RV Gonzagaat Bill Dellinger Invitational (Men Only)
FRIDAY, OCT. 11 | PINE RIDGE GOLF CLUB | SPRINGFIELD, ORE.
11:15 AM PT (M)
LIVE STREAM | LIVE RESULTS | MEET INFO
STARTING LINES
- RV men's cross country will return to the Bill Dellinger Invitational for the first time since 2021.
- In 2021, the Gonzaga men placed second behind a third-place finish from Yacine Guermali.
- In their five all-time appearances at this meet, the GU men have placed fifth (3x) and second (2x).
- The Gonzaga men are coming off a first place finish at the Whitman Invitational last weekend.
- Nick Braz and Jerry Mackie finished together at third and fourth to lead 23 team points.
- In the latest USTFCCCA polls, the GU men are sixth in the West Region and receiving votes nationally.
SCOUTING THE DELLINGER FIELD
- The 2024 Bill Dellinger Invitational men's field features five teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll (Oct. 8).
- No. 2 BYU enters the weekend as the favorite, with No. 22 Oregon, No. 25 Portland, RV Gonzaga, and RV Montana State all in the hunt for a spot on the podium.
- In the West Region, Oregon ranks fourth, Portland ranks fifth, and Gonzaga ranks sixth.
- BYU currenlty ranks atop the Mountain Region, while Montana State ranks eighth.
ABOUT THE COURSE
- The Pine Ridge Golf Club (formerly called Springfield Golf Club), one of Oregon's premier golf courses, will be the site of the Bill Dellinger Invitational. Athletes will race entirely on grass and mostly on fairways. The course consists of two relatively flat loops—an outer loop, and a finish loop. The outer loop is approximately 2,320-meters in length, and the finishing loop is approximately 1,350-meters in length.
SMITH RETURNS TO DELLINGER
- Wil Smith will act as the lone Zag to not make his Bill Dellinger debut this weekend, having placed fifth at this meet in 2021 and finishing in 23:25.8.
- Smith was the third Bulldog in succession behind Yacine Guermali (third) and James Mwaura (fourth) in 2021, with just a three-second difference between Smith and Guermali.
- Gonzaga placed second at that meet, knocking off No. 19 Portland and finishing just three points shy of No. 7 Oregon. GU went on to defeat Oregon in the NCAA Championships.
THE LATEST POLLS
- Gonzaga women's cross country held steady at No. 18 in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll on Tuesday, keeping their highest ranking in program history.
- FloTrack ranks the Gonzaga women at No. 18 in the country, according to their latest poll. Rosina Machu is ranked eighth nationally in FloTrack's individual rankings.
- After opening the season at No. 30, the Zag men are receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA national poll, holding spot 31 for two weeks.
- In the West Regional poll, the Gonzaga women and men remain at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.
GRABOWSKI TABBED WCC RUNNER OF THE WEEK
- After winning her first collegiate race on Oct. 5, Anna Grabowski was named the West Coast Conference Female Runner of the Week on Oct. 8.
- Grabowski finished the women's 6K in 21:30.0, leading the Zag women to their third meet win of the season as GU swept the podium finishes.
NEXT UP
- The Gonzaga women will head to College Station, Texas for the Arturo Barrios Invitational on Oct. 18, looking to make some final adjustments on the national stage before looking ahead to the postseason. Then, on Oct. 19, the two teams will head to Lewiston, Idaho for the Inland Empire Classic in the second-to-last local meet of the 2024 season.
ZAGS SWEEP WHITMAN INVITATIONAL
- No. 18/RV cross country earned a program-wide sweep at the Whitman Invitational on Oct. 5 in Walla Walla, Wash.
- The Zag women opened the meet with a podium sweep behind Anna Grabowski's (21:30.0) first collegiate race win.
- The Gonzaga men followed up with a win of their own behind leader Nick Braz (24:32.5) who placed third individually.
- The meet marked Gonzaga's fourth team win of the season and fourth individual win.
MACHU EARNS WCC RUNNER OF THE WEEK
- After placing third at the Nuttycombe Invitational in 20:06.2, Rosina Machu was named the West Coast Conference Runner of the Week on Oct. 1.
- Machu led the then No. 23 Zag women to their highest-ever finish at Nuttycombe, placing eighth as a team while knocking off four ranked teams.
- The honor marks Machu's fourth Runner of the Week of her career, earning three nods during the 2023 season.
