Schedule is Released

STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford cross country schedule has been released and one notable aspect is that the men will compete at the Wisconsin Invitational and the women at the Pre-Nationals on the same weekend.

Typically, Stanford begins with a low-key Northern California event, then opens in earnest at the Stanford Invitational, and then will go to one major national-level invitational before the postseason.

This year, the first meet (Sept. 12) will be the Fresno State Invitational at Woodward Park, the longtime home of the California state high school meet and frequent NCAA regional site. The distance is 6-kilometers for the men, in contrast to 8K during most of the season and 10K at the NCAA Regionals and Championships. The women will run 4.2K in Fresno and 6K the rest of the year.

The Stanford Invitational will be held for the 42nd consecutive year, on the Stanford Golf Course, on Sept. 26.

Oct. 16-17 is Wisconsin Invitational/Pre-Nationals weekend. Stanford’s Maksim Korolev won at Wisconsin last year. The Pre-Nationals will be in Louisville, where the NCAA Championships return for the first time since 2012, at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park. It has been mostly in Terre Haute, Indiana, in recent years.

Stanford has gone to Pre-Nats only once since 2011 and has been to Wisconsin three of the past four years. This will be the first time Stanford has had a presence in both in the same season.

The Pac-12 Championships will be in Auburn, Washington, on Oct. 30, followed by the NCAA West Regional in Seattle on Nov. 13.

Both Cardinal men’s and women’s teams could be top-10 teams, with the men holding even higher standards. Stanford returns five of its seven from last year’s NCAA runner-up team. It was Stanford’s highest national finish since 2003.

Though the Cardinal loses Korolev, it regains Jim Rosa, who redshirted last year after placing fifth at NCAA’s in 2013. The Cardinal also welcomes a freshman class that includes two-time Foot Locker national cross country champion Grant Fisher, and the past two winners of the New Balance Outdoor Nationals 5,000 meters – Will Lauer and Alex Ostberg.

The Stanford women placed 14th at NCAA’s last year with a top seven that included five true or redshirt freshmen. All seven return from that team return, plus the Cardinal returns 2013 Pac-12 cross country champion Aisling Cuffe, who redshirted last season.  In  addition, Stanford  welcomes Missouri high school 1,600 record-holder Hannah Long, Canadian youth 3,000 record-holder Claire Smith.