Central Washington's Alexa Shindruk takes second at Great Northwest Athletic Conference cross country championships...
Shindruk, the reigning conference champion at 10000 meters on the track, was expected to be near the top of the standings for the Wildcat women. She did not disappoint. Near the midway point of the race, Shindruk was hanging in fifth place.
With 3 kilometers of the 6k race completed, Shindruk moved into fourth place. By the time they hit the 4k mark, Shindruk had taken the lead, but only for a brief moment. Alaska Anchorage's Emma Chelimo would go on to take the race in 21:25, as Shindruk followed close behind in second place with a time of 21:32.
Behind Shindruk was Seattle Pacific freshman Kaylee Mitchell in 21:36.
"Heading into the 5K, there was a girl in third (Anchorage's Nancy Jeptoo), and Chris told me, 'Kaylee, go catch her right now, and you'll thank yourself later," said Mitchell, who earned the GNAC Freshman of the Year award by being the first freshman across the line. "I caught up and I did thank myself later for catching her then."
Also busting into the top ten was Central Washington sophomore Nicole Soleim in sixth with a time of 21:53.
In the team race, Alaska Anchorage, the nation’s tenth ranked women’s D2 squad, placed four in the top ten to win its fourth straight GNAC title with 49 points, with #8 ranked Simon Fraser second at 64 points.
The Falcons of Seattle Pacific were a close third on the strength of Mitchell’s third place individual finish with 64 points.
Western Washington was fourth with 86 points, led by Sophia Galvez, who missed a top ten finish by one spot, taking 11th in 22:00.
Despite placing two in the top ten, Central Washington was fifth with 113 points, while Saint Martin’s finished 11th with 335 points, with Yeshi Vaughan leading the way for the Saints in 65th in 24:56.
In the men’s 8k championship race, Western Washington’s duo of Jadon Olson and Eric Hamel finished ninth and tenth, running 25:05 and 25:14, to lead the #21 ranked Vikings to a third place finish with 60 points, behind team champion Alaska Anchorage’s 46 points and Simon Fraser’s 54 points.
The Seawolves’ Wesley Kirui and Felix Kemboi finished 1-2 with Kirui running 24:38, and Kemboi one second behind.
Central Washington finished fifth with 142 points led by Corbin Carlton, who finished 20th in 25:41, while Seattle Pacific took seventh with 183 points, with Elius Graff leading the way for the Falcons in 24th place at 25:52.
Saint Martin’s was eleventh with 300 points, led by Andrew Oslin, who finished 56th in 26:46.
All 11 GNAC teams will now move on to regional competition. The NCAA West Regional Championships, hosted by Montana State Billings, will take place on Sat., Nov. 17, at Billings’ Amend Park.
Complete results of the GNAC Cross Country Championships are available here.
NOTE: The Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and the sports information offices of Western Washington, Central Washington and Seattle Pacific contributed to this report.
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