UCLA Prepares for NCAA West Regional
November 12, 2015 | Cross Country
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA cross country team will aim to extend its season as the Bruins prepare for the NCAA West Regional, hosted by the University of Washington at the Jefferson Park Golf Course. The meet is scheduled for Friday, November 13 and will begin with the women's 6k at Noon and the men's 10k at 1 p.m.
The Bruins have competed at the Jefferson Park Golf Course earlier this season at the Washington Invitational where the Bruins placed fourth on the men's side and 10th overall in the women's competition.
“This is a nice course and a great environment to race in and I am excited to see what this crew can do,” UCLA cross country coach Forest Braden said.
The men enter the competition ranked 20th in the country and fourth in the region while the women check in at 15th in the region.
“For our men, this weekend is all about taking care of business and qualifying through to the NCAA meet,” Braden said. “We have done everything we have needed to do throughout the season and are in a great position heading into Friday's race.”
The men enter the competition on the heels of a fifth place finish at the Pac-12 Championships two weekends ago. The men placed fourth a year ago at the regional meet to advance to the NCAA Championships.
“Our men are confident moving up to the 10k distance and have prepared well for the longer distance race,” Braden explained. “The last 3k of the race we have to be prepared to move with the lead pack and finish out the race well. I expect the men to be poised and confident out there.”
The women placed fifth at this meet a year ago and are coming off a ninth place finish at the Pac-12 Championships. Newcomer Carolina Johnson finished ninth overall to earn all-conference accolades.
“Our women will be led by freshman Carolina Johnson once again,” Braden said. “She is one of the top athletes in the region and should feel confident running with anyone in this race. She continues to get sharper after each race and I expect her to come in mentally and physically ready to compete.”
On top of the emergence of Johnson, the Bruins will be relying on the experience of Aliya Shirif, Roni Yamane and Emily Sharmann, who competed at the regional last season.
“I think the rest of our ladies can really surprise people out there on Friday,” said Braden. “This is a good group and I am anticipating a lot of fight out there. We have athletes who can run together and if we can grind out the middle 2k and then finish this race up the way we are capable, then it will be a very good day for us.”
The NCAA Championships are set for Saturday, Nov. 21 in Louisville, Ky. The meet will be held at E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park.