SEATTLE – Stanford will field its strongest cross country lineups of the season when the Cardinal compete at the Washington Invitational on Friday.
Neither the No. 2-ranked men’s squad nor the No. 4 women’s team will be at full strength, as coach Chris Miltenberg is waiting until later in the season to run his full squads together. However, this will be Stanford’s best representation in its three meets so far.
What: Washington Invitational
Where: Jefferson Park Golf Course, Seattle, Wash.
When: Friday
Times:
Women (6K; 3.73 miles), 3:15 p.m.; Men (8K; 4.97), 4 p.m.
Teams (12): Stanford, Air Force, BYU, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, Oregon, Oregon State, Portland, Seattle, UCLA, Washington, Washington State.
Live Results: Click here
USTFCCCA Rankings:
Men: No. 2
Women: No. 4
Men’s preview: The Jefferson Park course is flat and fast, with 21 runners breaking 24 minutes last season. No. Stanford is the highest of four ranked teams in the field, including No. 5 Oregon, No. 11 UCLA, and No. 12 BYU. With Oregon, that means two-time NCAA cross country champ Edward Cheserek is entered, as is highly-touted freshman Matthew Maton. However, there will not be a freshman showdown with Stanford’s Grant Fisher. See below.
Stanford breakdown: First, among the Stanford runners who will be competing, Joe Rosa comes in with the strongest credentials, with All-America honors in cross country and on the track. Stanford’s No. 1 spot could be wide-open among Rosa, Jack Keelan, and Garrett Sweatt, who was the Cardinal’s top finisher at this meet last year in eighth.
Next, these are among those not competing: Sean McGorty, Grant Fisher, Jim Rosa, Sam Wharton, and Collin Leibold. McGorty and Fisher went 1-2 at the Stanford Invitational on Saturday, though Fisher ran unattached. McGorty could be the team’s ace this year and next will run at the Wisconsin Invitational on Oct. 16. Fisher will not run any sooner than the Pac-12 Championships on Oct. 30, but even that is unclear depending on whether Miltenberg decides to redshirt the two-time Foot Locker national high school champ. Rosa, Leibold, and Wharton are working their way back from injuries.
Stanford’s lineup:
Jack Bordoni, sr.
Steven Fahy, so.
Jack Keelan, jr.
Cameron Miller, sr.
Patrick Perrier, so.
Joe Rosa, 5th sr.
Ryan Silva, jr.
Garrett Sweatt, sr.
* * *
Women’s preview: No. 4 Stanford lead four ranked teams in the field, including No. 5 Oregon, No. 15 Washington, and No. 23 BYU. Oregon is the defending champion, edging Stanford 48-55 for first. The Ducks return five of the six from last year’s meet, which was won by then-freshman Elise Cranny, of Stanford.
Stanford breakdown: Elise Cranny won this race in her collegiate debut and went on to finish as the Pac-12 runner-up and the top freshman at the 2014 NCAA meet. However, Cranny is not running as Miltenberg, Stanford’s Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, chooses his spots to best run her.
This will be the first serious effort for Aisling Cuffe, the 2013 Pac-12 champion who missed last season with an injury and used the season-opening Fresno State Invitational as a timed workout. Cuffe and junior Vanessa Fraser, 13th in the 5,000 at the NCAA outdoor championships last spring, could dual for the Stanford team lead.
Two Stanford freshmen will make their collegiate debut: Hannah Long, an 11-time Missouri state high school champ, and Catherine Pagano, the Millrose Games high school mile champ from New Jersey.
Stanford’s lineup:
Sophie Chase, jr.
Aisling Cuffe, 5th sr.
Vanessa Fraser, jr.
Danielle Katz, jr.
Hannah Long, fr.
Julia Maxwell, so.
Molly McNamara, 5th sr.
Abbie McNulty, so.
Catherine Pagano, fr.
Season Schedule: Stanford has had two fairly low-key meets so far while still in its hard-training phase. After this meet, Stanford will field close to its best teams in mid-October, with the Wisconsin Invitational (men) and Pre-Nationals in Louisville (women), before heading into the postseason.
