Maple Ridge’s Nathan Wadhwani is off to a great start to a new cross-country season with the Washington State University Cougars.
Running at an alumni meet, Wadhwani set a new course record of 17 minutes 30.06 seconds. He beat WSU 2016 All-American Michael Williams (17:55.7) who finished third.
Wadhwani was a Maple Ridge resident and member of the Golden Ears Athletics. As a high school athlete at Terry Fox secondary, he was a 1,500m and 3,000m provincial champion, before going on to compete at the NCAA level. Last season he was joined there by his brother and longtime training partner Isaac.
The Washington State men’s cross country team has been ranked at number 11 in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason poll.
This is the highest ranking the Cougs have ever received in the USTFCCCA Week One Poll.
The No. 11 ranking is the highest since 1998 when the Cougars team, led by distance legend, Olympian and WSU Athletics Hall of Fame member Bernard Lagat, was ranked No. 10 in the preseason poll.