California Baptist University
NCAA Division II West Regional (6K)
Cross Country Ready for West Regional
11/3/2017 8:30:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country & Track
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Fresh off its fourth-straight PacWest Conference Championship sweep, California Baptist University heads to Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Ore. for the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's West Region Cross Country Championships, hosted by Western Oregon University.
A dozen teams currently ranked in the top 25 of the most recent NCAA D-II poll will be in action Saturday, while national qualifying spots will be up for grabs. The Lancer women currently rank first in the region and own the top spot in all of Division II and will be looking to add to their momentum, facing stiff competition.
"Three of the top-five teams in the division are in our region," said Coach Ben Gall. "It will be tough but we know we'll be ready for the challenge."
Veterans Emeline Delanis (2017 PacWest Runner of the Year) and Anett Somogyi (2016 PacWest Runner and Freshman of the Year), have had solid performances all season and will look to lead the pack.
Experienced runners in Fruzsi Ladanyi, Leanda du Bruyn, Katie Deimling, Caroline Barkechir and Berenice Cleyet-Merle will also be right in the mix this weekend. Deimling (19th) and du Bruyn (22nd) led the Lancers in last year's West Regional, earning All-West Region honors with a top-25 performance.
"Those two are definitely key," Gall said of Deimling and du Bruyn. "They've shown that they can run right up front with our top runners and it will be fun to see."
The Lancer men – who rank second in the region and sixth in Division II – come off their seventh-straight PacWest Championship and have been led by 2017 PacWest Runner and Freshman of the Year, McMarshall Hartzenburg.
"Our hope is to kind of put it together all on the same day," said Gall. "We've seen elements from everyone this season, so if we put everything together in one race, we will be tough to beat."
For the first time this season, the men will have to run a 10K instead of the usual 8K race. Hartzenburg, Micro Zenzen, Simon Bedard and Jonah Ross will be competing at regionals for the first time, while Jayden Emerson, Dennis Messmer, and Michael Lowrie have regional experience.
"For both teams, we're just excited to compete," said Gall. "Our expectations again will be that we just continue to improve, we've had a lot of success this year and look forward to having another good trip."
Race times
Women's 6K – 10:00 a.m.
Men's 10K – 11:00 a.m.
Results
Live results will be posted at http://www.athletictiming.net/Results/. All results are unofficial until after the 15 minute protest period has been complete.
Web Stream
The race will be streamed live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wou/.
More Information
http://wouwolves.com/news/2017/10/31/cross-country-ncaa-dii-west-region-preview.aspx?path=mxc
Players Mentioned
