The state's Division I & II teams begin gearing up for the cross country season...

With September just around the corner, many of the state's collegiate cross country programs began formal practices over the last week in preparation for the first batch of meets, which start this weekend.

Seattle Pacific travels to Fairbanks, Alaska for the Alaska Fairbanks Long-Course and Short Course dual meet Friday and Saturday.

In Seattle, the SeattleU Redhawks (left/photo courtesy Seattle University), who move from the Great West Conference to the Western Athletic Conference in their first year of full NCAA Division I status, have been training together since August 15th in preparation for their first meet this Friday at Magnuson Park in the SeattleU/University of Washington Open meet.

The Huskies held its first team workout Monday, and will train in and around campus before facing the Redhawks Friday, then proceed to their fall training camp, before hosting the Sundodger Invitational on September 15th at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.

On the east side of the state, the big news was the resignation of Washington State's Pete Julian, as he took a coaching position with the Nike Oregon Project days before the Cougars' season opener at Mead versus Idaho, Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, and Whitworth.

Monday, the USTFCCCA released its regional pre-season rankings for Division I.

In the West region, the WSU men's team is ranked #6, with Portland, Stanford, UCLA, Oregon and Cal ahead of the Cougars. The Huskies, who will host the NCAA West Regional meet on November 9th at Jefferson Park Golf Course, were ranked #10.

In the West women's poll, the Huskies, who finished last season second in the NCAA championships behind Georgetown, are ranked second behind Oregon. Gonzaga is ranked #15 in the poll.

In the USTFCCCA Division II regional polls, the Western Washington men's squad is ranked #3 in the West region, while Seattle Pacific is #8.

The Viking women's team is ranked #5, while the Falcons are ranked #6.

Chico State's men and Alaska Anchorage's women hold the top spots in the pre-season Division Ii polls for the West region.

In the weeks to come, look for previews of the state's Division I & II schools here.

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