Women’s XC closes Pac-12 history book as champions — Husky volleyball and soccer teams conclude conference play with their own exclamation points
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BY MARK MOSCHETTI • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE
hile this might be the last season for the Pac-12 Conference, Washington’s Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, Maurica Powell, figures the Huskies just might remain No. 1 indefinitely. “If it goes down as the last one in Pacific-12 women’s cross-country history,’’ she said, “then the Washington Huskies will go down as the last No. 1 in Pac-12 women’s cross-country history.’’ Sophie O’Sullivan, Chloe Foerster, and Julia David-Smith all ran to top-10 finishes, and the 19thranked UW women had four finishers among the top 15, just enough to help them edge Stanford by two points for the conference crown Oct. 27 at Chambers Creek Regional Park. O’Sullivan, a junior, placed sixth. Foerster, a sophomore, was just four-tenths of a second behind O’Sullivan in seventh, and the Huskies finished with 58 points. Stanford, ranked No. 5, finished with 60. Both schools were well ahead of third-place Colorado’s 87. O’Sullivan completed her six kilometers in 19 minutes, 33.80 seconds; Foerster clocked 19:34.20. The meet came down to sophomore — and No. 3 finisher — Julia David-Smith, and senior No. 4 India Weir. David-Smith was 10th overall, seven spots ahead of Stanford’s No. 3, and Weir 14th, one spot ahead of the Cardinal’s third and four places ahead of their No. 4. That ultimately made the difference in the final score. It was the first Pac-12 crown for the Washington women since 2009, and fourth overall. “They did exactly what they needed to do,” Powell said on GoHuskies.com. “They were tough and competitive, and once they realized they could win with a lap to go, nobody gave an inch the last part of the race.” The Washington men, led by second-place Luke Houser, gave Stanford a serious, competitive run for that team crown. With Houser and Nathan Green both in the top five, three in the top 10, and all five scorers in the top 20, the Huskies finished with 50 points, nine behind the Cardinal’s winning total of 41. Houser completed eight kilometers in 22:51.80. Green and Stanford’s Cole Sprout tried to outkick each other sprinting toward the finish line, and both were clocked in 22:56.50; although Green was determined to have gotten to the wire just ahead of Sprout for the third-place points.
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