Huskies win Emerald City Open...

SEATTLE - It was a familiar story at the Emerald City Open for the Husky cross country teams Saturday morning, as Rob Webster Jr. and Mo Huber (left/2007 file photo by Paul Merca) duplicated their individual titles from one year ago and Washington packed several runners at the front of both the men's and women's events.

While the top UW runners were still in Indiana after sweeping the Notre Dame Invitational titles on Friday, the rest of the team put the overall depth of the program on full display by running away from a collection of local colleges and clubs at Lower Woodland Park.

The women's 6,000-meters was up first and Washington swept the top three spots and eight of the first nine. Huber, a junior, ran to a seven-second win in 23-minutes, 3-seconds.

Second-place went to freshman Justine Johnson, competing unattached, who finished in 23:10. Redshirt freshman Kayla Evans placed third in 23:19.

Fifth- and sixth-places went to freshmen Breanna Huschka and Grace Green, respectively. Junior Bailey Schutte was seventh, followed by Lindsey Kirschman in eighth and freshman Allison Ponce in ninth. Courtney Lightfoot and Nicole Aurigemma also took 11th- and 12th-places, before a group of four Seattle U. runners came across.

Freshman Krysta Carrick from Seattle Pacific covered the 6-kilometer course in 25 minutes, 56 seconds on Saturday morning, finishing 18^th overall, as the Falcons ran their younger runners at the meet.

Rachel Yorkston (Bellingham, Wash.) was the top finished for Seattle University, finishing in 13th place in 24:45. She led a progression of Redhawk runners that crossed the finish line, as Brittney Hovdenes (Rapid City, S.D.) crossed the line in 14th place in 24:52, followed by Lauren Hammerle (Seattle, Wash.) in 15th place in 25:20 and Greta Stickney (Poulsbo, Wash.) in 16th place with a time of 25:41.

Another group of SeattleU runners came across the finish line, led by Julia Miller (Normandy Park, Wash.) in 19th place with a time of 26:12. She finished just ahead of Sarah Bolce (Sacramento, Calif.), who ran the course in 26:20 for a 20th place finish. Ginny Butt (Eugene, Ore.) earned a 21st place finish with a time of 26:28, and Allison Prather (Carpinteria, Calif.) posted a time of 26:39 for a 22nd place finish. Nicole Waters (Phoenix, Ariz.) came on in 29th place with a time of 27:50, and Ashley Dalton (Bellingham, Wash.) finished in 30th place in 28:23.

"The women's team ran very strong today," Redhawk head coach Trisha Steidl said. "I know they were determined to run well on their home course and they were successful. It was great to see their competitive fires shining bright."

In the men's 8k, Webster led from the start and pulled away for the win in 25:59, running 18-seconds faster than his 2008 win. Husky frosh Gareth Gilna took runner-up honors in 26:33, followed by redshirt freshman Greg Drosky who ran 26:43. Sophomore Faisal Abdullahi was eighth, followed by freshman Taylor Carlson, running unattached.

Hans Heitzinger (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was the first SeattleU runner to complete the eight-kilometer course, finishing tenth overall with a time of 27:31. Kelton Sears (Maple Valley, Wash.) was close behind in 11th place in 27:40, one second ahead of teammate Erik Barkhaus (Whitefish Bay, Wis.), who finished in 12th place in 27:41.

Michael Van Nuland (Newcastle, Wash.) led the second wave of Redhawk runners, posting a time of 27:59 for a 15th place finish. Matthew McClement (Bellingham, Wash.) was right behind in 16th place with a time of 28:01, followed by Nicholas Alvarado (San Francisco, Calif.) in 17th place in 28:05 and Adam Kollgaard (Kent, Wash.) in 18th place with a time of 28:12.

The Seattle University cross country teams will next compete at the Mike Hodges Invitational, hosted by Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Ore., on Friday, Oct. 16, beginning at 3:30 p.m.

NOTE: The sports information offices at the University of Washington and Seattle University contributed to this report.