Zags score perfect 15s at Clash of the Inland Northwest; Evans Kurui tops his 6k mark in Colfax...
In Cheney, Gonzaga's Willow Collins (Paul Merca file photo) ran to victory as the Zags scored a perfect 15 Friday morning to win the Clash of the Inland Northwest on the practice fields surrounding the Eastern Washington athletic complex.
Collins, last year's West Coast Conference seventh place finisher, won the women's 4k race in 13:49, six seconds ahead of Charlotte Dillon.
Following Dillon for the Zags were in order: Jade Rypkema in 14:15; Clare Mullin in 14:15; and Camille Broadbent in 14:30. Gonzaga put eight runners across the line in the top ten.
Host Eastern Washington finished second with 65 points, just ahead of Idaho's 72 points.
Rylee Brandon led the way for the Eagles in 11th place in 14:49, followed by Nattie Ruzauskas in 13th in 14:55. Rhiannon Davies was 17th in 15:06, followed by Adrienne Root two seconds back, and Sara Sanders was 23rd in 15:19.
In the men's 6k, Gonzaga put the first eight runners across the line, and nine of ten to also win with a perfect 15.
Mason Kissell was first followed by Logan Law, Ryan Mitchell, Bryce Cerkowniak, and Paul Talens, all in 18:46.
Idaho was second with 68 points, followed by host Eastern Washington with 83 points.
Conner Wirth was Eastern's top runner in 23rd in 19:23. Charlie Ledwith was next in 24th in 19:25, followed by Marcus Lemon in 29th in 19:36. Trajn Swalstad was 37th in 19:49, and Owen Higgins was 38th in 19:53.
In Colfax, Washington State's Evans Kurui picked up where he left off, winning the 6k race at the WSU Alumni Open Friday afternoon at the Colfax Golf Club.
Kurui cruised to the win in 16:45 after opening with a first kilometer of 2:30. The time beat his mark over 6k of 16:57 set last year.
Texas Tech transfer Solomon Kipchoge was second in 17:00, followed by Josphat Meli in 17:24.
Freshman Kade Brownell, who was third at the Washington 3A cross country meet for Mt. Spokane last year, was fourth in 18:06, but competed unattached without a Cougar uniform.
Grayson Walcott was fifth in 18:05, and Evan Bruce was sixth in 18:10.
The women's race saw Rosemary Longisa and Zenah Cheptoo run together for the first 3k, before Longisa pulled away to win in 12:55 to Cheptoo's 13:10.
Caroline Jepkorir was third in 13:32, followed by Nicole Bissell in 13:48, and Daphne Evenson in 13:53.
The Cougars next host the Cougar Classic in two weeks.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Gonzaga, Eastern Washington and Washington State contributed to this report.
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