COLFAX, Wash. – Stanford sophomore Amy Bunnage won the NCAA West Regional in her season debut Friday and led the Cardinal women to their 32nd consecutive NCAA Championships appearance.
Stanford placed second with 67 points at Colfax Golf Club to earn an automatic spot to nationals, to be held November 23 in Verona, Wisconsin.
The Stanford men, however, will need to earn an at-large bid after placing third in a close race, with 73 points. The Cardinal is expected to earn its 31st consecutive NCAA bid when the 31-team field is announced Saturday at 2 p.m. PT on NCAA.com.
Bunnage, the 2023 Pac-12 champion, became Stanford’s first regional champion since Julia Heymach in 2021 and eighth different Stanford woman to win. Bunnage covered the 6-kilometer (3.73-mile) course in 19:17.1 and led a group of four Cardinal among the top 16. Bunnage, Sophia Kennedy (sixth), Riley Stewart (13th), and Zofia Dudek (16th) each earned all-region honors by placing among the top 25.
For the men, Cole Sprout led the way by placing fourth over the 10K (6.21-mile) course in 29:09.3. Leo Young placed 10th, freshman Paul Bergeron 13th, and Nolan Topper 20th to earn all-region honors. This was the first regional honor for Young, Bergeron, and Topper.
Bunnage was fourth at 3K in a tight seven-runner lead pack that included Kennedy and Dudek. But at the next checkpoint, at 4.2K, Bunnage and Oregon’s Silan Ayyildiz, the Big Ten champion, separated themselves slightly.
Bunnage maintained her lead the rest of the way, finishing ahead of Ayyildiz by 2.2 seconds, but couldn’t prevent Oregon from winning the team title with 43 points and becoming the first non-Stanford women’s team to win since 2018.
Racing 10K for the first time this season, Stanford led through 9K, only to be overtaken by Washington (66) and Oregon (68) at the finish, snapping the Cardinal’s three-year winning streak.
NCAA West Regionals
At Colfax Golf Club
Men (10K, 6.2 miles)
Team leaders – 1, Washington 66; 2, Oregon 68; 3, Stanford 73; 4, Cal Baptist 99; 5, Portland 102.
Individuals – 1, Evans Kurui (Washington State) 28:53.7.
Stanford – 4, Cole Sprout 29:09.3; 10, Leo Young 29:15.4; 13, Paul Bergeron 29:19.3; 20, Nolan Topper 29:30.3; 27, Robert DiDonato 29:38.0; 52, Thomas Boyden 30:15.9; 66, Patrick Koon 30:42.3.
Women (6K, 3.7 miles)
Team leaders – 1, Oregon 43; 2, Stanford 67; 3, Washington 101; 4, Gonzaga 134; 5, Portland 156.
Individuals – 1, Amy Bunnage (Stanford) 19:17.1.
Other Stanford – 6, Sophia Kennedy 19:39.5; 13, Riley Stewart 19:49.7; 16, Zofia Dudek 19:53.0; 35, Julia Flynn 20:29.7; 40, Nicola Hogg 20:32.2; 52, Audrey DaDamio 20:44.0.