Sept. 1, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format
ON THE COURSE: A new tradition will be born this Friday afternoon in Ephrata, Washington, as the Washington and Washington State cross country squads meet in the middle of the state for an unofficial Apple Cup of distance running. The Huskies will open their season two weeks sooner than usual this year, while still hosting the Sundodger Invitational on Sept. 18. The dual race will let the teams ease into the season with a slightly shorter than usual race, and also bring an exciting head-to-head component that is rarely seen in collegiate cross country. Husky head coach Greg Metcalf is an Ephrata native, and the race will be run next to Ephrata High School, where Metcalf still holds school records in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. The women's race will be first, at 5 p.m., followed by the men's race at 5:30 p.m. The course will consist of one 2,000-meter loop, which will be very spectator-friendly. The women will run the loop twice for a 4,000-meter race while the men will make three circles for a 6km race. "We're excited about the intimate atmosphere, and I'm excited to take my team to my hometown," said Metcalf. "It will be gratifying to put on a unique event like this for the community and hopefully we can grow this event over the years into something special." The Huskies will run nearly full squads in both the men's and women's races. One exception will be that no true freshmen will compete. The UW women's team is ranked third in the nation and has won the past two Pac-10 Championships, in addition to the 2008 NCAA Championship, while the men are unranked but have placed 18th at the past two NCAA Championships. The Washington State men were sixth at Pac-10s a year ago while the women were 10th. Leading the women's team are a number of Huskies that ran at the 2009 Pac-10 Championships. Senior Kailey Campbell and sophomores Kayla Evans and Allison Linnell all competed at the 2009 NCAA Championships as well where the Huskies placed third. Campbell and Linnell were top-20 finishers at the Pac-10 meet last year. Sophomore Lindsay Flanagan was a regular member of UW's top-seven last year as well, and was 27th at West Regionals as a freshman. Senior Lauren Saylor was 41st at the 2008 NCAA Championships when UW won the title, but may or may not compete on Friday. The men will run four athletes with NCAA Championship experience. Senior Jordan Swarthout, juniors Max O'Donoghue-McDonald and Cameron Quackenbush, and sophomore Joey Bywater all ran for the Dawgs at the 2009 national meet in Terre Haute, Indiana, helping the Huskies to an 18th-place finish. Bywater was an All-West Region honoree last fall and O'Donoghue-McDonald placed 21st on the track last spring in the NCAA West Region 5,000-meters. HUSKIES IN THE RANKINGS: The Husky women's cross country team is once again expected to be among the nation's elite this season, earning a No. 3 preseason national ranking as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association unveiled its first 2010 rankings. The UW men's team received votes but did not make the Top-30 despite finishing 18th at NCAAs last year. The women will begin the 2010 season where they finished 2009, as the Huskies placed third at the NCAA Championships a year ago after winning the title in 2008. Washington began the 2008 season ranked third in the preseason before winning the title, and were the preseason No. 1 team in 2009. The defending NCAA Champions from Villanova open the season at No. 1 on the women's side, followed by Florida State which placed second just ahead of UW last year. After the Huskies, the top five finishes with Texas Tech and Oregon.Stanford begins the season in the No. 1 spot on the men's side, one spot ahead of defending champion Oklahoma State. The Cardinal won the Pac-10 and West Regional titles last year but finished 10th at nationals. No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 4 Oregon, and No. 5 Alabama round out the top-five. EXPECTED TO RUN: Following is a list of Huskies entered in Friday's UW-WSU dual meet. Women Men NEXT UP - THE SUNDODGER INVITATIONAL: The annual Sundodger Invitational, until this season the first race for UW each year, will be back at Lincoln Park in West Seattle in two weeks time. It will mark the first race for many of UW's freshmen. The day kicks off with a pair of open races starting at 9:00 a.m. The women's 6,000-meter invitational, featuring UW, is set for 10:25 a.m., with the UW men running in the 8,000-meter invitational at 11 a.m. A number of high school invitational races will follow. |
