The Eastern Washington University men's and women's cross country team will kickoff the 2022 season on Thursday (Sept. 1) and will be hosting the meet, Clash of the Inland Northwest, at the EWU Sports and Recreation Center field.

The men will open the meet at 9 a.m. with a 6,000-meter race, with the women competing after with a 4,000-meter race at 9:45 a.m. The teams joining the meet are Gonzaga University, Montana State University, Lewis-Clark State, Spokane Community Colleges, Whitman University, Whitworth University and Walla Walla University. Follow the live results link for more information.

This year the EWU cross country team welcomes 23 returning runners, 12 on the women's side and 11 for the men, and invites six fresh new student-athletes for the fall 2022 season.

In the 2022 preseason polls, the Eagles were placed sixth for the men's team and ninth for the women's. With Northern Arizona University selected to take the title again with a count of 100 votes. For second place was Montana State University with 90 total votes, and Weber State University for third with 77 votes.

Eastern will return home to host the 2022 Big Sky Championship on Oct. 28th in Spokane, Wash. with a location to be determined. Along with the Idaho and Eastern Washington Duals (Sept 9. in Spokane, Wash.), Gans Creek Classic (Sept. 30 in Columbia, Mo.), John Payne/Curtis Invitational (Oct. 1 in Bellingham, Wash.), Lewis and Clark Invite (Oct. 15 in Estacada, Ore.), Sasquatch Invite (Oct. 26 in Spokane, Wash.) for the regular season.
 
Men's Outlook

Eastern will welcome back 11 runners to represent the EWU cross country team with one addition. Analyzing the men's cross country roster will include three juniors, eight sophomores, and one freshman.

Justin Roosma is coming back for Eastern and was the Eagles' top finisher for both the 2021 Big Sky Conference XC Championship and the NCAA Division I West Region XC Championship. Roosma placed 16th for the Big Sky Conference, with a time of 24:17.4 for the men's 8,000-meter race. For the NCAA Division I XC Championship, Roosma had come in 86th in a 10,000-meter race with a time of 31:43.

The other five returning student-athletes who also competed in the 2021 Big Sky Championship are Noah Hasselblad, Cameron Stuard, Austin Steed, Jesus Herrejon, and finally Jamie Christner. Eastern also lost five competitors, three of whom also participated in the 2021 Championship. The other runners coming back to the team are Jordan Brannan, Anthony Carlascio, Alec Kness, Marcus Lemon, and Danny Maxwell.

A runner who is joining the Eastern cross country team for his first time is Hayden Fisher, a freshman from Bonney Lake, Wash.
 
Women's Outlook

The Eagles XC team will bring back 11 student-athletes and the team will consist of four juniors, seven sophomores, and five in coming freshmen.

Nicole DeHerrera, who had placed 50th in the 2021 Big Sky Championship with a time of 18:15.7 in the 5,000-meter race, is Easterns top returning runner. Also coming back who had participated in the Championship as well in 2021 is Jasmin Muneton, Jenni Bissell, Madilynn Carr, Loren Linnenburger, Amanda Nygard and Kaylin Sheley.

The other returning student-athletes are Maddie Drennen, Kenzie Gaines, Anna Harrison and Lizzie Stites. Eastern has lost one of its runners for the 2022 season.

EWU's incoming freshmen for the women's cross country team include Rylee Brandon, Lilly Fetzer, Faith Martinez, Davies Rhiannon, Nattie Ruzauskas and Kaiya Sollie.

2022 Schedule

Fifth-year Eastern Washington University head cross country coach, Sam Read, has announced the 2022 Fall schedule today (Aug. 22). The Eagles open the year at home on Sept. 1 when they host the Clash of the Inland Northwest. Eastern then competes in five regular season meets before hosting the Big Sky Conference Championships for the first time since 2010.

EWU's cross country team comes back this new year with 23 returning runners, 12 on the women's side and 11 for the men, as well as six fresh new student-athletes ready to race.

