two weeks. As I've mentioned earlier, this is Gonzaga's greatest team depth in history. We will be using this as a workout 8k. Our band of cross country runners have been working extremely hard through September and are really excited for positive drama to take place as we approach mid-season with the West Coast Conference Championships only four weeks away. Exciting stuff for these Zags!"
Aimee Piercy ran the seventh-fastest 4K time in GU women's program history in the season-opening Clash of the Inland Northwest. At the Cougar Classic, Lauren Haas paced the Gonzaga women to a fourth place team finish. She placed 16th at 22:11. Teammate Jordan McPhee was right behind in 17th with a time of 22:12. Lauren Bourgeois (22:25) and Monica Ripple (22:28) were 22nd and 23rd.
"Our women have an opportunity to take a step forward both as a group of individuals and as a team," Gonzaga women's Head Coach Jake Stewart said. "We're continuing to mix and match the line-ups, giving our student-athletes different chances to have different responsibilities in our team dynamic. This is another race rep opportunity for Jordan McPhee as she continues to gets into racing cross country again. I think the trio of Katherine Gustafson, Claire Gillett and Kelly Gilbert are all on the verge of making really big jumps in their racing, they've shown some very positive improvements in the last couple weeks, we want to see them go out, race the way they're capable of and have fun on Friday.
"From there, we have a nice group of Olivia Evans, Amanda Kiefer, Molly Foster, Ariel Evans and Megan Glenski amongst others who can step up into a scoring position for us on Friday, and help this team continue to move forward. We're wrapping up the month of September much better than we started it. Friday is an opportunity for us to move onto October on that same path."
The Zags will face some tough competition from around the region in Missoula. On the women's side, there will be seven Division I programs, though Montana State, the preseason Big Sky Conference favorite, will be sending its B team, with the top Bobcats heading to Minnesota for the Roy Griak Invitational. Traveling with their top squads will be Eastern Washington, GU, Idaho, Pacific and Santa Clara. For the men it will be Eastern Washington, Gonzaga and Idaho, plus MSU's B team.
The races will be held at the UM Golf Course on Friday evening, with the women's five-kilometer race starting at 4 p.m. Pacific Time, the men's eight-kilometer race at 4:45 p.m.
The Zag men are off to one of their best starts to a season in program history. GU has placed first in its first two races of the season, and are ranked eighth in the deep West Region. James Mwuara has led the Bulldog men with a pair of first place finishes in his first two collegiate races.
In his second collegiate race, Mwaura coasted to a first place finish at the Cougar Classic on Sept. 14. His 23:55 finish over the 8,000-meter course was the fourth-fastest in program history. The freshman has now placed first in both of his first two collegiate races. The Gonzaga men dominated the field placing their top six runners in the Top 10, with the seventh finishing 12th. In all, six of the program's top-25 times were run at the meet in Colfax.
"This will be chapter three of our 2018 XC season," Director of GU Cross Country Pat Tyson said. "We will be taking the quick trip to Missoula with roughly 24 runners. Our main goal is to determine which seven guys are going to compete at the Pre-NCAA Championship meet in Madison, Wis. in two weeks. As I've mentioned earlier, this is Gonzaga's greatest team depth in history. We will be using this as a workout 8k. Our band of cross country runners have been working extremely hard through September and are really excited for positive drama to take place as we approach mid-season with the West Coast Conference Championships only four weeks away. Exciting stuff for these Zags!"
Aimee Piercy ran the seventh-fastest 4K time in GU women's program history in the season-opening Clash of the Inland Northwest. At the Cougar Classic, Lauren Haas paced the Gonzaga women to a fourth place team finish. She placed 16th at 22:11. Teammate Jordan McPhee was right behind in 17th with a time of 22:12. Lauren Bourgeois (22:25) and Monica Ripple (22:28) were 22nd and 23rd.
"Our women have an opportunity to take a step forward both as a group of individuals and as a team," Gonzaga women's Head Coach Jake Stewart said. "We're continuing to mix and match the line-ups, giving our student-athletes different chances to have different responsibilities in our team dynamic. This is another race rep opportunity for Jordan McPhee as she continues to gets into racing cross country again. I think the trio of Katherine Gustafson, Claire Gillett and Kelly Gilbert are all on the verge of making really big jumps in their racing, they've shown some very positive improvements in the last couple weeks, we want to see them go out, race the way they're capable of and have fun on Friday.
"From there, we have a nice group of Olivia Evans, Amanda Kiefer, Molly Foster, Ariel Evans and Megan Glenski amongst others who can step up into a scoring position for us on Friday, and help this team continue to move forward. We're wrapping up the month of September much better than we started it. Friday is an opportunity for us to move onto October on that same path."
The Zags will face some tough competition from around the region in Missoula. On the women's side, there will be seven Division I programs, though Montana State, the preseason Big Sky Conference favorite, will be sending its B team, with the top Bobcats heading to Minnesota for the Roy Griak Invitational. Traveling with their top squads will be Eastern Washington, GU, Idaho, Pacific and Santa Clara. For the men it will be Eastern Washington, Gonzaga and Idaho, plus MSU's B team.
The races will be held at the UM Golf Course on Friday evening, with the women's five-kilometer race starting at 4 p.m. Pacific Time, the men's eight-kilometer race at 4:45 p.m.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
Tuesday, June 30
Monday, June 29
Monday, June 29
Friday, June 26
