Freshmen Turlan Morlan of Central and Kaylee Mitchell of Seattle Pacific win Central Washington Invitational...
In the opening men’s 7k race, Central Washington’s Turlan Morlan (left/photo by Paul Merca) from Spokane’s Gonzaga Prep HS took the victory over the flat Rotary Park course that circled the surrounding baseball, soccer and recreational trails, clocking 22:37 over Western Washington’s Eric Hamel, who ran 22:49.
The Vikings, who sat out Isaac Derline, their 2016 NCAA cross country championships qualifier, proceeded to place four straight runners behind Hamel to clinch the victory in the three team meet, scoring a low of 20 points, with Central Washington second at 52, and Seattle Pacific third with 65.
In keeping with the freshman theme, Seattle Pacific was led by frosh Colby Otero from Kailua, Hawaii, who ran 23:17.
The women’s 5k race saw Falcon freshman Kaylee Mitchell (left/photo by Paul Merca) from Salem, Oregon upset Central’s NCAA 10000 meter qualifier Alexa Shindruk, winning the race in 18:03, with Shindruk 22 seconds back in 18:25.Seattle Pacific’s NCAA 1500 meter finalist Kate Lilly was third in 18:43 to lead three straight Falcons across the line. SPU’s Abbie Steinhauer finished 11th to give the Falcons the team title with 24 points to Western Washington’s 47 and Central Washington’s 51 points.
Western Washington was led by Talia Dreicer, who finished sixth in 19:02.
"At first, I would go, 'Oh my gosh, what the heck is going on? Someone is going to come up to me’”, Mitchell said of finding herself alone in front. “I just kept pushing and kept running. I focused on keeping my thoughts more positive, and said, 'You can do this.' "
Next for Western and Central is the Saint Martin’s Invitational in Lacey on September 22nd, while Seattle Pacific will race on the 29th at the Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.
Complete results of the Central Washington Invitational are available here.
NEALE TO RUN FOR REEBOK BOSTON...
University of Washington alum Amy-Eloise Neale announced on her Instagram account that she will run professionally for the newly formed Reebok Boston Track Club.
Neale finished second in the 2017 NCAA cross country championships for the Huskies, and was a multi-time NCAA qualifier on the track in the 1500 and 5000 meter runs.
A British citizen, Neale competed for Great Britain at the IAAF world cross country championships, and at the IAAF world junior championships. Her last international appearance in a British vest came at the 2017 European U-23 championships in Samorin, Slovakia, where she finished fourth.
Neale, who will be based in Charlottesville, Virginia, will run under the guidance of former Syracuse head coach Chris Fox, whose group includes Canadian Justyn Knight, who ran for Fox at Syracuse.
Neale, who ran as a high schooler at Glacier Peak HS, will be represented by Aurum Sports Group, which represents several notable European athletes, most notably Great Britain’s top 1500 meter runner, Laura Muir.
Her Instagram post is below:
NOTE: The sports information offices of Central Washington, Western Washington, and Seattle Pacific University contributed to this report.
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