Nov. 10, 2015
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San José State University men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the NCAA West Regional Championship in Seattle, Wash. on Friday, November 13 in hopes of extending their season.
"The team is very excited. They feel they have something to prove. As a team, we had a good showing at the Santa Clara Invitational and we just feel like we can back that up with even a better performance at the West Regionals. We have a healthy team and everything has been looking good in practice so we're ready to head up there and run a solid race," said Spartans cross country coach Brad Wick.
32 men's and 37 women's cross country teams will compete on the Jefferson Park Golf Course, hosted by the University of Washington.
"The West is a deep region. All the Division I schools from California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona with the exception of Northern Arizona University, and half of Idaho will be represented," said Wick.
The West Regional is one of nine regional meets that will be competing on Friday to determine the team and individual qualifiers for the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships which will be held on November 21 in Louisville, Ky.
A total of 31 schools qualify for the men's and women's National Championship. From each of the nine regions, the top two teams automatically qualify, for a total of 18 teams. 13 at-large selections are made from the regional championships.
Once the teams are determined, 38 additional individuals per gender are selected to participate through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process.
The women's 6K West Regional race will start first at 12:00 p.m. PT as the lineup includes: Adilene Aldapa, Jennifer Beckingham, Ashley Cahalan, Melanie Fujiwara, Lalida Maokhamphiou, Karina Nunes and Jeanette Zambrano.
The men's 10K West Regional race will follow at 1:00 p.m. PT with the same starting lineup as all its races this season, except one when Rodarte was out for the Santa Clara Invitational: Ben Branagh, Jannik Ernst, Josue Gonzalez, Craig Huff, Jose Piña, Raul Rodarte, and Huruy Zeratsion.
List of competing schools and starting box assignments.
Click here for the NCAA West Regional rosters.
Click here for results to the NCAA West Regional.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Spartans last competed on October 30 at the Mountain West Conference Championship. The men's team finished the 8K course in sixth place out of eight schools and the women were eighth out of 11 on the 6K race.
It was the best finish for both squads at the MW Conference Championship since joining the conference in 2013.
BECKINGHAM LEAD THE WAY FOR THE WOMEN:
Graduate student Jennifer Beckingham has been the top Spartans finisher in each of the five women's meets this year. The England native has finished 12th or better in four of the five meets including placing 8th overall at the USF Invitational, 12th at the Fresno State Invitational, 12th at the Stanford Invitational and 7th at the Santa Clara Invitational. Beckingham finished 21st at the MW Conference Championship.
BRANAGH AND PIÑA LEAD THE WAY FOR THE MEN:
Junior Ben Branagh and freshman Jose Piña have taken turns pacing the Spartan men this year. Branagh has been the top Spartan finisher in three of the five meets, including the USF, Fresno State and Santa Clara Invitationals. Piña has led the other two meets including the Stanford Invitational and the Mountain West Conference Championship.
LAST YEAR AT THE NCAA WEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
The women's team finished 33rd at last year's NCAA West Regional Championship held at Stanford, Calif. Among the returnees, Lalida Maokhamphiou was the top Spartan finisher at 178th place. Melanie Fujiwara and Karina Nunes also participated in the regional meet.
The men finished 18th. Ben Branagh led the way for the Spartans finishing 45th overall in the 10K race. Craig Huff, Jannik Ernst and Josue Gonzalez also ran in the regional meet.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Keep up with your San José State men's and women's cross country teams this season on social media!
Get highlights and upcoming events via Twitter by following @SanJoseStateTF
Get highlights and see post-meet pictures on Instagram by following @sjsudistance
The team is active on Facebook. See the workout and meet videos via facebook.com/sjsudistance