Kevin McDermott & Western Washington men run to second place team finish at Lewis Crossover...
ROMEOVILLE, Illinois--Western Washington's Kevin McDermott (Paul Merca photo) led the way for the Vikings to a second place team finish Saturday at the Lewis Crossover, featuring thirteen nationally ranked mens teams in the most recent USTFCCCA Division II coaches' poll and ten women's squads.
The Viking men made the biggest statement Saturday placing second out of 36 teams with a team score of 123, featuring all five scoring runners in the top 40 of collegiate runners in the field of 341 racers.
Western, which was ranked number 11 heading into the Lewis Crossover, finished behind number 3 and three-time national champion Colorado School of Mines with a team score of 62.
The Vikings were well ahead of third-place No. 18 Colorado Christian (194), No. 10 Lewis (200), No. 16 Biola (202) and No. 4 Grand Valley State (286).
McDermott, the defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference cross country champion, placed ninth overall with a time of 24:13 for the 8k distance.
Ryan Clough, who didn't race at the Bill Roe Classic two weeks ago, finished twelfth in 24:17.
Sophomore Jared Alderfer (30th, 24:34), junior George Karamitsos (33rd, 24:36) and redshirt freshman Sten Brakstad (40th, 24:40) rounded out the Vikings five scoring runners, giving WWU a 1-5 split of 27 seconds.
Ryan Hartman of Augustana of South Dakota was the individual winner in 23:39.
In the women's 6k, the eleventh-ranked Vikings finished sixth with 237 points, as number 5 Colorado School of Mines took the team title with 69 points.
Behind Colorado School of Mines were number 6 Lewis (114), number 2 Grand Valley State (157), number. 4 Augustana of South Dakota (188) and GNAC rival and number 19 Alaska Fairbanks (200).
Seattle Pacific finished 16th in the 36 team field with a score of 486 points.
Seattle Pacific's All-American Annika Esvelt was the first Washington runner across the line, as she finished 13th in 21:28.
For Western, junior Ashley Reeck led the Vikings once again with a strong performance placing 32nd in 21:55. Senior Sophie Wright was 42nd in 22:07 and sophomore Ella Edens placed 50th in 22:14. Seniors Emma Smith (59th, 22:19) and Ila Davis (64th, 22:24) rounded out the Vikings scoring five runners.
Behind Esvelt for the Falcons were Maya Ewing in 43rd at 22:09, Madelyn Buckley in 137th at 23:14, Alexa Gossett in 173rd at 23:33, and Matise Mulch in 196th in 23:42.
Western had a 1-5 split of 29 seconds, while Seattle Pacific's 1-5 split was 2:14.
Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge of Colorado School of Mines pulled away from the Alaska Fairbanks duo of Kendall Kramer and Rosie Fordham to win in 20:39. Kramer was second in 20:50, while Fordham was fourth in 21:01.
Kramer and Fordham are the clear favorites for the GNAC individual title in two weeks in Bellingham.
For those schools looking to qualify for the NCAA Division II championship meet in November in Sacramento, the Lewis Crossover is perhaps the most significant regular season meet on the calendar.
Seattle University, Western Washington, Seattle Pacific, Saint Martin's and a few individuals from Central Washington competed in the Emerald City Open at Lower Woodland Park in Seattle on Saturday morning.
As of 3 pm Pacific time, only the women's results were posted on the TFRRS site.
UPDATE (3 pm Sunday 10/13) The TFRRS results link to the women's results are available here. The link to the men's results are available here.
NOTE: The sports information office of Lewis University, Seattle Pacific, Western Washington, and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference contributed to this report.
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