Evans Kurui, Amy Bunnage Take Home West Regional Individual Crown As Washington Men, Oregon Women Win Titles

By Cam McCann for DyeStat

Luca Gillis photos

RESULTS | Auto Qualifiers - Washington men, Oregon men; Oregon women, Stanford women

COLFAX, Wash.  - The NCAA’s D1 West Cross Country Regional took place 15 miles away from the campus of Washington State University on a picturesque Friday at Colfax Golf Course.

The top runner for the hosting Cougs, Evans Kurui, took charge early and led for the majority of the men's 10k race before finishing with a time of 28:53. Kurui is in his first year of collegiate eligibility and won his first regional race by 15 seconds.

Behind Kurui, a pack developed that ultimately boiled down to a sit-and-kick tactic, which benefited the likes of Matt Strangio from Portland, who finished second for the Pilots in 29:08. With neither WSU or Portland likely to advance as a team to the NCAA Championships, both Kurui and Strangio qualified for the race individually. 

The first seven runners to finish all came from different teams, and this diverse spread of finishes bled over into the team scoring as well, with just seven points separating the top three teams. 

No. 12 Washington ended up on top, upsetting the No. 7 Stanford Cardinals, who came in as the favorites but wound up in third. No. 15 Oregon’s Aiden Smith and Simeon Birnbaum, racing in the postseason for the first time as Ducks, both finished in the top 10. 

Washington scored 66 to Oregon's 68. Former Pac-12 rival Stanford, now of the ACC, was next with 73.

The reigning NCAA 1,500 meters champion Nathan Green led the Huskies, finishing seventh overall, with junior Evan Jenkins close behind in ninth. Tyrone Gorze, Leo Daschbach and Jamar Distel rounded out the scoring five for UW. 

No. 16 California Baptist University gave itself a shot at receiving an at-large bid to nationals, scoring 99 for fourth place. No. 25 Portland was fifth with 102 points and Gonzaga, third at the half-way point, finished sixth with 135.

The Oregon and Washington women came into the meet ranked in the top five nationally according to USTFCCCA’s National Coaches Poll, with Stanford at No. 12 and Gonzaga at No. 21. 

Stanford’s Amy Bunnage came out strong, opening her season with an impressive victory over the likes of Oregon runners Silan Ayyildiz and Madison Elmore, who finished second and third, respectively. While Bunnage took the individual crown in 19:17.1 for 6-kilometers, No. 2 Oregon ended up as the top team in the meet, finishing with a low score of 43. 

Gonzaga's Rosina Machu-Shuri was fourth and the No. 21 Bulldogs bolstered their chances for an at-large berth with fourth place and 134 points. No. 3 Washington was right in front of them with 101 points. 

While the Huskies didn’t have a top-10 finish for the women, Maeve Stiles, Julia David-Smith, Chloe Foerster, and India Weir all received All-West Region honors. Despite the third place team finish, it’s likely that UW will advance to the national championships in Madison.

Arizona State's Judy Chepkoech’s fifth-place finish marked the first for-sure individual bid to the championships in her first season of collegiate running. After leading the pack halfway through the race, Chepkoech fell back but remained within striking distance long enough to garner a respectable finish to propel her season one week longer. 

All 13 at-large bids for the NCAA Championships will be announced on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.