CLIMBING IN THE POLLS
- The Gonzaga women moved up five spots in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll to No. 18, marking their highest team ranking in program history. Their previous high of No. 21 came in the Week 2 poll of 2022.
- In the West Region, the Zag women now rank third, which ties their highest-ever ranking in that poll (Week 6 of 2021).
HISTORY MADE AT NUTTYCOMBE
- No. 23 Gonzaga women's cross country earned their highest team finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational on Sept. 27.
- GU placed eighth behind Rosina Machu, who placed third to mark the highest individual finish in program history at that meet.
- Amidst the Bulldog women's eighth place finish were wins against No. 4 Oregon, No. 13 Lipscomb, No. 16 Virginia, and No. 22 Boston College.
- On the men's side, RV Gonzaga placed 17th to mark their highest team finish at Nuttycombe since 2021.
- The Zag men defeated three nationally-ranked teams in No. 23 Iona, No. 25 Montana State, and No. 29 Tulsa.
ZAG WOMEN SECURE COUGAR CLASSIC TITLE
- The No. 25 Gonzaga women's cross country team brought an incomplete squad to the Cougar Classic on Sept. 13 and took home the team title, backed by four top-ten finishes including a second-place finish from freshman Logan Hofstee.
- Gonzaga scored 39 points, finishing ten points ahead of Boise State (49 points).
- The win marked the Bulldogs' first since 2021, alternating first and second place finishes in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024.
- Hofstee's second-place was the highest since Kristen Garcia and Claire Manley won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2021.
ANOTHER NOTABLE ZAG DEBUT
- GU women's cross country's Logan Hoftsee placed second in her collegiate debut at the Cougar Classic on Sept. 13.
- Since 2021, a Gonzaga woman has placed first or second in her team debut race on three separate occasions.
- In 2021, Sadie Tuckwood won the Clash of the Inland Northwest in her first race. In 2023, Jessica Frydenlund was the Clash of the Inland Northwest champion, also winning her Gonzaga debut.
ANOTHER CLASH SWEEP
- Gonzaga opened their season on Aug. 30 at the Clash of the Inland Northwest on Eastern Washington's campus.
- For the second straight season, the program swept both individual and team titles in commanding fashion.
- Jade Rypkema led the Zag women to a perfect score of 15 with her first collegiate individual win.
- Ryan Mitchell and Jerry Mackie earned the best times on the men's side, leading eight Zags in the top ten.
- The women have now won four team titles in five years, while the men have secured eight straight team titles.
PRESEASON HONORS AND RANKINGS
- Bryce Cerkowniak, Willow Collins, Jessica Frydenlund, Drew Kolodge, Logan Law, Rosina Machu, Wil Smith, and Sadie Tuckwood were each picked to the WCC preseason team.
- The Gonzaga men and women were picked as favorites to win the West Coast Conference on Aug. 23. In addition, eight combined athletes were selected to the preseason team.
- The Zag women received seven first-place votes and 76 points to top the women's WCC preseason poll. The men tied with Portland at 46 points and five first-place votes.
- In the USTFCCCA West Region preseason coaches' poll, the Gonzaga women came in at No. 4 while the men came in at No. 6.
- For the sixth straight season, the Gonzaga men appeared in the first USTFCCCA National Coaches' poll of the season. This year, they will open the season ranked No. 30.
- The Gonzaga women appeared in the preseason USTFCCCA National Coaches' poll for the second time in the last three seasons, coming in at No. 25 to open their 2024 campaign.
2023 SEASON RECAP
- The men won six team titles throughout the 2023 season, including their first ever West Coast Conference title.
- Wil Smith and Drew Kolodge earned All-WCC First Team while four others earned Second Team honors.
- Smith, Kolodge, and Bryce Cerkowniak earned USTFCCCA All-West Region honors at the NCAA West Regionals.
- After securing the WCC title, the men placed second at the NCAA West Regional, knocking off three ranked teams.
- After earning their second-straight automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, the men placed 28th at nationals.
- The women won four team titles and collected five individual titles throughout the season.
- Rosina Machu won individual titles at the Lakefront Invitational, Bronco Invitational, and WCC Championships.
- Machu, Sadie Tuckwood, and Jessica Frydenlund all earned All-WCC First Team at the WCC Championships.
- Machu and Tuckwood earned USTFCCCA All-West Region honors at the NCAA West Regionals.
- Machu became just the second female USTFCCCA All-American in program history, placing 16th at nationals.
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