WSU women win White section of Pre-Nationals, while Eagles take sixth; WSU men 17th in Blue section...
TERRE HAUTE, Indiana--Led by Abby Regan's (left/photo by Paul Merca) second place finish, the Washington State women's cross country team won the White (non-seeded) section of the Indiana State Pre-Nationals Invitational at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course Saturday.
Regan crossed the line in 21:32 over the 6k course that will host the NCAA championship meet next month, as Courtney Frerichs of UM/Kansas City won in 20:56.
Eastern Washington's Sarah Reiter finished fourth in 21:42.
Other WSU women and their finishes were: Ruby Roberts 21st (22:13), Devon Bortfeld 37th (22:34), CharLee Linton 38th (22:34), Morgan Willson 46th (22:48), Emily Dwyer 78th (23:12), and Steffie Pavey 114th (23:39) as the Cougs took the team title with 143 points, with Southern Illinois second with 182 points.
For the Eagles, their other finishers included: Berenice Penaloza in 22nd (22:15), Katie Mahoney in 34th (22:32), Paula Gil-Echevarria in 58th (23:02), Mayra Chavez in 137th (23:55), and Emily Hazen in 176th (24:40), as they finished sixth with 252 points.
In the men's competition, the Cougars, who came into the meet looking to gain some national recognition after winning both the Sundodger and Stanford Invitationals, finished a disappointing 17th in the Blue (seeded) section.
WSU redshirt senior Drew Jordan was the top Cougar finisher on the 8k course, finishing 58th with a time of 25:11. The other Cougar scorers included John Whelan 64th (25:14), Sam Levora 102nd (25:28), Jackson Haselnus 124th (25:38), Lee George 132nd (25:41), Conner Johnsen 198th (26:08), and Forrest Shaffer 199th (26:09).
Defending NCAA champ Edward Cheserek of Oregon won the title with a time of 24:05.
In what could be a preview of the Pac-12 championship meet in Oakland in two weeks, Colorado took the team title with 35, followed by the Ducks with 91.
In the men's unseeded White race, the Eagles finished seventh with 233 points, as Indiana won with 164 points.
Eastern Washington was led by Alex Kimsey in 18th in 25:29. He was followed by Vince Hamilton in 21st (25:32), Stephen Bottoms in 35th (25:54), Isaac Kitzan in 70th (26:17), Chris Schroll in 100th (26:36), and Austin Oser in 101st (26:36).
In Lewiston, Idaho, Gonzaga's men's team put five runners in the top twelve to easily win the Inland Empire Classic, led by Nick Roche's third place finish.
Roche came across in a time of 24 minutes, 15 seconds for 8,000 meters. Colin O’Neil and Troy Fraley were fourth and fifth, also registering a time of 24:15 to show the strength of the pack.
In the women's race, Amelia Evans of the Zags finished fifth with a time of 16:52 over the 5k course as Gonzaga finished third with 47 points, as Montana won with 42.
The results from the Inland Empire Classic are available here (women) and here (men). Gonzaga's recap of the meet is available here.
In Seattle, Seattle University's Sophie Curatilo won the women's 6k at the Emerald City Open meet at Lower Woodland Park, covering the 6k course in 21:42. UW freshman and reigning California CIF 3200m champ Fred Huxham won the men's 8k in a time of 25:34.
Seattle University's recap of the meet is available here, along with a link to the official results.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Washington State, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, and Seattle University contributed to this report.
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