SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Stanford men's and women's cross country teams swept the NCAA West Regional team titles for the third consecutive year on Friday with Ky Robinson capturing the men's individual championship at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex.
For the 30th consecutive season, the Cardinal will send both their men's and women's teams to the NCAA Championships, to be held Saturday, November 18, in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Needing to finish among the top two teams to earn an NCAA automatic berth, Stanford won both races in the same year for the 12th time. It was the 19th regional title for the Stanford women and 18th for the men. This will mark the 31st consecutive NCAA Championships appearance for the women and 30th for the men.
Robinson, the Pac-12 cross country champion and a two-time NCAA track champion, led comfortably throughout the race on the 10-kilometer (6.21-mile) men's course. He finished in 28:55.6 for a nearly four-second victory over Portland's Matt Strangio. Robinson's time was the fastest at a regional hosted in Sacramento, breaking the previous best of Washington's Kieran Lumb (29.28.5) in 2021.
Cole Sprout (29:07.0) was fourth and Robert DiDonato (29:16.2) seventh. Freshman Leo Young, competing in his first race since September 23, was the Cardinal's No. 4 runner, in 26th place. Evan Burke followed in 35th as the final scoring Cardinal runner.
Stanford, ranked No. 10 nationally and No. 2 in the West Region behind Cal Baptist, scored 73 points to win. Gonzaga placed second with 98, followed by Portland (125) and Cal Baptist (125).
Robinson became Stanford's first individual men's champion since Maksim Korolev won at Stanford Golf Course in 2014. This was the ninth victory by a Stanford male and accomplished by eight different runners overall.
The Stanford men, the Pac-12 champion, trailed conference foe Washington at 1.5 miles, 59-77, before taking the lead by the 3.1 mile checkpoint, thanks to a big move by DiDonato, who moved up 12 places, and Sprout, who moved up four.
At 3.6, Stanford held a slim lead on Gonzaga, 81-83. But while Stanford runners maintained their places or moved up, others teams were unable to do so and the Cardinal extended its lead throughout the rest of the race.
The Stanford women, ranked No. 7 nationally and No. 1 in the West, led at every checkpoint and won handily, scoring 77 points to 109 for runner-up Oregon.
Lucy Jenks was Stanford's top finisher, placing 11th in 19:42.7 over the 6K (3.73-mile) women's course. Freshman Amy Bunnage, the Pac-12 champion, registered the same time as leader Brianna Weidler of UC Davis at 1.5 miles, but fell back eight places and 14 seconds over the next mile and finished 14th in 19:50.1.
Stanford, the Pac-12 champion, placed its top five within 22 seconds of each other, each placing among 11th through 21st. Oregon placed three among the top 12, but all five of Stanford's scorers placed ahead of the Ducks' No. 4 and all seven Cardinal were ahead of Oregon's No. 5.
Sophia Kennedy was 15th in 19:56.3, with Zofia Dudek 16th in 19:57.2, and Grace Connolly 21st in 20:04.1 to complete the scoring. Abi Archer was 29th and Riley Stewart 56th.
The West Regional was among nine regional championships Friday. After those 18 teams, the at-large process picks another 13 teams per gender, based on regional finishes and head-to-head, for a total of 31 teams in each race. The top four finishers not on qualifying teams advance as individuals.
The West Region includes 10 of the 12 Pac-12 teams, plus many members from the Big Sky, Big West, Mountain West, West Coast, and Western Athletic conferences.
Ky Robinson. Photo courtesy of Sacramento State.
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NCAA West Regionals
At Haggin Oaks Golf Complex
Winners and all Stanford results
Men (10K, 6.21 miles)
Team leaders – 1, Stanford 73; 2, Gonzaga 98; 3, Portland 125; 4, Cal Baptist 125; 5, Washington 129; 6, Boise State 142; 7, Oregon 197; 8, Cal Poly 215; 9, Santa Clara 244; 10, Cal State Fullerton 352.
Individuals – 1, Ky Robinson (Stanford) 28:55.6; 4, Cole Sprout (Stanford) 29:07.0; 7, Robert DiDonato (Stanford) 29:16.2; 26, Leo Young (Stanford) 29:49.1; 35, Evan Burke (Stanford) 29:57.8; 42, Lex Young (Stanford) 30:06.2; 84, Zane Bergen (Stanford) 31:02.7.
Women (6K, 3.73 miles)
Team leaders – 1, Stanford 77; 2, Oregon 109; 3, Washington 115; 4, Cal Baptist 126; 5, Gonzaga 173; 6, Portland 179; 7, UC Davis 180; 8, Cal Poly 215; 9, Oregon State 228; 10, Boise State 284.
Individuals – 1, Kaylee Mitchell (Oregon State) 19:08.4; 11, Lucy Jenks (Stanford) 19:42.7; 14, Amy Bunnage (Stanford) 19:50.1; 15, Sophia Kennedy (Stanford) 19:56.3; 16, Zofia Dudek (Stanford) 19:57.2; 21, Grace Connolly (Stanford) 20:04.1; 29, Abi Archer (Stanford) 20:19.5; 56, Riley Stewart (Stanford) 20:40.8.