CONCORD, Calif. — A West Coast Conference Championship is heading to the East Bay, and Saint Mary's is serving as the host. On the heels of a recent success, the Gaels Cross Country programs will aim for the top as they host the 2021 WCC Cross Country Championship on Friday, October 29 at Newhall Community Park in Concord. The women's 6k race will begin at 10:00 am and the men's 8k race will follow at 11:00 am.
 
THE DETAILS
WCC Cross Country Championship
Friday, October 29 at 10:00 am (women) and 11:00 am (men)
Newhall Community Park – Concord, Calif.
Live Broadcast | Live Results
 
LAST TIME OUT
It's no secret that Nolan Dozier is one of the fastest Gaels out there, having already been the holder of the fourth-fastest 8k time in Gael history (Santa Clara, 2018). He out-did himself at the Bronco Invitational, becoming just the fourth Gael to run 8k in less than 24 minutes with a mark of 23:44.9, the third-fastest time in SMC history. That was good for fourth overall in the Bronco Invitational, while his teammate Moses Bojorquez stayed within close quarters. Bojorquez also set a PR and became the fifth Gael to go under 24 minutes with a time of 23:53.8, finishing in sixth overall. For Bojorquez, that's 21 seconds faster than his career-best, which came on September 18 at the UCR Invitational. The men finished fourth overall and had their fastest team time in school history.
 
On the women's side, Rayna Stanziano broke the program record once again at the Bronco Invitational with a time of 20:11.9, shattering the previous mark that she set by 28 seconds. It was an incredible performance in a loaded field of competitors, as she finished with the second-fastest time among WCC runners, and the fourth-fastest time overall. Stanziano now holds two top-three times in SMC history, and four of those top-five times have all some at the Bronco Invitational. Saint Mary's finished in sixth-place overall, giving both teams top-six finishes for the first time at the Bronco Invitational.
 
DRIPPING WITH CONFIDENCE
Both programs are coming into the WCC Championship with a lot of recent success, and that was echoed in conversations SMC Athletics had with coaches and student-athletes.
 
"We haven't had that big race of the season where it was a 'knockout home run.' It's been a consistent building block every single race, and that's been by design," head coach Marty Kinsey mentioned. "It's nice to see that come to fruition with everyone running fast and everyone feeling really good and healthy at the right time."
 
"Throughout the season, we've seen an upward trend from everyone," standout runner Rayna Stanziano said, mirroring coach Kinsey's comments. "[The Bronco Invitational] was probably our best race so far, and we just keep improving with each race we have. I feel like we are going to be doing really well and we have home-field advantage, we don't have travel very far, so that's also a really positive thing."
 
ON THEIR TRAIL
Part of the unique advantage Saint Mary's will have on the 6k and 8k course at the WCC Championship will be familiarity: the Gaels have run this course many times before. Newhall Community Park resides just 13 miles away from campus, and many of the student-athletes have run on this course several times.
 
"We've all run the course and we've done quite a few workouts there," said veteran runner Nolan Dozier. "We know it like the back of our hand. Having that course knowledge really brings an advantage. We know how it rolls and we know what to expect. I'll also say that being 25 minutes away from the home course, feeling the comforts of home, and not having to do a bunch of traveling, that helps make the legs feel better on race day."
 
"The course advantage is huge," noted Moses Bojorquez. "We know the tangents, we know a mile out is a we know when we have a mile left. We definitely have the advantage with how much we've worked out there. We know the course inside and out."
 
COMING IN HOT
Not only are the Gaels entering the WCC Championship with a lot of momentum as a team, but they also come into the conference championship with individual momentum. With the recent performances of Stanziano, Dozier, and Bojorquez, the top of the leaderboards is certainly in reach for the Gaels.
 
When talking about Stanziano, coach Kinsey was certainly pleased with the performances he has been seeing as of late. "She's very dialed in, she does everything right, and she wants to be best that she can be. She had a fantastic race last weekend and we're excited to see what she can do against some of the best runners in the country."
 
Associate Head Coach of the Gaels, Harlan Lopez, works primarily with the men, and has spent a lot of time with both Dozier and Bojorquez. "They are definitely two guys who have worked extremely hard over the last several years to get to this point," Lopez stated. "Now the team is kind of following their lead. We've gotten a lot stronger, and it speaks volumes to how Nolan and Moses have led this team. We're hoping for some of the best finishes we've had at Saint Mary's, and it would be a great send off for both of those young men."
 
THE COMPETITION
The West Coast Conference is stacked with competition on both the men and women's side, and that makes the 2021 WCC Championship even more exciting. Four teams for the men find themselves inside the top-15 of their regional ranking from the USTFCCA, with BYU sitting third in the Mountain Region. The Cougars won the NCAA Championship in 2019 and saw Conner Mantz win an individual championship in 2020. BYU is ranked seventh nationally, while Gonzaga is at 13^th, and Portland is 17^th. Santa Clara finds themselves ranked in the West Region.
 
For the women, BYU is again near the top of the nation with a third-best ranking in the NCAA, and Portland is positioned at 27^th. The Cougars have won three-straight WCC Championships, and four overall dating back to the 2014 season. Whittni Orton for BYU won the individual WCC Championship in 2019. Gonzaga and San Francisco are also ranked inside the top-15 in the West Region.
 
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