THE COURSE . . . The men’s course will cover 8,000
meters at Sky Links Golf Course, Long Beach, Calif.. The women,
meanwhile, will run a course of 6,000 meters. The flat terrain for
both the men’s course and women’s course will be run over grass, with
short sections run across cart paths.
MEN’S RACE (41st annual). . . STANFORD and OREGON
each won their respective races at the NCAA Pre-Nationals and enter the
Pac-10 Championships ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the latest USTFCCCA
polls... Look for senior Dylan Fitzpatrick and junior Mohamud Ige to pace ARIZONA at this year’s championships... ARIZONA STATE veteran runners senior Brandon Bethke and junior Ben Engelhardt will keep the Sun Devils in contention. Bethke finished sixth (23:49.4)
in the White Race at the NCAA Pre-Nationals... CALIFORNIA will count on
junior Kari Karlsson and freshman Collin Jarvis to lead the Golden Bears... OREGON, the defending Pac-10 and NCAA
champions, are coming off a successful NCAA Pre-National showing with a
first-place finish in the Blue Race. Sophomore Luke Puskedra, who took individual honors (23:40.2) in the Blue Race, junior Danny Mercado and senior Andy Klotz will lead the Ducks... STANFORD, currently the top-ranked team in the
nation, was equally as impressive at the NCAA Pre-National meet with a
first-place finish in the White Race. Sophomore Chris Derrick, who took top honors (23:27.1) in the White Race, will be joined by juniors Elliott Heath and Justin Marpole-Bird in leading the Cardinal... Senior Marlon Patterson was the top Bruin at the NCAA Pre-National, and will be joined by fellow seniors Marco Anzures and Alex Crabill in leading UCLA’s charge at the Pac-10 Championships... WASHINGTON seniors Jake Schmitt and Colton Tully-Doyle have led the 13th-ranked Huskies this season and will look to contend
in Long Beach... WASHINGTON STATE was impressive at the NCAA
Pre-Nationals with a seventh-place finish in the Blue Race. The Cougars
entered the latest polls ranked No. 26 and will look to sophomore Jono Lafler and junior Dan Geib to score well at the Pac-10’s.
LAST YEAR (MEN) . . . OREGON won its
third consecutive Pac-10 title and 16th overall with a 19-point margin
of victory over STANFORD. The Ducks then went on to successfully defend
their national title with the sixth NCAA title in school history.
Oregon senior Galen Rupp swept postseason titles by capturing his
second Pac-10 title (22:55), took top honors at the NCAA West Region
(27:41) by more than 50 seconds, then won his first NCAA individual
title (29:04). For his efforts, Rupp was named the Pac-10 Athlete of
the Year, as well as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country
Coaches Association Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year. Freshman
teammate Luke Puskedra was tabbed Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year after
placing second at the Pac-10’s (23:32), sixth at the NCAA West Region
(28:45), and fifth at the NCAA Championships (29:28). Oregon coach
Vin Lananna was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year, then picked up national
honors when he was awarded the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country
Coaches Association Division I National Coach of the Year.
Read More on the Pac-10 site