BYU-Hawaii favored in race for Hawaiian Airlines PacWest WXC Championship

BYU-Hawaii favored in race for Hawaiian Airlines PacWest Women's Cross Country Championship

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - By earning all seven first-place votes, the BYU-Hawaii women's cross country team has been picked to repeat as Pacific West Conference Champion.

The Seasiders will get a chance to defend their title this Saturday, Oct. 31, when the Hawaiian Airlines PacWest Women's 5K Cross Country Championship race begins at 9 a.m. in San Francisco, CA, at Golden Gate Park.

BYU-Hawaii was picked to repeat, followed by Hawai‘i Pacific - last year's runner up.

Map of Course

The PacWest Pre-Championship Predicted Order of Finish was voted upon by the head coach or designated representative from each of the seven schools sponsoring cross country.

Institutions from the islands dominated the top three slots as BYU-Hawaii, Hawai‘i Pacific and Hawai‘i Hilo were ranked 1-2-3, respectively, while newcomer Academy of Art was chosen to finish fourth in its first year of eligibility for a conference title.

Rounding out the seven slots were Notre Dame de Namur (5th), Grand Canyon (6th) and Chaminade (7th). Dominican (CA) and Dixie State do not sponsor cross country programs at this time.

BYU-Hawaii captured the PacWest Championship in 2008 on a wet course at Turtle Bay. The Seasiders placed five runners in the top ten to claim the team title with 29 points, seven more than second-place Hawai‘i Pacific. Hawai‘i Hilo was third, followed by Dixie State, NDNU, Grand Canyon and Chaminade, respectively.

The top seven individual finishers in Saturday's race will earn All-PacWest First Team honors.

Last year, BYU-Hawaii's Lacey (Johnson) Krout (Preston, ID/Preston) and Danielle (Amparan) Anderson (Richland, WA/Richland), HPU's Quinn Horochuk (New Brunswick, Canada/Oromocto), and Hawai‘i Hilo's Kirsta Andrew (Garden Grove, CA/Lutheran - above & right photo) took home All-PacWest First Team accolades.

The four all-conference selections are running for more certificates this year. This season, Krout and Horochuk already have claimed a pair of PacWest Runner of the Week honors.

Athletes who cross the finish line eighth through 14th are named All-PacWest Second Team.

Last year BYU-Hawaii's Katherine Buxton (Gettysburg, PA/Gettysburg) and Allison Shamrell (Gresham, OR/Sam Barlow - right), Hawai‘i Hilo's Nina Hagemann (Mountain View, HI/Keaau - left), and HPU's Wendy Darling (LaVerne, CA/Bonita) recorded All-PacWest Second Team results.

All four will be competing on Saturday with Buxton having a strong shot at moving up to the First Team. She earned Runner of the Week accolades on Sept. 14.

One of Academy of Art's top competitors could be Irinel Zamfir (Suceava, Romania - above left, 2nd from the top) who was named the PacWest Runner of the Week on Oct. 26 for winning a dual-meet event with NDNU.

Jezabel Ortiz (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) is expected to lead the Argos of NDNU, while Grand Canyon freshman Renee Peck (Glendale, AZ/Sandra Day O'Connor) - the PacWest Runner of the Week on Oct. 5 - will head up the Antelope contingent.