SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The Portland Pilots women's cross country team has been picked to finish third at the 2018 West Coast Conference Championships in the league's annual preseason poll. At last year's WCC Championships, the Portland women finished fourth behind then- No.4 San Francisco, then-No.18 BYU, and Loyola Marymount.
BYU and defending WCC champion San Francisco have been picked by the 10 head coaches to share this year's WCC Cross Country title, after each earned 77 total votes and five first place votes.
It was a banner year in 2017 for the WCC, with a pair of top-15 finishes at the NCAA Championships on the women's side. San Francisco secured its first ever West Regional title, while BYU took third in the Mountain Regional. Both squads then followed that up with stellar performances in Louisville, as BYU finished 11th and the Dons raced to the podium for a second-place finish. It was the first NCAA podium finish in women's cross country conference history.
Portland was tabbed third with 62 votes, while Loyola Marymount was slated to finish fourth with 58. Gonzaga just beat out San Diego for fifth place, as the Zags picked up 47 with the Toreros getting 42.
Saint Mary's and Pacific made up the second tie in this year's poll, sharing seventh place with 27 votes apiece. Santa Clara (24) and Pepperdine (9) finished out the poll.
This year the Pilots return five-time All-American Lauren LaRocco, who earned her fifth honor at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 10,000m, and redshirt senior Taryn Rawlings, who recently earned her first All-America honor at the 2018 NCAA Track and Field Championships in the 1500m. Rawlings was also an individual qualifier for the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships, finishing 51st overall. Aoibhe Richardson, who finished 19th at last year's WCC Championships, returns as well for the Pilots and joins LaRocco and Rawlings on the WCC All-Preseason Team.
The team has added a herald incoming class which includes several national standouts. The Pilots most recently signed standout Hungarian U23 Cross Country National Champion Virag Weiler, and Canadian U20 3000m and 1500m Champion Jasmine Fehr. Portland also secured an early signing of Camila Noe (Bozeman, Mont.), who won the NXR Northwest meet in November and holds the fastest time in the nation for high school girls in the two mile.
The 2018 WCC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will take place on October 27 at East Bay Golf Course in Provo, Utah.
2018 WCC Women's Cross Country Poll
No. Team, Votes (First Place)
T1. BYU, 77 (5)
T1. San Francisco, 77 (5)
3. Portland, 62
4. Loyola Marymount, 58
5. Gonzaga, 47
6. San Diego, 42
T7. Pacific, 27
T7. Saint Mary's, 27
9. Santa Clara, 24
10. Pepperdine, 9
2018 All-WCC Women's Cross Country Preseason Team
Name, School, Year
Elizabeth Bird, San Francisco, Gr.
Isabelle Brauer, San Francisco, Jr.
Olivia Hoj, BYU, Jr.
Lauren LaRocco, Portland, Sr.
Sara Musselman, BYU, So.
Weronika Pyzik, San Francisco, Sr.
Taryn Rawlings, Portland, Sr.
Aoibhe Richardson, Portland, Jr.
Tatjana Schulte, San Francisco, Sr.
Courtney Wayment-Smith, BYU, Jr.
