LODI, Calif. – Gonzaga women’s cross country and Portland men's cross country won the 2024 West Coast Conference Championships on Saturday from Micke Grove Golf Links in Lodi, Calif. The 16th-ranked Bulldogs began the day earning their first team title since 2015 on the 6K course. The 28th-ranked Pilots claimed their first Conference team title on the 8K course since 2014.
Gonzaga's Rosina Machu repeated as the Conference individual champion in the women's race, crossing the finish line 18 seconds ahead of the competition. Evans Kurui of Washington State claimed his first Conference men's individual title. Kurui was a two-time award winner as he and Washington State's Zenah Cheptoo were the top men and women freshmen runners, garnering Freshman of the Year honors.
The top-10 finishers from each race secured All-WCC First Team honors, while finishers 11-15 earned All-WCC Second Team accolades.
Women's Race Recap
Gonzaga won the team title with 35 points. Portland came in second with 49 points, followed by Washington State with 63 points. The Bulldogs raced to the championship behind Machu (19:45.3) and Logan Hofstee with her fifth-place finish, clocking in at 20:14.6. Gonzaga placed four runners in the top eight - seventh-place Willow Collins (20:20.5) and eighth-place Jessica Frydenlund (20:21.3) added significant contributions to the title run.
Machu became the first WCC women's cross country runner to repeat as the Conference individual champion since Tara Erdmann of LMU in 2010 and 2011. Machu's time is the best finish in the women's 6k race at the WCC Championships since Charlotte Taylor of San Francisco clocked in at 19:10 in the 2017 WCC Championships.
Last year's Freshman of the Year Fleur Templier from Portland finished second with a time of 20:03.6. She was followed by the 2024 WCC Freshman of the Year Cheptoo and her time of 20:06.3.
The Pilots featured two runners in the top four as Laura Pellicoro crossed the finish line at 20:07.6, good for fourth place.
Oregon State boasted a top-10 finisher as Kate Laurent of the Beavers clocked a time of 20:15.8 to take sixth place.
Rounding out the top 10 were two more Pilots - ninth-place finisher Maebh Richardson (20:22.4) and 10th-place runner Juliette Forstrom (20:23.8).
Men's Race Recap
WSU's Evans Kurui cruised to the individual championship, 20 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher with his time of 22:52.0. Kurui's efforts helped the Cougars finish in third in the team standings with 61 points.
Portland won the team title with 27 points. Gonzaga finished second with 42 points. While this marked the Pilots' first team title since 2014, it was also the 35th Conference championship in program history.
Matt Strangio from Portland, the defending WCC Individual Champion, finished second with a time of 23:12.0. He was followed closely by Gonzaga's Wil Smith in third (23:16.0). The Pilots held off the Bulldogs for second place with three runners finishing in the top five. In addition to Strangio, Jona Bodirsky came in fourth (23:35.7) followed by his teammate Bradley Peloquin in fifth place with a time of 23:36.7. Fellow Pilots Jonas Gertsen (7th place, 23:41.6) and Kgadi Monyebodi (9th place, 23:50.7) also earned all-conference first-team honors.
Gonzaga featured three runners in the top 10. In addtion to Smith, Bryce Cerkowniak crossed the finish line at 23:40.2 to claim sixth place while fellow Zag Drew Kolodge finished in eighth place (23:44.8).
Rounding out the top 10 was WSU's Leif Swanson who clocked in at 23:53.3 to take 10th place.
The NCAA West Regionals are hosted by Washington State and will take place on Friday, Nov. 15, at Colfax Golf Club in Colfax, Wash.
WCC WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM SCORES (6K)
| Finish |
Team |
Score |
| 1. |
No. 16 Gonzaga |
35 |
| 2. |
Portland |
49 |
| 3. |
Washington State |
63 |
| 4. |
Oregon State |
83 |
| 5. |
Saint Mary's |
160 |
| 6. |
San Francisco |
169 |
| 7. |
Santa Clara |
217 |
| 8. |
San Diego |
241 |
| 9. |
LMU |
262 |
| 10. |
Pepperdine |
267 |
| 11. |
Pacific |
343 |
ALL-WCC FIRST TEAM (TOP-10 FINISHERS)
| Finish |
Name |
Team |
Time |
| 1. |
Rosina Machu |
Gonzaga |
19:45.3 |
| 2. |
Fleur Templier |
Portland |
20:03.6 |
| 3. |
Zenah Cheptoo |
Washington State |
20:06.3 |
| 4. |
Laura Pellicoro |
Portland |
20:07.6 |
| 5 |
Logan Hofstee |
Gonzaga |
20:14.6 |
| 6 |
Kate Laurent |
Oregon State |
20:15.8 |
| 7 |
Willow Collins |
Gonzaga |
20:20.5 |
| 8 |
Jessica Frydenlund |
Gonzaga |
20:21.3 |
| 9 |
Maebh Richardson |
Portland |
20:22.4 |
| 10 |
Juliette Forstrom |
Portland |
20:23.8 |
ALL-WCC SECOND TEAM (11th-15th PLACE FINISHERS)
| Finish |
Name |
Team |
Time |
| 11. |
Caroline Jepkorir |
Washington State |
20:30.6 |
| 12. |
Kaylee Barnes |
Saint Mary's |
20:30.8 |
| 13. |
Alaina Stone Boggs |
Washington State |
20:30.9 |
| 14. |
Jade Rypkema |
Gonzaga |
20:35.1 |
| 15 |
Sage Brooks |
Oregon State |
20:35.6 |
WCC MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM SCORES (8K)
| Finish |
Team |
Score |
| 1. |
No. 28 Portland |
27 |
| 2. |
Gonzaga |
42 |
| 3. |
Washington State |
61 |
| 4. |
Santa Clara |
131 |
| 5. |
Saint Mary's |
156 |
| 6. |
San Francisco |
176 |
| 7. |
Pepperdine |
179 |
| 8. |
San Diego |
227 |
ALL-WCC FIRST TEAM (TOP-10 FINISHERS)
| Finish |
Name |
Team |
Time |
| 1. |
Evans Kurui |
Washington State |
22:52.0 |
| 2. |
Matt Strangio |
Portland |
23:12.0 |
| 3. |
Wil Smith |
Gonzaga |
23:16.0 |
| 4. |
Jona Bodirsky |
Portland |
23:35.7 |
| 5 |
Bradley Peloquin |
Portland |
23:36.7 |
| 6. |
Bryce Cerkowniak |
Gonzaga |
23:40.2 |
| 7. |
Jonas Gertsen |
Portland |
23:41.6 |
| 8. |
Drew Kolodge |
Gonzaga |
23:44.8 |
| 9. |
Kgadi Monyebodi |
Portland |
23:50.7 |
| 10. |
Leif Swanson |
Washington State |
23:53.3 |
ALL-WCC SECOND TEAM (11th-15th PLACE FINISHERS)
| Finish |
Name |
Team |
Time |
| 11. |
Brian Barsaiya |
Washington State |
23:59.5 |
| 12. |
Cooper Laird |
Gonzaga |
24:00.3 |
| 13. |
Logan Law |
Gonzaga |
24:06.3 |
| 14. |
Paul Talens |
Gonzaga |
24:06.5 |
| 15 |
Cameron Stein |
Portland |
24:07.8 |