SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The Portland Pilot men's and women's cross country teams were picked to finish second and third, respectively, at this year's 2017 WCC Championships, with two Pilots on both the men's and women's side landing on the All-WCC preseason team. The men rank nationally in the USTFCCCA preseason poll at No.14 and No.4 in the West Region. The women are tied for 31 in the USTFCCCA rankings and are No. 6 in the West Region.
The BYU men tallied 64 points including eight first place votes, while the Pilots captured 57 points and one first place vote. Gonzaga earned 47 points for third place, narrowly beating out San Francisco, who followed with 45. Loyola Marymount placed fifth with 33 votes and sixth-place Saint Mary's earned 30. Santa Clara (25), Pepperdine (13) and San Diego (10) rounded out the standings.
"The conference is really competitive right now, which is great," said men's head coach Rob Conner. "BYU, Gonzaga and San Francisco are all fielding their best teams ever. I wouldn't be surprised if BYU gets ranked 1
st nationally at some point this fall."
Last season's WCC Championships also featured a tight race between the Pilots and the Cougars, with BYU just edging the Pilots at the finish, but both teams well ahead of the rest of the schools.
On the women's side, the Cougars earned 74 votes to be named preseason favorite, but No. 10 San Francisco, who earned 68 votes, garnered the most first-place votes with seven to BYU's two. Third-place Portland with 60 votes grabbed the remaining first-place tally.
The middle of the standings featured two close calls. Loyola Marymount earned 47 points for fourth place, edging fifth-place Gonzaga who tallied 46. Saint Mary's followed up in sixth place with 32 votes, one ahead of seventh-place San Diego, who picked up 31 votes. Santa Clara (24), Pacific (14) and Pepperdine (9) rounded out the standings.
"The WCC has become an incredibly tough cross country conference and I'm sure this year's meet will be another battle." said women's head coach Ian Solof. "I'm excited to see what our team can do and we will continue to focus on good training and developing our athletes to a high level."
Last season, Lauren LaRocco led the Pilots to their 20th WCC team title with her first-place individual finish. The win marked the 10th time that the Pilots have won both the team and individual crowns in the same year, and the first since Dana Morgan led Portland in 2007.
The 2017 WCC Championship race will be held Friday, October 27 at the Metropolitan Links Golf Course in Oakland, Calif.
2017 WCC Men's Cross Country Coaches Poll
Team (First Place) – Pts.
1.BYU (8) - 64
2. Portland (1) - 57
3. Gonzaga - 47
4. San Francisco - 45
5. Loyola Marymount - 33
6. Saint Mary's - 30
7. Santa Clara - 25
8. Pepperdine - 13
9. San Diego – 10
2017 All-WCC Men's Cross Country Preseason Team
Name – School (Yr.)
Brayden McLelland – BYU (Soph.)
Clayton Young – BYU (Jr.)
Daniel Carney – BYU (Jr.)
Dillon Quintana – Gonzaga (Sr.)
Gabe Arias-Sheridan – Saint Mary's (Sr.)
Jeff Thies – Portland (Sr.)
Jonathan Harper – BYU (Sr.)
Nick Hauger – Portland (Jr.)
Rory Linkletter – BYU (Jr.)
Spencer Hanson – BYU (Sr.)
2017 WCC Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll
Team (First Place) – Pts.
1.BYU (2) - 74
2. San Francisco (7) - 68
3. Portland (1) - 60
4. Loyola Marymount - 47
5. Gonzaga - 46
6. Saint Mary's - 32
7. San Diego - 31
8. Santa Clara - 24
9. Pacific - 14
10. Pepperdine – 9
2017 All-WCC Women's Cross Country Preseason Team
Name – School (Yr.)
Ashleigh Warner – BYU (Sr)
Charlotte Taylor – San Francisco (Sr.)
Courtney Wayment – BYU (Soph.)
Danielle Shannahan – LMU (Sr.)
Erica Birk – BYU (Sr.)
Jordan Thursdon – Gonzaga (Sr.)
Laura Young – BYU (Sr.)
Lauren LaRocco – Portland (Sr.)
Taryn Rawlings – Portland (Jr.)
Weronika Pyzik – San Francisco (Jr.)
