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The Cougar cross country team made the extraordinarily long trek to Lewiston, Idaho to take part in the Inland Empire Classic XC Meet. WSU had its men's team finish in first and the women's team finished in second. This was the first time that the men's and women's cross country teams had participated in a race since their meets in Indiana and Califiornia - those meets were back on Oct. 4.
Senior Andrew Gonzalez led the men's team with a first place finish in the 8000-meter Division 1 race with a time of 23:29. After Gonzalez, the men's team's next racer to cross the finish line was Todd Wakefield with a time of 23:43, good for third place. To round out the scoring, WSU had Forrest Shaffer (fifth place), John Whelan (sixth place), and Lee George (ninth place). This gave the Cougs a team score of 24 for the meet, and a first place finish.
In the women's race, which is 5000 meters, senior captain Ruby Roberts was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 16:58. After Roberts, the order the Cougs crossed the finish line was Courtney Zalud (fourth place), Abby Regan (seventh place), Charlee Linton (eighth place), and Kiah Condos (13th place); it was that 13th place finish that cost the Cougs a tightly contested meet between them and Eastern Washington as nine out of the top 10 spots were occupied by runners from the two schools.
What this means for the Cougs' postseason chances is a lot harder to tell, because of the fact that in cross country the team's advancement through the championship meets depends on said team's finish in the previous championship meet. Another thing that is important to note is that an individual can still qualify for the next level of the championship meets with their performance in the previous meet.
Washington State's next meet is the Pac-12 Championship meet in Louisville, Colo. on Nov. 2.
Soccer
The women's soccer team had one match this past week and that was against the Oregon State Beavers at the Lower Soccer Field on last Friday. This home match against an opponent that had struggled as of late - the Beavers were 3-9-2 (1-3-1) coming into the match - was important for the Cougs, but they couldn't pull it off. Oregon State's Erin Uchacz scored the match's only goal in the 17th minute of the match to give OSU a 1-0 win.
The Cougs had 18 shots total (four of those were on goal); when you compare that to Oregon State's eight shots (three on goal), the Cougs' offense looks even more inefficient than it actually is. For the Cougs to win, they need to be more selective with their shots.
Washington State fell to 9-3-3 (2-3-1) on the season and into eighth place in the conference with seven points. The Cougs need to start winning as the season winds down if they want to return to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.
Swimming
After a blowout loss to Cal on Oct. 4, the Cougs returned to Pullman to take on USC on last Friday before traveling across the state line to Moscow to take on Idaho on Saturday. In the meet against USC, the Cougs lost by a score of 146-116. It wasn't all bad for the Cougs, as the 200 medley relay won the first event of the meet, while Emma Johansson, Frederikke Hall, Alison Mand, and Haley Rose Love all placed first in their respective races.
Against Idaho, the Cougs scored their first victory of the season, 152-142. In this meet the Cougs won the 200 medley relay again; also, the same girls that won their races in the meet against USC, also won those same races against Idaho. The primary reason for the Cougar victory in this meet was the fact that they won the 400 freestyle relay - a contributing factor to the victory was the fact that WSU collected more second place finishes.
The Cougs are now 1-3 on the season, and 0-3 in conference meets.
Rowing
The women's rowing team made the trip to Priest River, Idaho to take part in its first regatta of the season. Washington State raced four varsity boats in this meet, and each boat had the best time in its respective category.
WSU's next event is on Oct. 26 for the Head of Spokane; this event is hosted By Gonzaga.
Men's Golf
The men's golf team participated in the Firestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. As a team, WSU finished the tournament nine strokes over par for a second place finish. WSU had the best score of the D1 schools who competed in the event. Redshirt junior Sang Lee led the Cougs with an even score during the tournament.
Women's Golf
The women's golf team competed in the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Sammamish, Wash. Washington State posted a team score of 96 strokes over par and finished in 13th place in the tournament. Junior Kristen Rue led the Cougs at 10 over par, good enough for 22nd place. Senior Mallory Kent used a strong second day to pull into the 49th place at 22 strokes over par.