Zags, Eagles, and Cougars get season opening cross country wins in Cheney and Colfax...

In Cheney, the nationally ranked Gonzaga men's squad ran to an easy team win Thursday morning at the Clash of the Inland Northwest cross country meet contested at the Eastern Washington University practice fields.

In the opening men's 6k race, Bryce Cerkowniak (Keenan Gray/Gonzaga Athletics photo), who was redshirted during the cross country and outdoor track seasons, took the victory, running 18:15 over the 6k course, as five Zags finished in the top eight.

Nicola DiMartino was second for Gonzaga in 18:44, followed by Jackson Lyne a second later.

Jeremiah Mackie followed in sixth in 18:59, and Ansel Tucker rounded out Gonzaga's scorers in eighth in 19:09.

Noah Hasselblad was Eastern Washington's top finisher in third in 18:44. Jesus Herrejon was the only other Eagle to crack the top 20, finishing 15th in 19:22.

Gonzaga scored a low of 20 points, followed by Eastern Washington with 56, and Lewis-Clark was third with 65 points. As expected, Gonzaga held out its top runners returning from the team that competed at the NCAA championships last year.

In the women's team race, Eastern Washington turned the tables on Gonzaga, scoring a 26-29 win over the nationally ranked Zags, who did not run their top runners returning from last year's squad, which was the first team to miss an invitation to the NCAA championships.

With new Eagle director of track & cross country Erin Tucker (EWU Athletics photo) watching the action, Lilly Fetzer of Eastern Washington won the 4k race in 14:33, followed by teammate Madi Carr in 14:50.

Nattie Ruzauskas was fourth in 14:55, followed by Jenni Bissell in ninth at 15:14, and Maddie Drennen tenth in 15:16.

Gonzaga was led by Makenna Edwards in 14:52, followed by Anna Grabowski in fifth at 14:56, and Kate Donaldson in sixth at 15:02.

Anna Lanigan in seventh followed at 15:07, and Sadie Tuckwood completed Gonzaga's scorers in eighth in 15:11.

Eastern's 1-2 finish proved to be the difference, as they squeezed out a 26-29 win over the Zags, with Lewis-Clark third at 89.

Complete results of the Clash of the Inland Northwest are available here.

In Colfax, Washington State and Idaho split in their dual meet at the Washington State University Invitational Thursday afternoon at the Colfax Golf Club.

In the men's 6k race, Brian Barsaiya and Kelvin Limo went 1-2 for the Cougars, with Barsaiya crossing the line first in 17:45, followed by Limo at 18:01.

Also scoring for Washington State were Kyle Ortega-Gammill in sixth in 18:37; Jacob Easton in ninth at 18:52; and Turban Morlan in 13th at 19:18.

Idaho got all their scorers inside the top eight to win the meet by a 27-30 count.

In the debut meet for new women's cross country coach Laura Harmon, the Cougars took care of the Vandals, winning by a 21-34 score.

Idaho's Kelsey Swenson won the race in 13:25.

After Swenson crossed the line, the Cougars put four runners ahead of Idaho's second runner, led by Alaina Stone Boggs in 13:31, followed by Neema Kimtai at 13:49.

Caroline Jerotich was fourth at 13:56, then Mevin Jelegat was fifth in 14:00. Pietra Da Silva rounded out WSU's five scorers in seventh at 14:20.

Complete results of the WSU Invitational are available here.

Seattle University opens its season Friday at the Portland State Rust Buster at Westmoreland Park in Portland. The men's 6k will go off at 2:00 pm and women's 5k will start at 2:30. 

The Redhawks will run against teams from Clark College, Multnomah, Pacific (Ore.), University of Portland, and host Portland State University.

"We will be taking a solid group to the event to get the 2022 season started," said Head Coach Kelly Sullivan. "Some of the racers will be competing collegiately for the first time in cross country and some will be returning that missed an entire year of competition. Overall, the team is very excited to get the year going." 

SeattleU's meet preview is available here, while the link to live results is available here.

WANDA DIAMOND LEAGUE'S PENULTIMATE MEET IN BRUSSELS FRIDAY...

Vancouver's Kara Winger is one of seven javelin throwers ranked among the top eight event scorers in Friday's Wanda Diamond League series at the Allianz Ivo Van Damme Memorial looking to cement their place in next week's Diamond League finals in Zürich.

Winger, who finished second at the world championships in Eugene, is currently seventh in the Diamond League standings with 10 points from two meets in Chorzów, and Monaco, where she placed fourth in both meets.

Washington State alum CJ Allen, who is currently in sixth with 13 points, is entered in the 400 hurdles.

The start list for the Allianz Ivo Van Damme Memorial is available here.

Meanwhile, Marta Pen Freitas of the Brooks Beasts drops down in distance, as she's entered in the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix meet Friday in Budapest.

Pen Freitas is entered in the women's 800 meters, which is scheduled for 5:35 pm local time (8:35 am in Seattle).

The start list for the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix meet is available here. You can watch the live stream of the meet via the Hungarian Athletics YouTube channel.

NOTE: The sports information offices of Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, Washington State University, Seattle University, and the Wanda Diamond League contributed to this report.

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