COLFAX, Wash. – Arizona Cross Country continues their championship season with the NCAA Western Regional Championships on Friday. The regional championship competition is hosted by Washington State at the Colfax Golf Course.
 
The meet begins at noon MST on Friday with the running of the women's 6k. The men's 10k will follow and starts at 1:00 p.m. MST. This will be the first time this season that the men have run a 10k, with typical regular season competitions involving an 8k. Live results for both events can be found here.
 
The Wildcats were last in action on November 1, for their first ever Big 12 Championships. At the competition, Gideon Mengich finished first for the men and 36th overall, clocking an 8k personal best time of 23:31.7. Mengich has lowered his personal best in the 8k in his last four consecutive competitions and he has finished first for the men in all five of their competitions so far this season. Michael Urbanski and Ian Sanchez Lopez finished second and third for the team, with Connor Grusendorf and Mateo Pimienta placing fourth and fifth. On the women's side, Brooklyn Hanania was the top finisher for the team in the 6k for the first time this season. Laina Friedmann and Laura Holánszky were the team's second and third-place runners, and Alisa Lyesina and Kara Mickelson placed fourth and fifth. Of the team's 10 overall scoring runners, five were freshmen.
 
Mengich's time of 23:31.17 in the 8k at the Big 12 Championships was the fastest for the men's team this season. The team's best individual finish of the year came at the Highlander Invitational, where Mengich won the individual 8k competition. Mengich also has finishes of sixth and 10th (twice) this year. At the Highlander Invitational, which the men's team won with a score of 65 points, Sanchez Lopez placed fourth overall and Urbanski finished eighth overall. For the women, Lydia Russell has clocked the fastest 6k time of the year of 20:21.4, which came at the Wildcats' annual home meet, the Dave Murray Invitational. Russell won the individual 6k competition at the event which is the highest finish for the women's team this season. Molly Lakustiak has also posted two top 10 finishes on the year, placing fourth in the 6k at the Highlander Invitational and fifth in the 5k at the NMSU Lori Fitzgerald Open.
 
Five current Wildcats competed at last year's NCAA Western Regional Championships: Lyesina, Sage Patzer, Cooper Quigley, Sanchez Lopez, and Urbanski. Earlier this year, at the Cougar Classic, the Wildcats got a preview of the Colfax Golf Course in Washington.
 
Additionally, the Arizona Women will have five triathletes competing for them at the regional championships, with it being just under one week removed from the Arizona Triathlon team winning the National Championship in Florida last weekend.
 
A meet recap will be posted here detailing the competition results. Live updates will also be posted to @ArizonaTrack on X.
 
RUNNERS
MEN
Connor Grusendorf, Gideon Mengich, Mateo Pimienta, Cooper Quigley, Ian Sanchez Lopez, Michael Urbanski
 
WOMEN
Sara Crociani, Laina Friedmann, Brooklyn Hanania, Laura Holánszky, Molly Lakustiak, Mia Wentzy, Kelly Lyn Wetteland
 
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