Event: NCAA West Regional
Where: Stanford Golf Course — Stanford, Calif.
When: Saturday, all day
Who to watch: Senior Krista Dreschler will be looking to compete strongly in the final NCAA Regional of her career.
The Santa Barbara, Calif. native finished 16th at the Big West Conference Championship Meet Oct. 29.
Did you know? The NCAA Regional will take place on the Stanford Golf Course. The women’s six kilometer race and the men’s 10 kilometer race both cut across four of the course’s 18 holes.
Preview: The women’s team will be looking to keep their momentum rolling into this weekend’s NCAA West Regional after winning its first ever Big West title earlier this season.
The squad prides itself on its strong depth, with a number of runners capable of finishing near the top of the leaderboard.
Junior Sarah Sumpter, sophomore Alycia Cridebring, freshman Katie Fry and senior Kritsina Taylor all finished in the top-14 at the Big West Championships less than two weeks ago. UC Davis is hoping to to keep things rolling as it faces off against some of the nation’s top teams this weekend.
“Our goal is to place better than some of the teams we’re not supposed to beat,” said Head Coach Drew Wartenburg. “We want to surprise some people and get a berth [in the NCAA Championships].”
In order to continue advancing this season, the Aggies will need to be at the top of their game this weekend.
“We have to run better than we have all year,” Wartenburg said. “We can’t afford for any of our runners to have an off day.”
On the men’s side, all eyes will be on senior Jonathan Peterson.
The Clovis, Calif. native posted a disappointing fifth-place finish at the Big West Championship this year after taking first last season.
With that event now in his rear-view mirror, Peterson will well prepared this weekend.
“On his best day [Peterson] is a top-five runner in the region,” Wartenburg said. “His experience at the Big West meet served as a bit of a wake-up call. He’s going in to this weekend very well motivated.”
— Trevor Cramer