The Eagles kick off the season with its first home meet. EWU hosts the Clash of the Inland Northwest on Sept. 1, along with the invited teams Gonzaga University, Montana State University, Lewis and Clark State College, Spokane Community Colleges, Whitman University, Whitworth University and Walla Walla University.

The following week on Sept. 9, the EWU cross country team will head to Spokane, Wash., for a meet hosted by Gonzaga University. With the next meet located in Columbia, Mo., the Eastern Eagles will run on Sept. 30 on the home ground of the University of Missouri Tigers.

EWU then returns to Washington for the John Paynes Invitational on Oct. 1, in Seattle. Just two weeks later, the Eagles travel to Estacada, Ore., hosted by Lewis and Clark. Finishing it off before the Big Sky Championship, EWU's cross country team will participate in the Spokane Community College's invite on Oct. 26.

On Oct. 28, two days after the SCC invite, the team will return home for the Big Sky Championship. The hosted championship location will be announced at a later date. Eagles championship portion of the season will include the teams participation in the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 11, in Seattle, Wash. and at the NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Oak., on Nov. 18, to wrap the season up.

2022 Preseason Polls

The Big Sky Conference published their preseason poll results today (Aug. 24) for the men and women's cross country team. Out of ten teams, the men's Eastern Washington University cross country team came in sixth place with 47 votes and the women's team was picked ninth with 27 votes.  

For the men's cross country team, winning the poll for first place was Northern Arizona University with a total of 100 votes. Followed by Montana State University with 90 votes for second, and for third place came Weber State University with a number of 77 votes.

Just two places ahead of EWU is the University of Idaho who were ranked fourth in the preseason poll, with a number of 67 votes alongside Portland State University for fifth place just six votes below. Following the Eagles for seventh place with 41 votes was Montana State University and with 35 votes was Idaho State University for eighth.

Stealing the last two spots on the preseason poll was Sacramento State University and Northern Colorado University. Sacramento State received 21 votes for ninth place while Northern Colorado came in tenth place with 11 poll votes.

For first place on the women's cross country preseason poll is Northern Arizona University with a vote count of 100. Creating a second-place tie, with 81 votes, was the University of Idaho and Weber State University. And right behind the tie, Montana State University received 71 votes for fourth place along with Portland State University who was ranked fifth with 61 votes.

Tailing right after is Idaho State University, who came in sixth place with 48 votes, as well as Montana State University with 33 votes for seventh. With only one more vote than Eastern, Sacramento State University pulled ahead with 28 votes for eighth place, while University of Northern Colorado was placed in the tenth spot with 20 votes.

This fall 2022 season, the EWU cross country team comes with 23 returning runners, 12 on the women's side and 11 for the men, as well as six fresh new student-athletes ready to race.

The Eagles kick off the season with its first home meet. EWU hosts the Clash of the Inland Northwest on Sept. 1, along with the invited teams Gonzaga University, Montana State University, Lewis and Clark State College, Spokane Community Colleges, Whitman University, Whitworth University and Walla Walla University. The men's cross country team will start the meet with a 6K at 10 A.M. following the women's 4K at 10:45 A.M.

2022 Big Sky Men's XC Poll Results
 

Place	Team	Votes (1st Place)
1st	Northern Arizona	100 (10)
2nd	Montana State	90
3rd	Weber State	77
4th	Idaho	67
5th	Portland State	61
6th	Eastern Washington	47
7th	Montana	41
8th	Idaho State	35
9th	Sacramento State	21
10th	Northern Colorado	11

 
 
2022 Big Sky Women's XC Poll Results
 

Place	Team	Votes (1st Place)
1st	Northern Arizona	100 (10)
T2nd	Idaho	81
T2nd	Weber State	81
4th	Montana State	71
5th	Portland State	61
6th	Idaho State	48
7th	Montana	33
8th	Sacramento State	28
9th	Eastern Washington	27
10th	Northern Colorado	20