FINAL
KICK Men’s and women’s HUSKY HARRIERS finish the season sprint to final in fine fashion PAGE 30
Senior Allie Schadler
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BY MARK MOSCHETTI • CONTRIBUTING WRITER
he colors and the seasons change every September. But when leaves are done dropping in November, one thing never seems to change: When it’s time for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the University of Washington women’s and men’s teams are packing up for the national meet. That certainly was no different this autumn as the Huskies earned an opportunity to race in their second cross country nationals in a span of eight months. They made the most it. Led by All-American performances from Allie Schadler on the women’s side and Brian Fay on the men’s, both UW teams ran to top-15 finishes at the national gathering on Nov. 20 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.. The women were 11th and the men were 13th – the fifth time in school history both programs reached the top 15 on the biggest racing stage of the season. It also was a jump for both programs from the 2020 nationals – which actually took place in March 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. In that race, the women were 13th and the men 25th Schadler polished off her career by placing 25th, thereby earning her second straight AllAmerican award. Fay, a senior from Ireland racing in his first NCAAs, was 38th. “It was really a pretty good day,” program director Maurica Powell said of the women’s race in an interview with gohuskies.com. “Even though we were ranked 23rd, we thought we could be top-10, and we came up just short. The attitude and the effort were on point and they kept battling the whole way.” Head coach Andy Powell was just as pleased with the men’s performance. “It was a solid effort and a really consistent month of racing for our men, starting with GoHUSKIES
