UW women finish 9th in cross country national championships

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Washington women's cross-country team finished ninth at the NCAA championships Saturday, while senior Joey Bywater led the UW men with a 69th-place finish.

Junior Megan Goethals was 48th to lead the UW women, which came into the race ranked seventh. Second-ranked Oregon won the NCAA title with 114 points.

Eighth-ranked Providence was second with 183, and Stanford was third at 198. It was the fifth top-10 finish by the Huskies in the past six years.

"We just didn't get out and get involved in the real race up front," UW coach Greg Metcalf said of the UW women. "The mood of our group, collectively, they just wanted a little more.

"(But) to be in the top 10 in any year is not a bad thing."

Oklahoma State won the men's title with 72 points.

Bywater was aiming for a top-40 finish that would mean an All-America honor, and he took an early shot. The fifth-year senior was hovering around the top 50 about halfway through the race, but then lost ground.

Washington State sophomore Todd Wakefield finished 111th.

Division II Cross Country

Western Washington's Dak Riek placed 37th to earn All-America honors at the national championships in Joplin, Mo.

The Vikings, who were making their sixth straight trip to nationals, finished a disappointing 21st in the 32-team men's field. They entered the meet ranked 10th in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches/NCAA II Top 25 poll.

The placing snapped a string of four straight top-10 finishes for Western.

Adams State won the men's title for the fourth time in five years.

Women's basketball

Central Washington beat Northwestern University 89-52 in an exhibition.

Volleyball

Gonzaga (9-20, 1-15 West Coast Conference) ended its season with a 25-16, 25-23, 25-14 loss to Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif.