PULLMAN, Wash. – The Sun Devils' championship season continues Friday as the men's and women's cross country squads compete at the NCAA West Regional Championships, looking to extend their season and earn a pair of berths in the NCAA Championships.
The West has been the best region in the nation for the past decade, and this year is no different as the Sun Devil men will line up against a field containing six programs ranked in the top-30, and the women face five programs in the poll.
"We had a bit of a disappointing Pac-12 meet a couple of weeks ago, but this regional is going to give us another opportunity to race against a tough field to get to the national meet," coach Cory Leslie said. "No matter what you've done up to this point, the beauty of this sport is if you have a good day in a field like this, it puts you in a position to make the championship."
While as a team the men didn't meet their expectation at the Pac-12 Championship two weeks ago, individually, both Jackson Lewis and Vincent Mauri earned the highest finishes by the Devils since 2015. The pair that has led all year will likely need to lead the way again for ASU to put the Devils in position to advance to the national meet for the first time since 2009.
Unlike at the Pac-12 Championships, the first NCAA race of the season means the Devils will run a 10K this time out instead of the traditional 8K.
"This is everyone's first 10K of the year and I think the only difference with the extra 2,000 meters is that the race develops a little later than it would in an 8K," Leslie said. "Besides that, all of these guys here have put in training to be ready for this because we know that's how championship racing works."
As for the women, the distance will remain unchanged, but the Sun Devil top-five may shift once again. While the scoring from the men has been rigid with the same five scoring the entire season, the women's top-five has been fluid with seven women moving in and out of scoring positions this year, and no woman finishing as the No. 1 in back-to-back outings this season.
Daan Haven was ASU's front-runner at this race a season ago, but she is only ASU's second-highest returning finisher at a regional race with Alexis Nichols' 2017 run leading the way.
"It's always good to have that veteran presence on the team," Leslie said. "Having women and men who have been here before always helps, but I would never count out those freshmen who haven't been here before either. Whether it's Ava Shackell or Vinny and Lee Nasewytewa, they've grown so much this year and have the ability to run with the rest of them."
The last women's NCAA appearance came in 2011 when ASU great Shelby Houlihan led the Devils to a seventh-place finish at the regional meet.
The 2019 Women's NCAA West Regional Championships will get going Friday at 12:30 p.m. MST, and the men's 10K championship will follow at 1:30. A live stream will be available on FloTrack and results will be provided by the NCAA. A full recap of the event will be available at thesundevils.com following the completion of competition, but follow the Instagram story on @SunDevilTFXC for race updates.
The West has been the best region in the nation for the past decade, and this year is no different as the Sun Devil men will line up against a field containing six programs ranked in the top-30, and the women face five programs in the poll.
"We had a bit of a disappointing Pac-12 meet a couple of weeks ago, but this regional is going to give us another opportunity to race against a tough field to get to the national meet," coach Cory Leslie said. "No matter what you've done up to this point, the beauty of this sport is if you have a good day in a field like this, it puts you in a position to make the championship."
While as a team the men didn't meet their expectation at the Pac-12 Championship two weeks ago, individually, both Jackson Lewis and Vincent Mauri earned the highest finishes by the Devils since 2015. The pair that has led all year will likely need to lead the way again for ASU to put the Devils in position to advance to the national meet for the first time since 2009.
Unlike at the Pac-12 Championships, the first NCAA race of the season means the Devils will run a 10K this time out instead of the traditional 8K.
"This is everyone's first 10K of the year and I think the only difference with the extra 2,000 meters is that the race develops a little later than it would in an 8K," Leslie said. "Besides that, all of these guys here have put in training to be ready for this because we know that's how championship racing works."
As for the women, the distance will remain unchanged, but the Sun Devil top-five may shift once again. While the scoring from the men has been rigid with the same five scoring the entire season, the women's top-five has been fluid with seven women moving in and out of scoring positions this year, and no woman finishing as the No. 1 in back-to-back outings this season.
Daan Haven was ASU's front-runner at this race a season ago, but she is only ASU's second-highest returning finisher at a regional race with Alexis Nichols' 2017 run leading the way.
"It's always good to have that veteran presence on the team," Leslie said. "Having women and men who have been here before always helps, but I would never count out those freshmen who haven't been here before either. Whether it's Ava Shackell or Vinny and Lee Nasewytewa, they've grown so much this year and have the ability to run with the rest of them."
The last women's NCAA appearance came in 2011 when ASU great Shelby Houlihan led the Devils to a seventh-place finish at the regional meet.
The 2019 Women's NCAA West Regional Championships will get going Friday at 12:30 p.m. MST, and the men's 10K championship will follow at 1:30. A live stream will be available on FloTrack and results will be provided by the NCAA. A full recap of the event will be available at thesundevils.com following the completion of competition, but follow the Instagram story on @SunDevilTFXC for race updates.