WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Vikings sweep Bill Roe WWU Classic...
The roundup of the weekend begins in Ferndale, where host Western Washington, the country's number 16 Division II men's team, helped lead the Vikings to a sweep of the Bill Roe WWU Classic Saturday morning at Hovander Homestead Park.
In the featured men's 8k race, the Vikings, led by the 2-3 finish by Sten Brakstad (#263/photo courtesy WWU Athletics) and Jonah Billings, placed three runners in the top ten to easily defeat Club Northwest (96 points) and Trinity Western (111 points), as Western scored a low of 36 points.
Central Washington was fifth with 140, while Saint Martin's was tenth with 244 points in the twelve-team field.
While Trinity Western's Yemane Mulugeta was a 16 second winner over Brakstad 23:52 to 24:08, the story in the men's race was the Vikings' ability to put three runners in the top ten, and six inside the top 15.
Billings was third overall in 24:10, while George Fernandez was sixth overall in 24:18.
Spencer Zeljak in 12th (24:35), Logan Werner in 13th (24:36), and Jared Alderfer in 14th (24:38), were the trio behind the Vikings' top finishers, giving Western a 1-5 split of 28 seconds.
For Central Washington, Kellen McInelly was their top finisher, placing 16th in 24:42, while Eli Dale was Saint Martin's top runner in 45th in 25:30.
In the opening women's 6k, the Vikings put all five scorers in the top ten, led by Ella Edens in fourth in 21:21 to lead WWU to a 36-53 win over second place Simon Fraser.
Central Washington was third with 91 points, and Saint Martin's was sixth in the nine-team field with 142 points.
Following Edens was Emmy Kroontje in sixth in 21:29, then Alexis Parker in seventh in 21:34. Jill Philbin was ninth in 21:37, followed by WSU transfer Sabrina Colbert in tenth at 21:41 to give the Vikings a 1-5 split of 20 seconds.
Kekaihulali Halpern of Saint Martin's led the way for the Saints, as she finished fifth in 21:27, while Payton Conover of Central Washington was their first runner across in 14th in 21:53.
EAGLES FINISH NINTH AND TENTH AT UC RIVERSIDE INVITE...
In Riverside, California, Eastern Washington ran to a pair of top ten finishes at the UC Riverside Invitational Saturday contested at the UCR Age Ops Course.
The mens invitational 8k saw Eastern finish ninth in the 24-team field with a score of 258 points, as San Francisco won with 33 points.
Unattached runners Ahmed Faris took the individual title, running the 8k course in 23:29.
Marcus Lemon was Eastern's top finisher in 28th, running 24:25.
In the women's 6k, San Francisco won the team title, scoring 45 points in the 24-team field, while Eastern Washington was tenth with 328 points.
San Francisco's Jess Spilsbury won the individual title in a time of 20:19.
Rylee Brandon was Eastern's top finisher, placing 33rd in 21:06.
FALCONS RACE TO PAIR OF SEVENTH PLACE TEAM FINISHES AT MIKE JOHNSON CLASSIC...
In Monmouth, Oregon Saturday, the Seattle Pacific cross country teams raced to a pair of seventh place finishes at the Mike Johnson Classic at the Ash Creek Preserve course on the Western Oregon University campus.
The women's 6k race was won by unattached runner Cadence Kasprick, who ran 20:44.
Seattle Pacific's Maya Ewing was fifth overall, finishing in 20:56. She was the first Division II runner across the line.
Competing on the course that will host the NCAA D2 regionals in November, number 20 Chico State won with a low score of 47 points over Alaska Anchorage's 86 points.
Despite a 1-2-3 finish by Northwest Nazarene's Brody Kemble (23:41), Grady Mylander (23:41), and Ian Stockett (23:55), Northwest Nazarene didn't have enough to overcome seventh ranked Chico State, which packed all five scorers inside the top ten to win by a 34-40 count.
Despite the close loss to Chico State, the Nighthawks could garner some national votes when the next USTFCCCA Division II coaches poll releases on October 1st.
Seattle Pacific scored 194 points in the 13-team field.
Isaac Venable was Seattle Pacific's top finisher, placing 39th in 25:12.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Western Washington, Central Washington, Saint Martin's, Eastern Washington and Seattle Pacific contributed to this report.
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