Steen takes second in GNAC championship race, while Viking men nearly pull upset...

MONMOUTH, Oregon--Western Washington's Katelyn Steen (left/photo courtesy Western Washington University) earned a second place finish in the women's 6k race at the GNAC Cross Country Championship race at the Ash Creek Preserve on the campus of Western Oregon University.

Steen, the junior from Eastlake HS in Sammamish was just seven seconds behind winner and defending champion Susan Tanui of Alaska Anchorage, winning in a time of 20:25, with Steen at 20:32.

Placing in the top ten were the Central Washington duo of Connie Morgan and Dani Eggleston in sixth and seventh, respectively in 20:50 and 20:53.

Alaska Anchorage won the team title with 36 points, with Simon Fraser second at 49, and Seattle Pacific third with 94, just ahead of Western Washington's 112, and Central Washington's 127.  Saint Martin's was a distant tenth at 312.

In the men's 8k race, Isaac Kangogo led a 1-2-3 finish of UAA runners, winning in a time of 24:52.  However, Western Washington's Chip Jackson led five Vikings into the top ten with his fourth place finish in 25:04, as they nearly pulled the upset of Alaska Anchorage, losing the GNAC title by 3 points, 32-35.

Central Washington was sixth at 142, with Seattle Pacific eighth at 225, and Saint Martin's tenth at 254.

Western Washington head coach Pee Wee Halsell said, "Katelyn ran an amazing race, she's just that much stronger this year, and nobody expected that performance from the men, that was pretty cool,"

The GNAC recap of the meet is available here, while the complete results are available here.

Washington State University alum Bernard Lagat had a rough day on the Bandon Dunes Golf Course in Bandon, Oregon, as he's in 25th place in the field at the World Speedgolf Championships with a score of 166.26.

Lagat, who finished sixth in the world championships in August in the 5000 meters, shot a round of 118, while completing the round of 18 holes in 48:26.  The total score is the time it takes to finish the course plus your score, which is 166:26

The leader after the first round is Rob Hogan, who shot a 77 while completing the course in 39:39, giving him a score of 116:31.

2008 Olympic 1500m silver medalist Nick Willis stands sixth after the first day with a score of 130:20, as he shot an 86 and ran 44:20.

Lagat will tee off at 8:00 am Sunday.

Day 1 results of the World Speedgolf Championships are available here.

NOTE:  The Great Northwest Athletic Conference and Speedgolf International contributed to this report.