Under sunny skies, the Seattle University cross country team held its first workout of the 2012 season Wednesday, as head coach Trisha Steidl conducted a time trial in the Greenlake section of the city to gauge how much the student-athletes have trained over the summer.
The time trial has become an annual part of the preseason workout schedule, with Steidl using the results of the time trial in part to determine which runners she will be able to count on during the season. She will also look at the practice habits of the student-athletes over the next few weeks as well as the SU/UW Open Friday, Aug. 31, to select the runners who will travel to the University of Notre Dame for the National Catholic Championships Friday, Sept. 14.
After three years in the Great West Conference, the Redhawk cross country teams move into the Western Athletic Conference where they will compete against eight other schools: Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State, UT Arlington, UTSA, Texas State, and Utah State. Utah State is the defending conference champion in men's cross country, while Idaho is the defending women's cross country WAC champion.
The men's cross country squad welcomes 12 runners back from the 2011 roster along with three newcomers, while the women's cross country team boasts 11 returning student-athletes and six newcomers.
The Western Athletic Conference Championships will be hosted by Louisiana Tech at Lincoln Parish Park in Ruston, La., Saturday, Oct. 27. For the first time in program history, the team will be eligible to compete at the NCAA Division I West Regionals, this year being held at Jefferson Park Golf Course in Seattle Friday, Nov. 9.
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