Both Western squads & Saint Martin's women run strong against nationally ranked teams...

ROMEOVILLE, Illinois--Both Western Washington squads and the Saint Martin's women's team had strong showings Saturday at the Lewis Crossover hosted by Lewis University, which featured a number of nationally ranked teams.

The number 11 ranked Viking men's team finished fourth in the 31 team field with a score of 194 points, while Saint Martin's was 27th with 787 points.

Number 1 ranked Colorado School of Mines was impressive as the Orediggers placed all five scorers in the top-11 for a dominating victory with 34 points. Number 5 Colorado Christian was runner-up with 79 points, with host number 22 Lewis (159) third just ahead of the Vikings.

Kevin McDermott (#275/photo courtesy WWU Athletics) led the way for Western, running 24:17 over the 8k course. Andrew Oslin was 14th in 24:23, followed by Jalen Javurek in 49th in 24:59. Jeret Gillingham was 58th in 25:03, and Samuel Lingwall was 61st in 25:04, giving the team a 1-5 split of 47 seconds.

Isaac Cortes was Saint Martin's top runner in 114th place in 25:31. He was followed by Kainalu Pagente in 150th in 25:56, then Eli Dale in 185th in 26:11. Michael Hartwell was 218th in 26:31, and Jaskaran Drat was 275th in 27:33.

Matthew Storer of Colorado Christian was the overall winner in 23:47.

In the women's race, Western Washington, which entered the weekend ranked number 27 nationally, finished sixth with a final team score of 198 points, while Saint Martin's was 11th with 345 points in the 33 team field.

Number 3 Colorado School of Mines won the team title with 49 points over top ranked Grand Valley State (98).

Unranked host Lewis was third with 131 points, followed by No. 4 Winona State (138) and No. 9 Colorado Christian (196).

After the Vikings in sixth, No. 13 Biola (Calif.) was seventh (200), unranked Fort Lewis eighth (243), No. 23 Wayne State (Mich.) ninth (308) and No. 26 Saginaw Valley State tenth (328) completing the top-10, which could possibly give the Saints some consideration aa a national top 30 team when the coaches' poll releases mid week.

Western's runners all finished inside the top 50, led by Ashley Reece in 18th in 21:41 over the 6k course. The Vikings packed their runners in the 40s, with Ila Davis in 43rd (22:18), Marian Ledesma in 46th (22:21), Sophie Wright in 47th (22:23), and Meaera Nostrum in 48th (22:24), giving Western a 1-5 split of 43 seconds.

Cassidy Walchak-Sloan was the Saints' top runner in 17th in 21:41, just nosing out Western's Reeck to be the first runner from a GNAC school.

Elke Wijkmans was 38th in 22:14, followed by Alisha Saucedo in 53rd at 22:28. Sara Sabra was 66th in 22:39, and Kya Ramirez rounded out the Saints' top five in 216th in 24:23.

Lindsay Cunningham of Winona State was the overall winner in 20:07.

Complete results of the Lewis Crossover are available here.

EMERALD CITY OPEN RECAP...

In Seattle, Central Washington's Johan Correa, who didn't race at the Bill Roe Classic in Bellingham, won the Emerald City Open at Lower Woodland Park, hosted by Club Northwest.

On the hilly Lower Woodland course, Correa ran 25:08 for a comfortable 23 second victory over Western Washington alum Mac Franks of Club Northwest.

Club Northwest won the team title with 28 points, followed by Western Washington at 70, and Lake Sammamish Run Club third with 72.

Annika Esvelt of Seattle Pacific won the women's 6k race in an unofficial time of 22:26, according to SPU's release.

No official times or scores were available for the women's race.

What available results are located here.

NOTE: The sports information offices of Western Washington University, Lewis University, the USTFCCCA and Club Northwest contributed to this report.

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