London 2017 800m competitor Lindsey Butterworth outkicks Tansey Lystad at WWU Classic...
BELLINGHAM—Canadian world championships 800m competitor and Simon Fraser alum Lindsey Butterworth used her speed over the last 500 meters to chase down Inglemoor HS and University of Portland alum Tansey Lystad (left/photo by Paul Merca) to win the women’s 6-kilometer race at the Western Washington Classic at East Lake Padden Park Saturday.
The former cross country All-American for the Pilots took command of the race early as the field looped around Lake Padden, which will be the site of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships in a fortnight.
However, as they exited the lake to make the last little U-turn with 500 meters to go before the finish, Butterworrth, a former NCAA Division II 800 meter champ for Simon Fraser who ran 2:02.13 this summer to get a spot in the London world championships, used her speed to run down Lystad and get the win in 21:15, three seconds better than Lystad, who ran for Team USA at the NACAC cross country championships this spring, and who is presently the cross country coach at Everett CC.
Simon Fraser, the NCAA Division II’s number four ranked team, won the team title by two points 44-46 over #12 ranked Chico State.
Western Washington finished fourth with 106 points, led by Lilllianna Stelling’s 19th place finish in 22:29.
Seattle Pacific was fifth with 114 points, led by Mary Charleson’s 13th place finish in 22:15, as she made her 2017 season debut after missing the first month of the season with an injury.
Central Washington was sixth with 165 points, as Alexa Shindruk led the way for the Wildcats with her 11th place finish in 22:10.
Saint Martin’s was ninth in the 12-team field with 249 points, led by Yadira Lopez in 42nd with a time of 23:15.
In the men’s 10k race, it was a dominating performance by Chico State, who is the fourth ranked Division II squad according to the latest USTFCCCA national poll, as they placed six runners in the top ten, and finish with a low score of 17 points.
Keenan Viney of Calgary, Alberta, competing unattached, was the overall winner in 31:17, 21 seconds ahead of Connor Fisher of Chico State, who ran 31:38, the same time as teammates Eddie King and Teddy Kassa.
Western Washington was second with 76 points, as Andrew Wise led the charge for the Vikings in sixth in 31:43.
Seattle Pacific was sixth with 180 points, led by Ben Halladay in 25th at 32:35.
One place behind the Falcons was Central Washington with 182 points, led by Josh Boston in 41st in 33:13, while Saint Martin’s was 11th in the eleven-team field with 312 points. Josh Hunt was the Saints’ top runner in 89th place in 34:58.
All four of Washington’s Division II squads will return to East Lake Padden for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title clash on the 21st.
NOTE: The sports information office of Western Washington University contributed to this report.
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