SEATTLE – The Stanford women earned an automatic berth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships with a second-place finish at the West Regional and the Cardinal men were third and must wait for their expected spot in Louisville.
While the Stanford women advanced to nationals for the 25th consecutive year, the men will make their 24th consecutive appearance when the 13 at-large teams are announced Saturday.
The NCAA Championships are Saturday, Nov. 18, at Louisville's E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park and Stanford men will be aiming for their fourth consecutive podium (top three) finish. The Stanford men are ranked No. 4 and the women No. 7.
In the women's race, sophomore Fiona O'Keeffe placed sixth in 19:31.7 over the 6K (3.7-mile) course at Jefferson Park Golf Course to lead Stanford, which scored 76 points to 59 for winner University of San Francisco. Vanessa Fraser was eighth in 19:40.2 and Stanford was the only school to get all five scorers among the top 24.
For the men, Stanford ran as a team until the pack started breaking up around the 8K mark of their 10K (6.2-mile) race. Steven Fahy's third place in 29:40.3 led the Cardinal, which scored 85 points, behind Portland (63) and Washington (65). Pac-12 champion Grant Fisher raced conservatively and placed 11th in 29:47.7.
Stanford placed all seven runners among the top 35, with five in the top 25. All of Stanford's runners finished within 35.6 seconds of each other.
The at-large selections are determined by a point system in which Stanford will be compared against other teams that qualified automatically in the nine regionals races, as well as head to head against others in consideration. Stanford, the Pac-12 champion, will be looked upon favorably in both.
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NCAA West Regionals
At Jefferson Park Golf Course
Men (8K, 6.2 miles)
Team leaders (top two qualify for NCAA Championships) – 1, Portland 63; 2, Washington 65; 3, Stanford 85; 4, Oregon 149; 5, UCLA 164; 6, Boise State 168; 7, Washington State 194; 8, San Francisco 205; 9, California 262; 10, Gonzaga 294.
Individual leaders – 1, Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse (Portland) 29:33.1; 2, Jeff Thies (Portland) 29:38.8; 3, Steven Fahy (Stanford) 29:40.3. Other Stanford – 11, Grant Fisher 29:47.7; 22, Blair Hurlock 29:56.8; 24, Alek Parsons 30:00.1; 25, Tai Dinger 30:01.5; 28, Sam Wharton 30:08.7; 35, Jack Keelan 30:15.9.
Women (6K, 3.7 miles)
Team leaders – 1, San Francisco 59; 2, Stanford 76; 3, Oregon 92; 4, Boise State 104; 5, California 183; 6, Washington 202; 7, Arizona 203; 8, San Jose State 302; 9, Arizona State 304; 10, Portland 308.
Individual leaders – 1, Charlotte Taylor (USF) 19:14.2; 2, Allie Ostrander (Boise State) 19:16.5; 3, Amy-Eloise Neal (Washington) 19:25.3. Stanford – 6, Fiona O'Keeffe 19:31.7; 8, Vanessa Fraser 19:40.2; 18, Elise Cranny 20:06.0; 20, Ella Donaghu 20:08.2; 24, Christina Aragon 20:13.2; 46, Abbie McNulty 20:47.5; 52; 52, Jessica Lawson 20:52.6.
Stanford's All-West Region selections
Men: Steven Fahy, Grant Fisher, Blair Hurlock, Alek Parsons, Tai Dinger.
Women: Christina Aragon, Elise Cranny, Ella Donaghu, Vanessa Fraser, Fiona O'Keeffe.
