UCLA is no stranger to competing in stacked fields. Throughout both the men’s and women’s seasons, the Bruins have continued to race well against highly ranked teams, oftentimes shocking the competitors.
This weekend will be no different as the Bruins head to Stanford, Calif. for the NCAA West Regional championship hosted by Stanford.
NorCal venues have proved fortuitous for UCLA as of late, after both Bruin squads placed fifth at the Pac-12 championships in Oakland despite ill-timed rain. The women’s fifth-place finish, led by senior Kelsey Smith’s top-10 finish, was the squad’s best result since 2006.
Smith will look to continue her season-long dominance this weekend after being named to the Pac-12’s all-conference team following her performance at the championships. The honor makes Smith the first Bruin to win all-conference recognition in two consecutive seasons.
The past two seasons have seen Smith emerge as UCLA’s uncontested leader, as the senior led UCLA in every race.
For redshirt senior Meghan Marvin, this cross country season also represents her last shot at collegiate distance running.
After completing her NCAA eligibility for track and field at the end of last Spring, Marvin decided to return to UCLA for the fall for one last push at a cross country season after she missed 2010’s season due to injury.
“I knew that our team was going to be really good this year and I wanted to be a part of that,” Marvin said. “I just wanted to help the team any way I could, and my coach wanted me back so I thought it’d be a good decision to come back and make it to nationals with the team and see what we can do.”
If the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rankings are anything to go by, the women’s team is entering Friday’s competition with its best shot at moving on to the next round in several seasons.
“Our team is ranked 27th right now in the nation, which is the highest we’ve been ranked in a really, really long time,” Marvin said. “We need to be top five probably to head to nationals which would be really cool since we haven’t gone in years.”
The No. 17 men’s team proved itself against a nationally ranked field earlier in the season, when the Bruins placed seventh at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational in October. UCLA will look to duplicate that performance on Friday.
While the men’s scoring order changes meet-to-meet, UCLA will rely on sophomore Ferdinand Edman and junior Nick Hartle for strong showings in Stanford.
Compiled by Claire Fahy and Aubrey Yeo, Bruin Sports senior staff.