UCLA
Pac-12 Cross Country Championships
UCLA to Compete for Pac-12 Cross Country Titles
October 26, 2017 | Cross Country
2017 PAC-12 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Friday, Oct. 27, 2017 โ 11 a.m. (PT)
Eugene, Ore. (Springfield Golf Club)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Jim Watson, Dwight Stones and Lewis Johnson
BRUINS TO COMPETE FOR PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
The UCLA men's and women's cross country squads will travel to Eugene, Ore. for the 2017 Pac-12 Cross Country Championships. The meet is scheduled for Friday, October 27 beginning at 11am and will be held at the Springfield Golf Club.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
9:00 a.m. - Championship course open
10:50 a.m. - National Anthem
10:55 a.m. - Women called to Start
11:05 a.m. - Women's final instructions
11:10 a.m. - Women's 6k Championship Race
11:55 a.m. - Men called to Start
12:05 p.m. - Men's final instructions
12:10 p.m. - Men's 8k Championship Race
Approx. 12:50 p.m. - Awards Ceremony
(all times are Pacific Time)
CHAMPIONSHIPS GO LIVE ON PAC-12 NETWORK
For the first time ever, the men's and women's championship races will be televised live nationally on Pac-12 Network, with the telecast beginning at 11:00am PT. The women's 6k competition will kick off the action at 11:10am PT, and the men's 8k will follow at 12:05pm PT. Jim Watson, Dwight Stones and Lewis Johnson will call the action. The events will also be available to stream live for authenticated subscribers via the Pac-12 Now app and Pac-12.com.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
The Pac-12 is stacked with talent across the conference on both the men's and women's sides. The Bruin men enter the conference meet ranked 14th in the latest USTFCCCA National Poll, their highest ranking of the season. They will be one of six nationally-ranked squads toeing the line in Springfield, a field headlined by Top-10 teams Colorado (5), Stanford (6), and Oregon (8).
The Bruin women will line up against six nationally-ranked teams, with top-ranked Oregon and No. 3 Colorado leading the conference coming into the weekend. UCLA enters the conference championships 10th in the USTFCCCA West Region Poll.
A LOOK AT THE BRUIN MEN
The UCLA men have found success through consistency this season, as the men's squad has finished in the Top-10 in every meet in which they have competed. Junior Robert Brandt and sophomore Garrett Reynolds have been the exemplars of this consistency, with both runners placing either first or second on UCLA's squad in each meet in which they have competed. Brandt has two Top 10 individual finishes in as many races, finishing third at the Roy Griak Invitational and seventh at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. Reynolds was runner-up at the Griak and eighth at the George Kyte Classic.
The Bruins have also shown their depth on the men's side, with different student-athletes leading the men's squad in each of UCLA's competitions this season โ Jackson Marshall (George Kyte Classic), Reynolds (Roy Griak Invitational), Millen Trujillo (Master's University Invitational), Brandt (Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational), and Carter Blunt (Bronco Invitational).
A LOOK AT THE BRUIN WOMEN
The UCLA women enter the Pac-12 Championships having shown off the strength of their younger athletes throughout the regular season. Freshman phenom Erika Adler has propelled a women's side that has featured two true freshmen in the UCLA Top-7 in every competition this season. Adler has been UCLA's top finisher at each of the last two meets she has raced (Roy Griak Invitational and Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational). Kira Loren was the top finisher for the Bruins at two other meets (TMU Invitational and Bronco Invitational). The Bruin women will look to capitalize on the return of sophomore Claire Markey, who finished 91st at last year's NCAA Championships but has not competed this season due to injury.
LAST YEAR AT THE PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2016 Pac-12 Championships saw the Bruin men finish third and the UCLA women take seventh in Tucson, Ariz. Colorado swept the team competition, with the Buffalo men securing their sixth consecutive conference title and the women taking home their second consecutive Pac-12 crown. Ferdinand Edman led the men's squad with a fifth-place finish and a time of 24:18.4 on the 8k course. Senior Roni Yamane and redshirt sophomore Jackie Garner headline the runners returning from last year's Pac-12 Championship squad, as they went 55-56 in 2016 with times of 22:09.2 and 22:10.3 on the 6k course, respectively.
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
UCLA's Pac-12 Championship success includes two team titles and four individual titles. The first of the Bruins' conference team titles came in 1980, with UCLA's Ron Cornell taking the individual victory in the 10k competition. The Bruin men repeated as conference champions in 1981. American distance running legend and UCLA alumnus Meb Keflezighi won the Pac-12 Championship in 1996, winning the 8k in a time of 23:45. Karen Hecox won two consecutive conference titles for the UCLA women in 1993-94.
LARSEN INDUCTED INTO UCLA ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
On Oct. 20, former head coach Bob Larsen became the latest from UCLA Cross Country to be inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame. Larsen led the UCLA men's track and field teams to two NCAA Championships, nine Pac-12 titles and four national dual meet titles during his nearly 20 years as head coach. He had an incredible dual meet record of 118-3-1 that included an unbeaten 15-year dual mark versus rival USC. In cross country, he led UCLA to two conference crowns and six NCAA appearances. The four-time NCAA Coach of the Year guided 13 athletes to a total of 25 national championships and was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2013. Larsen's star runner Meb Keflezighi, also a UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer, became the first Marathon runner in history win an Olympic medal and the Boston and New York City Marathons.
KEFLEZIGHI TO RACE FINAL MARATHON
On Nov. 5, Bruin legend Meb Keflezighi will wrap up his illustrious career at the New York City Marathon, his 26th and final marathon. Keflezighi won four NCAA individual titles at UCLA in 1997, capturing the 5,000m indoor; 5,000m outdoor; 10,000m outdoor and cross country titles. A four-time Olympian, he won a silver medal in the marathon at the 2004 Games, and he went on to win the New York City Marathon in 2009 and the Boston Marathon in 2014. Keflezighi was selected the Jesse Owens Award winner in 2014 as the USATF Athlete of the Year.
Players Mentioned
