Oregon State women’s Cross Country to Compete at NCAA West Regional this Weekend

(Corvallis, Oregon) - The Oregon State women’s cross country team travels this Saturday to the NCAA West Regional hosted by the University of Oregon at the Springfield Country Club in Eugene, Ore. The women’s 6,000 meter race is set for 9:45 a.m. PT.

“We want to finish the cross country season on a high note,” Oregon State cross country and track head coach Kelly Sullivan said. “We have been able to do that in recent years. Usually we do fairly well at the NCAA West Regional. It’s the strongest region in the country so it is fun to match up with that level of competition. We’ve finished ninth the past couple of years.”

The group of Natosha Buruse, Laura Carlyle, Abby Chesimet, Jennifer Macias, Sandra Martinez, Casey Masterson, and

Hannah Soza-Hodgkinson will be competing for the Beavers with Olivia Poblacion available as the alternate in case anyone falls ill or gets injured leading up to the meet.

Illness has been a large factor for the Beavers this fall with everyone on the squad falling ill at some point during the season including several of the coaches. The team has been taking the right measures to get healthy and should be ready to go this weekend.

The NCAA West Region covers teams from the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. There are three western Universities that are exceptions - Idaho State, Nevada and Northern Arizona, which are in the Mountain Region.

Each team is allowed seven runners. Of those, the top five accounts for the team score and the next two may displace runners from opposing teams.

Springfield Country Club will be the site of the 2010 NCAA West Regional Meet. Athletes will race entirely on grass and mostly on fairways on the back nine holes along the Mohawk River. The course consists of three relatively fl at loops—an outer loop, and inner loop, and a finish loop (course maps on last page). The outer loop is approximately 2,320 meters in length, the inner loop is approximately 2,150 meters in length, and the finishing loop is approximately 1,350 meters in length. Fans are reminded to avoid walking on greens or tee boxes, and are asked to stay off fairways as much as possible.

The top two men’s and women’s teams from the NCAA West Regional automatically advance to the NCAA Championships Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind. Individual and team at-large bids will also be awarded following the nine regionals held around the nation on Saturday; those bids will be extended on Sunday.

Results from the NCAA West Regional can be found following the race on Saturday at www.recordtiming.com/ncaa/westxcregion10/. Official results can be found following the race at www.osubeavers.com when they become available.

Source: Oregon State University