XC Readies for Pac-12 Championships
October 29, 2015 | Cross Country
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA cross country team will head to Colfax, Wash., for the Pac-12 Championships, hosted by Washington State. The meet is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 30 and will be held at the Colfax Golf Club. The men's 8k is slated for 10:30 a.m. while the women's 6k will follow at 11:35 a.m.
“As we enter the postseason there is less room for error,” UCLA cross country coach Forest Braden said. “The mistakes we have made during the early season races should have been remedied. The training load will start to come down a little and the athletes should be ready to compete at their best.”
The Pac-12 Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks on a tape-delayed basis. The first airing is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. PT. Dwight Stones will serve as the analyst, Jim Watson will provide play-by-play and Lewis Johnson will be the reporter.
“This year we have a front runner in both the men's and women's races which will be a boon for our teams,” Braden said. “Lane Werley has looked good all year and I would expect to see him competing for a top three spot in the individual standings. In the women's race, Carolina Johnson has looked really strong in training and has a fierce competitive nature. It will be fun to see her run in that front group on Friday as well.”
The Pac-12 has been well-represented in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings all season. Six men's teams and five women's teams are ranked heading into the Pac-12 Championships.
The UCLA men made a big jump in the polling, going from No. 20 to No. 15 this week with 190 points. The Bruins were ninth at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational over the weekend, a meet that features some of the top teams in the nation.
Two men and six women will be competing in their first ever Pac-12 Cross Country Championships for the Bruins. Sophomore Richard Ho and freshman Sahm Bazargan for the men and freshmen Johnson, Julia Rizk and Taylor Taite, sophomores Sabrina Seay and Jessica Cushing-Murray and senior Kelly Brooks.
The Bruins have four seniors competing in their final Pac-12 Cross Country Championships on the men's team (Werley, Sushchikh, Sean Davis, Hartle) and three for the women (Shirif, Powers, Brooks).
Last season both squads finished fifth overall as Kelsey Smith earned All-Pac-12 honors for placing eighth overall.
The NCAA Regional Championships will be Friday, Nov. 13. The West Regional (hosted by University of Washington) will be held in Seattle. The NCAA National Championships are being held in Louisville, Ky. (hosted by University of Louisville) on Saturday, Nov. 21.