By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- When the 8-kilometer men's race gets underway at the 2015 NCAA West Regional on Saturday, Nov. 14, the Willamette University Bearcats should be among the leaders. The Bearcats hope to challenge throughout the race in an effort to bring home their first West Region title since 2010.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is the favorite for the team title and the Stags will be running close to home on the Pomona-Pitzer course in Claremont, Calif. CMS is ranked #1 in the West Region and #10 in the NCAA Division III National Poll. The Stags won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.

Willamette, which won the Northwest Conference championship with a score of 31 (3-5-6-7-10), is ranked #2 in the West Region. The Bearcats are listed at #21 in the National Poll.

Pomona-Pitzer is #3 in the West Region and #25 in the National Poll. Unviersity of Puget Sound holds the #4 spot in the West Region, while Occidental College (Calif.) is rankked #5.

Competing for Willamette at this year's West Regional will be Nathan Conrad (Sr., Bothell, WA/Bothell HS), Yonny Castillo (Sr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS), Patrick Loftus (So., Healdsburg, CA/Sonoma Academy), Jacob Shafi (Sr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS), Keith Carlson (Fr., Bainbridge Island, WA//Bainbridge HS), Hunter Matthies (Sr., Moran, WY/Jackson Hole HS), and Jack Kobylka (So., Napa, CA/Vintage HS).

Conrad placed third at the NWC Championships on Nov. 31 with a time of 26:11.70. Castillo was fifth at 26:35.00 and Shafi was sixth at 26:41. Loftus placed seventh in 26:46.40 and Carlson was 10th at 27:03.30.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won the 2014 West Regional Championship with a score of 46. Pomona-Pitzer was second at 52.

Zorg Loustalet (Sr.) of CMS is the top ruturning finisher was last year. He took second place at the West Regional with a time of 25:51.1. John Fowler (Sr.) from Pomona-Pitzer was third a year ago in 25:30.4. Corey Purcella (Sr.), also from Pomona-Pitzer, placed sixth in 25:48.0. Other top returning runners include Alex Lombardo (Jr.) of CMS, who took seventh in 25:49.9, and Castillo of Willamette, who placed 10th in 25:52.0.

Also expected to contend for top individual finishes are Tyler Shipley (Sr.) and Geremia Lizier-Zmudzinski (So./Fr.) from Puget Sound. Shipley placed 16th last season while running for Pacific University. More recently, Shipley won the 2015 NWC men's individual championship with a time of 25:37.40. Geremia Lizier-Zmudzinski took second place in the NWC at 26:03.50.

On Saturday, the West Regional will begin with the women's 6-kilometer race at 9 a.m. (PST). The men's race is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.

Willamette has won a total of seven NCAA West Regional men's championships. The Bearcats earned six West Regional titles in a row from 2002 through 2007.

The top two teams at the West Regional will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Division III National Championships, set for Nov. 21 at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis. Other West Region teams may receive at-large bids, which will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 15.

After all team bids have been awarded, the top seven runners in the West Regional whose teams were not selected for the NCAA Championships will receive individual bids to compete.