2009 NCAA Division I West Regional Championships
Springfield Country Club (Springfield, Ore.)
Men’s start: 9:45 a.m.
Women’s start: 10:45 a.m.
PORTLAND, Ore. – With a berth to the NCAA Cross Country Championships at stake, the Portland Pilots will go head-to-head with twenty-eight men’s and women’s teams this Saturday at the Springfield Country Club for the NCAA Division I West Regional Championships. The No. 7 Pilot men are fresh off winning their 31st consecutive West Coast Conference championship.
The top two teams in each race earn automatic berths to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind. while individual and at-large bids will also be at fought for.
“There is a possibility that the West Region could get eight teams into the national meet,” said Portland men’s head coach Rob Conner who was recently named the 2009 WCC Coach of the Year.
The men’s race has No. 1 Stanford, No. 3 Oregon, No. 7 Portland, No. 13 Arizona State and No. 17 Washington in addition to Cal Poly and UCLA who have also received votes on the men’s side.
“It will be extremely competitive,” said Conner. “Obviously No. 1 Stanford and No. 3 Oregon are the teams to beat. We have finished either second or third in each of the past three regional meets so we will try to do that again. It should be a great challenge and a fun experience.”
The women’s competition will feature No. 1 Washington, No. 5 Oregon, No. 14 Stanford, No. 16 Arizona State, No. 24 Arizona and No. 27 California.
“We are excited for the regional meet and expect this to be our best performance of the season,” said Portland head women’s coach Ian Solof. “Our training has been excellent since the conference meet and we are right where we need to be. This is a young group but they are fired up to run well and show what they are capable of.”
The West Region is comprised of teams from the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, with the exception of Idaho State and Northern Arizona, which compete in the Mountain Region.
Possible Portland men’s line-up:
Jared Bassett
Tommy Betterbed
Robert Cosby
Trevor Dunbar
Matt Frerker
Shane Geiger
Alfred Kipchumba
Lars Erik Malde
Joash Osoro
Portland women’s line-up:
Lyndy Davis
Theresa Hailey
Elizabeth Keaveny
Bethany McInturff
Molly Mitchell
Cori Moore
Marit Tegelaar
Men’s Teams
Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, California , UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Eastern Washington, Fresno State, Idaho, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Oregon, Pepperdine, Portland, Portland State, Sacramento State, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Stanford, UCLA, Washington, Washington State.
Men’s Individuals
Juan Olea, Cal State Northridge; Chris Boyle, Gonzaga; Brett Withers, Gonzaga; Alfredo Coronado, San Jose State; David Haefele, San Jose State.
Women’s Teams
Arizona, Arizona State, California , UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Nevada-Las Vegas, Oregon, Oregon State, Pepperdine, Portland, Portland State, Sacramento State, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State.
Women’s Individuals
Shannon Porter, Boise State; Carolyn Ellis, Cal State Fullerton; Yomaira Hernandez, Cal State Fullerton; Lilyana Morejon, Cal State Northridge; Kristina Hammarstrom, Pacific; Jazmin Quiroz, Pacific; Rosie Smith, Saint Mary’s.