Gonzaga's James Mwaura defends title at Washington State Cougar Classic...
The sophomore from Tacoma’s Lincoln HS was in the lead group from the start, but took command past the first of four 2k loops of the Colfax Golf Course to cruise to an easy victory in a time of 24:08.
Behind him were a pair of Gonzaga runners competing unattached in Riley Moore (24:27), and Evan Bates (24:34).
Peter Hogan in 4th (24:38), Phillip Fishburn in 5th (24:40), Luke Mason in 10th (24:46), and Ciaran O’Leary in 15th (24:58) rounded out the scorers for the winning Bulldogs, who scored 22 points, with host Washington State second with 45 points, and Idaho third at 89.
The Cougars were led by Matthew Watkins, who finished eighth in 24:43, while Colton Johnsen was ninth in 24:44.
Eastern Washington finished sixth in the ten-team field with 167 points, led by Isaac Barville’s 13th place finish in 24:57. Seattle University was eighth with 193 points, led by Nathan Pixler, who finished 43rd in 25:32.
In the women’s 6k race, Claire Manley of Gonzaga took the win in 21:05, but Washington State was able to pack all of its scorers in the top 15 to earn the team title over the Zags by a 43-48 count, with Idaho third at 64 points.
Scoring for the Cougs were Zorana Grujic in 3rd (21:33), Josie Brown in 4th (21:37), Kiyena Beatty in 13th (21:59), Marie Gaudin in 14th (22:01), and Melissa Hruska in 15th (22:02).
Seattle University finished sixth in the eight-team field with 149 points, led by Olivia Stein in 23rd place in 22:15, while Eastern Washington was seventh with 150 points.
Freshman Kenzie Gaines was the Eagles’ top runner across the line, finishing ninth in 21:49.
Washington State’s recap is available here, while complete results of the Washington State Cougar Classic are available here.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Washington State, Gonzaga, and Eastern Washington contributed to this report.
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