Pac-12 Championships Next For Buffaloes

BOULDER — The University of Colorado cross country teams will start postseason action this Friday, November 1, at the 2019 Pac-12 Championships at Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Ore.

Oregon State is this year's host. The men will kick off the event with their 8-kilometer run at 12:10 p.m. MT and the women will follow with their 6k race at 1:10 p.m. For the third consecutive year, Pac-12 Network will broadcast the championship live.

The Buffs have made a habit of doing well at the conference championships, but for the first time since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, neither team is the defending champion. That doesn't take any of the pressure off for a program that expects excellence.

"The pressure is always the same. We expect to be very high; we're disappointed if we're not. It's in their minds in late June when they begin training and its part of our culture here," head coach Mark Wetmore said.

The men, who are tied for third in the USTFCCCA poll with Stanford, won the first six league titles when the conference expanded in 2011, while the Cardinal took home the last two. Heading into Friday, it would look like SU has the edge over the Buffs, but ultimately it will be decided on the course where anything can happen.

"On the men's side, after some number crunching between Notre Dame (Joe Piane Invitational), Terre Haute (NCAA Pre-National Invitational) and Madison (Nuttycombe Invitational), it seems to me that Stanford is a little better than our men," Wetmore said. "But we all have to handle the conditions. We all have to handle a course we've never been on before. We all have to be ready on that day. I know they are close enough and within reach that we could win if we do things well."

Three other ranked teams will try to challenge for the team title as well. Washington is currently seventh, while UCLA is 10th and Oregon is 16th.

Colorado is not just in contention for the team title, but the individual title as well. CU has not had an individual conference winner since Brent Vaughn won the Big 12 title in 2007. This could change this year with two of CU's seniors, John Dressel and Joe Klecker, who have done very well at this meet. Klecker was the runner-up in 2017, while Dressel was sixth in 2015 and '16.

"I think either of them can be very high in the race," Wetmore said. "Stanford has two very excellent runners who ran well at Madison two weeks ago. There are other good individuals around the conference; people who if they have a good race will be close to the front end, and Joe and John can be as well."

Behind Dressel and Klecker is a mix of experience and youth. Junior Eduardo Herrera has been to the Pac-12 meet before, finishing 10^th as a freshman in 2017, while Kashon Harrison will be racing here for the first time as a true freshman and is coming off an 11^th place finish at Pre-Nationals. Junior Alec Hornecker is another newcomer for the Buffs. He has been a very solid No. 5 and will also be competing in his first Pac-12 meet.

The Buffs have raced well this season. They captured the team title at the Joe Piane Invitational and recorded a second-place finish at Pre-Nationals, finishing just two points behind No. 2 BYU.

The CU women enter the meet ranked fifth in the latest USTFCCCA poll, which is behind No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Washington. Neither Stanford nor Washington have won a Pac-12 title since the conference expanded in 2011, while the Buffs have won four and would like to add to that this season.

"Washington and Stanford are a head taller than we are," Wetmore said. "Washington beat us two weeks ago without running their top runner. We are facing a very good Stanford team that ran well at Madison. We will need to be fitter than we were two weeks ago, tactically better than we were two weeks ago and luckier than we were two weeks ago."

The other ranked teams in the field include No. 16 Utah and No. 20 Oregon. Oregon State is receiving votes.

Individually the Buffs have been led by senior Sage Hurta, who recorded a third-place finish at Pre-Nationals. While she might not be one of the favorites for the individual crown, she should not be counted out.

"Sage is having the best cross country season of her career so far," said Wetmore. "Her race in Terre Haute was excellent, again her best cross race for us so far. She probably won't be expected to contend for the title, but if she is near it with 500 to go, she will be hard to beat."

The women are a fairly new team with Hurta and senior Tabor Scholl as the two veterans. While Hurta has led CU in every varsity race this season, Scholl has been a solid No. 2. New to the line-up this year is Annie Hill, a redshirt freshman, who has been finishing third for CU. Rachel McArthur, a junior transfer from Villanova, has been CU's fourth, while senior Karina Mann, who is making her first trip to Pac-12s, had been fifth. Sophomore Holly Bent ran in her first race of the season at Pre-Nationals and finished sixth for the Buffs, just two spots behind Mann. She was named the 2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after finishing 22nd at last year's league championship.

As a team, CU was second at the Joe Piane Invitational (behind Utah) and third at Pre-Nationals (behind Washington and BYU).

Following the conference championships, both rosters will be cut to seven before the NCAA Mountain Region Championships, November 15, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the NCAA Championships, November 23, in Terre Haute, Ind.

PAC-12 NETWORK: Jim Watson will serve as the play-by-play and Tom Feuer will provide the color. Check your local listings for channel information.

RESULTS: Live results will be available at pac12.me/2019-XC-results and final results will be posted at both CUBuffs.com and pac-12.com/cross-country/championships.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Fans can follow @CUBuffsTrack on twitter for in-race updates. The official hashtag of the meet is #Pac12XC.

2019 PAC-12 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Friday, November 1
Ash Creek Preserve (Monmouth, Ore.)
11:55 a.m. - Called to Start – Men
12:10 p.m. - Men's 8000m Championship Race
12:50 p.m. - Men's Awards Ceremony
12:55 p.m. - Called to Start – Women
1:10 p.m. - Women's 6000m Championship Race
1:50 p.m. - Women's Awards Ceremony

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Holly Bent

John Dressel

Kashon Harrison

Eduardo Herrera

Annie Hill

Alec Hornecker

Sage Hurta

Joe Klecker

Karina Mann

Rachel McArthur

Tabor Scholl