UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Stanford swept the men's and women's cross-country titles at the NCAA West Regionals for the second consecutive year and the 11th time overall, on Friday.
Racing at Chambers Creek Regional Park, the No. 1 Stanford men completed the team double after the No. 11 Stanford women won their third consecutive regional championship.
The top two teams in each of the nine regionals across the nation advance automatically to the NCAA Championships Nov. 19 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Stanford women advanced as a team for the 30th consecutive season and the men for the 29th.
The Cardinal women placed fourth at the Pac-12 Championships, though only third-place Oregon was a regional foe among those top four teams. On Friday, Stanford easily beat the Ducks, 76-96, to earn the automatic spots. The Card's five scorers all placed ahead of Oregon's third runner, and six Cardinal finished in the top 25.
The Stanford men scored only 45 points, their best score since earning that same total in the 2012 regional victory. Gonzaga was next with 92. Four Cardinal placed among the top eight and all seven among the top 34.
Zofia Dudek and Charles Hicks were the top Stanford finishers, each in third.
Dudek earned her highest race finish since winning the Sacramento State Invitational on Oct. 1, 2021. She led a group of Cardinal in the front pack for much of the race and finished in 19:25.1 over 6 kilometers (3.73 miles).
Some of the other Cardinal paid the price for a fast pace, but the team still ran well as a pack. Lucy Jenks was 15th, Audrey DaDamio 18th, Audrey Suarez 19th, Riley Stewart 21st, Abi Archer 25th, and Ava Parekh 54th. All are eligible to return next year.
"Learning how to feed off each other was critical," said women's coach J.J. Clark, Stanford's Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, and Cross Country. "They packed up and ran well today as a group."
With nationals only eight days away, there wasn't much thought about conserving energy.
"The strategy was to get to nationals and worry about the NCAA's later," Clark said. "There wasn't much talk, just let's go run."
The men competed at the 10K (6.2-mile) distance for the first time after racing at 8K until Friday. Hicks, Ky Robinson, Devin Hart, and Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau remained in the front pack until it began to break apart around 8K. By 9K, it was a three-man race among Washington's Brian Fay, Oregon's Aaron Bienenfeld and Hicks, who held the lead at that point.
Hicks ultimately ran 28:22.6, with Fay winning in 28:17.2. Next for Stanford was Robinson in fifth, Beaudoin-Rousseau in sixth, Hart in eighth, Thomas Boyden in 23rd, Evan Burke in 25th, and Robert DiDonato in 34th.
"For today, we just wanted to get one of the two automatic qualifying spots without going to the well too much," men's coach Ricardo Santos said. "It's a quick turnaround for nationals so we wanted to get the job done without exerting a ton of energy. The break is short, so the focus now will be on recovery as we get ready for nationals."
Though regional championships are not the goal, Stanford appreciates the significance.
"We take pride in all championship races," Santos said.
"It means that we're recruiting and coaching well, which allows us to continually be successful," Clark said.
Riley Stewart, Abi Archer, Zofia Dudek, Ava Parekh, Lucy Jenks, Audrey DaDamio, Grace Connolly.
* * *
NCAA West Regionals
At Chambers Creek Regional Park
Winners and all Stanford
Men (10K, 6.2 miles)
Team leaders – 1, Stanford 45; 2, Gonzaga 92; 3, Washington 105; 4, Oregon 141; 5, Cal Baptist 145; 6, Boise State 146; 7, Portland 156; 8, Cal Poly 198; 9, Santa Clara 235; 10, UCLA 281.
Individuals – 1, Brian Fay (Washington) 28:17.2; 3, Charles Hicks (Stanford) 28:22.6; 5, Ky Robinson (Stanford) 28:26.3; 6, Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau (Stanford) 28:26.4; 8, Devin Hart (Stanford) 28:29.0; 23, Thomas Boyden (Stanford) 28:57.2; 25, Evan Burke (Stanford) 29:03.8; 34, Robert DiDonato (Stanford) 29:16.1.
Women (8K, 3.73 miles)
Team leaders – 1, Stanford 76; 2, Oregon 96; 3, Washington 114; 4, Oregon State 150; 5, Cal Baptist 150; 6, Boise State 159; 7, Gonzaga 230; 8, San Francisco 258; 9, Portland 292; 10, Idaho 319.
Individuals – 1, Kaylee Mitchell (Oregon State) 19:19.2; 3, Zofia Dudek (Stanford) 19:25.1; 15, Lucy Jenks (Stanford) 19:42.0; 18, Audrey DaDamio (Stanford) 19:44.3; 19, Audrey Suarez (Stanford) 19:46.2; 21, Riley Stewart (Stanford) 19:47.2; 25, Abi Archer (Stanford) 19:54.7; 54, Ava Parekh (Stanford) 20:22.6.