No. 18 WXC Splits Squad, MXC Races in Lewiston This Weekend

Friday, October 18

College Station, Texas

7:15 a.m. PST (W)

Gonzaga University

Arturo Barrios Invitational (Women Only)

Photo by: Paul Merca

No. 18 WXC Splits Squad, MXC Races in Lewiston This Weekend

10/17/2024 10:24:00 PM | Cross Country

Gonzaga Notes

The Zag women will send their top harriers to Texas for one final tune-up before the WCC Championships

#18 Gonzaga at Arturo Barrios Invitational (Women Only)
FRIDAY, OCT. 18 | WATTS CROSS COUNTRY COURSE | COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
7:15 AM PT (W)
LIVE RESULTS | MEET INFO

#18/RV Gonzaga at Inland Empire Classic
SATURDAY, OCT. 19 | LC STATE CROSS COUNTRY TRAIL | LEWISTON, IDAHO
9:45 AM (W) / 10:45 AM (M)
MEET INFO | (Live results not available)

STARTING LINES

- No. 18 women's cross country is back in action this Friday at the Arturo Barrios Invitational.

- This will be the first appearance at this meet since 2019 for the GU women, placing 7th in 2019.

- In the latest USTFCCCA polls, the GU women are third in the West Region and 18th nationally.

- On Saturday, both teams will make the trip to Lewiston, Idaho for the Inland Empire Classic.

- Since 2011, both teams have appeared in every Inland Empire Classic. During that stretch, the Bulldogs have a combined eight team titles and three individual titles.

- Last season, the GU women placed second and the men placed first on the LC State XC Trail.

- The Zag men are coming off a third-place finish at the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Oct. 11.

- In the latest USTFCCCA polls, the GU men are sixth in the West Region and receiving votes nationally.

SCOUTING THE BARRIOS FIELD

- In its entirety, the Arturo Barrios Invitational field will host 40 teams across both the 6K and 8K championship races. The meet saw over 800 entries.

- The 18th-ranked Gonzaga women are the only ranked women's team at this event and will be joined by Boise State, who are receiving votes nationally.

ABOUT THE COURSES

- The Watts Cross Country Course has hosted a plethora of Championship races, including the SEC Championships (2015) and NCAA South Region Championships ('15, '17, '18, '22).

- The LC State Cross Country Trail has played host to the Inland Empire Classic since 2016, serving at the Lewis-Clark State home course.

NEXT UP

- Gonzaga will race in their final regular-season meet of the 2024 season on Oct. 25. The Sasquatch Invite will take place at the Spokane Polo Grounds.

SMITH VOTED WCC RUNNER OF THE WEEK

- Men's cross country's Wil Smith was named the West Coast Conference Runner of the Week on Oct. 15, the first for the men.

- Smith led the Zag men to a third-place team finish at the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Oct. 11, placing ninth individually.

- His 23:15.2 finish was a ten-second improvement from his previous Bill Dellinger race (2021) on the same course.

BULDOG MEN PLACE THIRD AT DELLINGER

- In their first appearance at the Bill Dellinger Invitational since 2021, the GU men placed third on Oct. 11 in Springfield, Ore.

- Wil Smith led the Bulldogs with a ninth-place individual finish, besting his previous time on the same course by ten seconds.

- GU defeated No. 25 Portland and finished just four points behind No. 22 Oregon in the team standings.

THE LATEST POLLS

- Gonzaga women's cross country held steady at No. 18 in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll on Oct. 9, keeping their highest ranking in program history.

- FloTrack ranks the Gonzaga women at No. 18 in the country, according to their latest poll. Rosina Machu is ranked eighth nationally in FloTrack's individual rankings.

- After opening the season at No. 30, the Zag men are receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA national poll, holding spot 31 for two weeks.

- In the West Regional poll, the Gonzaga women and men remain at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.

GRABOWSKI TABBED WCC RUNNER OF THE WEEK

- After winning her first collegiate race on Oct. 5, Anna Grabowski was named the West Coast Conference Female Runner of the Week on Oct. 8.

- Grabowski finished the women's 6K in 21:30.0, leading the Zag women to their third meet win of the season as GU swept the podium finishes.

ZAGS SWEEP WHITMAN INVITATIONAL

- No. 18/RV cross country earned a program-wide sweep at the Whitman Invitational on Oct. 5 in Walla Walla, Wash.

- The Zag women opened the meet with a podium sweep behind Anna Grabowski's (21:30.0) first collegiate race win.

- The Gonzaga men followed up with a win of their own behind leader Nick Braz (24:32.5) who placed third individually.

- The meet marked Gonzaga's fourth team win of the season and fourth individual win.

MACHU EARNS WCC RUNNER OF THE WEEK

- After placing third at the Nuttycombe Invitational in 20:06.2, Rosina Machu was named the West Coast Conference Runner of the Week on Oct. 1.

- Machu led the then No. 23 Zag women to their highest-ever finish at Nuttycombe, placing eighth as a team while knocking off four ranked teams.

- The honor marks Machu's fourth Runner of the Week of her career, earning three nods during the 2023 season.

CLIMBING IN THE POLLS

- The Gonzaga women moved up five spots in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll to No. 18, marking their highest team ranking in program history. Their previous high of No. 21 came in the Week 2 poll of 2022.

- In the West Region, the Zag women now rank third, which ties their highest-ever ranking in that poll (Week 6 of 2021).

HISTORY MADE AT NUTTYCOMBE

- No. 23 Gonzaga women's cross country earned their highest team finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational on Sept. 27.

- GU placed eighth behind Rosina Machu, who placed third to mark the highest individual finish in program history at that meet.

- Amidst the Bulldog women's eighth place finish were wins against No. 4 Oregon, No. 13 Lipscomb, No. 16 Virginia, and No. 22 Boston College.

- On the men's side, RV Gonzaga placed 17th to mark their highest team finish at Nuttycombe since 2021.

- The Zag men defeated three nationally-ranked teams in No. 23 Iona, No. 25 Montana State, and No. 29 Tulsa.

ZAG WOMEN SECURE COUGAR CLASSIC TITLE

- The No. 25 Gonzaga women's cross country team brought an incomplete squad to the Cougar Classic on Sept. 13 and took home the team title, backed by four top-ten finishes including a second-place finish from freshman Logan Hofstee.

- Gonzaga scored 39 points, finishing ten points ahead of Boise State (49 points).

- The win marked the Bulldogs' first since 2021, alternating first and second place finishes in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024.

- Hofstee's second-place was the highest since Kristen Garcia and Claire Manley won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2021.

ANOTHER NOTABLE ZAG DEBUT

- GU women's cross country's Logan Hoftsee placed second in her collegiate debut at the Cougar Classic on Sept. 13.

- Since 2021, a Gonzaga woman has placed first or second in her team debut race on three separate occasions.

- In 2021, Sadie Tuckwood won the Clash of the Inland Northwest in her first race. In 2023, Jessica Frydenlund was the Clash of the Inland Northwest champion, also winning her Gonzaga debut.

ANOTHER CLASH SWEEP

- Gonzaga opened their season on Aug. 30 at the Clash of the Inland Northwest on Eastern Washington's campus.

- For the second straight season, the program swept both individual and team titles in commanding fashion.

- Jade Rypkema led the Zag women to a perfect score of 15 with her first collegiate individual win.

- Ryan Mitchell and Jerry Mackie earned the best times on the men's side, leading eight Zags in the top ten.

- The women have now won four team titles in five years, while the men have secured eight straight team titles.