Wil Smith, Bryce Cerkowniak Finish Third, Fourth To Lead Zags Past Portland, 44-56; UP's Matt Strangio Runs To Individual Title; Portland Women Edge Rosina Machu And Gonzaga

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Gonzaga photo

MALIBU, Calif. – When Pat Tyson was hired in 2008 as the head coach of the Gonzaga men’s cross country team, he came into the program with one goal in mind: to win the West Coast Conference title.

After 16 long years, Tyson’s goal has come to full fruition.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS by Chuck Utash

Behind six runners placing in the top 15, the Gonzaga men claimed the program’s first WCC team title Saturday at Alumni Park in Malibu, defeating rival Portland 44-56.

“I came to Gonzaga 16 years ago; it was a project,” Tyson said. “I don’t know if many coaches would have taken it on. Over the last four, five years, we’ve kind of got to the point where we were a NCAA qualifier…but finally here we are.”

Wil Smith and Bryce Cerkowniak put together top-four individual finishes to lead the Bulldogs to their first conference title, with Smith running 24 minutes, 34.2 seconds to finish third and Cerkowniak running 24:42.1 for fourth for the 8-kilometer race.

Drew Kolodge, a Montana Tech transfer, earned 11th in 25:06.2, with Logan Law, a freshman making his Gonzaga debut, finishing 12th in 25:10.7 and Paul Talens placing 14th in 25:22.2 to complete the scoring for the Zags. Michael Maiorano rounded out the top 15 individuals with a run of 25:23.4 for Gonzaga. 

Portland’s Matt Strangio put the hammer down over the final 2-kilometer stretch to come away with the individual win in 24:08.1 to lead the second-place Pilots, outkicking Nicholas Russell from Santa Clara in 24:10.7 for second.

Strangio’s teammate, Daniel Abdala, finished seventh for Portland in 24:49.0.

With Russell out front for Santa Clara, the Broncos put two more athletes in the top 10 to finish third in the team standings with 66 points, as Ares Reading was ninth in 24:59.7 and Ian Twyman took 10th in 25:03.1.

San Francisco’s Jacob Cann and Ed Buck finished fifth and sixth, respectively, running 24:45.5 and 24:46.0.

The Portland women placed seven runners in the top 20, including three in the top 10, to come away with its first team title since 2016, defeating No. 27 Gonzaga 40-46.

Laura Pellicoro, the Italian standout who won gold at the University Games in the 800- and 1,500-meter races this past summer, finished second overall in 20:52.7 over the 6-kilometer race to lead the strong Portland pack to victory, with teammates Fleur Templier of France finishing third in 21:05.3 and Maebh Richardson of Ireland earning ninth in 21:54.7.

Gonzaga’s Rosina Machu showed complete dominance from start to finish to claim her first WCC individual title in 20:28.8, becoming the first Bulldog since Shelby Mills in 2015 to win the women’s individual title.

Sadie Tuckwood and Jessica Frydenlund earned top-five honors for the Zags, with Tuckwood placing fourth in 21:08.3 and Frydenlund right behind in fifth in 21:25.7.

St. Mary’s put Rayna Stanziano and Kaylee Barnes in the top 10 to help the Gaels finish third with 89 points as Stanziano ran 21:49.8 for seventh and Barnes ran 21:52.0 for eighth. 

San Francisco’s Yasmine Abbes placed sixth in 21:35.7 to lead the Dons to fourth with 108 points.

Kinsey Hall rounded out the top 10 for Santa Clara, running 21:54.7 to guide the Broncos to fifth with 109 points