Kipchoge and Kurui place in the top fifteen, while WSU women finish seventh at Nuttycombe...
VERONA, Wisconsin--Washington State's Solomon Kipchoge (Paul Merca photo) and Evans Kurui both placed in the top twenty in the men's race, while the Cougar women raced as a pack, despite freshman Millie Bii finishing 26th, and rocketed to a seventh place team finish at the uber-competitive Nuttycombe Invitational at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, hosted by the University of Wisconsin.
KIPCHOGE AND KURUI PLACE IN THE TOP FIFTEEN...
The men's race, which had a field of 244 starters with dry conditions and temperatures in the low 60s at race time, went through the first 2k with a pack of 28 through in 5:36 or faster, with Washington's Jamar Distel in that front group.
Unfortunately, Distel would pay for his early exuberance in the end.
At the 4k mark, Kurui, a veteran of the Zimmer course from two years ago, when he earned his first All American medal at the NCAA championships, then followed it up with a fifth place finish in this meet last year, found himself in the lead in a pack of 16, going through in 11:24.
Kurui dropped to ninth at the 6k mark, while fellow Cougar All American Solomon Kipchoge began picking his way through the crown, finally getting himself into the top twenty.
As the leaders made their way up the final hill, there were a group of four bunched together: Colorado's Meshack Kipruto, New Mexico's Pasanjo Kitonga, Louisville's Elsingi Kipruto, and Wake Forest's Rocky Hansen.
Colorado's Kipruto squeezed out the win in 22:31 with Kitonga second in the same time, and Louisville's Kipruto third one second back.
The Cougars' Kipchoge, who was second in this meet last year, finished ninth in 22:46, while Kurui was 13th in 22:50.
For Kurui, his mark was 37 seconds faster than what he ran last year to finish fifth. Kipchoge ran 19 seconds faster in this year's race.
Beyond Kipchoge and Kurui, it was a rough go for the Cougs, with Kade Brownell finishing 122nd in 28:08, Kutoven Stevens 205th in 24:59, and Jackson Welsh 212th in 25:10 for a team 1-5 split of 2:24.
Washington, which entered the Nuttycombe ranked number 13 in the USTFCCCA men's national poll, did not run well at all.
Theo Schucht, the Boston College transfer, led the Huskies in 78th-place overall in 23:44 for 8k. Tyrone Gorze ran 23:52 to take 90th, and Isaac Briggs was two seconds back in 98th-place. Transfer Jonathan Podbielski moved up 30 spots over the final 2k to finish 128th in 24:05, and Nathan Neil capped the scoring in 175th in 24:25, as the Huskies' 1-5 split was 41 seconds, but had no one in the top 50.
Jamar Distel, who was in the top ten early, faded to 214th in 25:12.
Gonzaga was led by Logan Law, who was 38th in 23:22. Dylan Rowell was 115th in 24:00. Ryan Mitchell was their third runner in 173rd at 24:25, followed by Aiden Miller in 188th in 24:33, and Logan Schwartz in 203rd in 24:52.
The Zags' 1-5 split was 1:31.
Both the Cougs and the Huskies will drop in the national rankings when the coaches' poll is released on Tuesday.
Washington State finished 23rd with 561 points, while Washington was 24th with 569 points.
Gonzaga was 33rd in the 35 team field with 717 points.
Defending team champion New Mexico kept their hands on the team title, winning by a 59-93 margin over Colorado, with BYU third at 146.
COUGARS' PACK RACING PAYS OFF WITH SEVENTH PLACE FINISH...
Washington State's Millie Bii (Paul Merca photo), who was sixth last month at the McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana, led the way for Washington State, as she finished 26th over the 6k course, running 19:51.
Behind Bii, the Cougs packed it in, with Faith Kimaiyo finishing 42nd in 20:13, Nelly Jemeli in 45th in 20:15, Mercy Biwott in 61st in 20:27, and Hailey Cossey in 89th in 20:44. The number 17 Cougars' 1-5 split was 53 seconds.
Washington, ranked number 23 in the national poll going into the meet, was led by freshman Sherry Drury, who went out fearlessly in the top-20 through 2k and despite losing some ground in the second half, still led the team finishing 54th overall in 20:23. The second Husky finisher was Nicole Bissell, running 20:36 for 75th overall. Elena Aldrink was close behind in 82nd in 20:40.
First-year Abigail Hennessy got into the top-100 with a 97th-place finish in a time of 20:49, and Josephine Welin capped the scoring in 123rd in 21:01, as the Dawgs finished with a 1-5 split of 38 seconds.
Freshman Sloan Dickson led the way for unranked Gonzaga, finishing 68th in 20:32, followed by fellow frosh Audrey Orme in 88th in 20:44.
The Taggi sisters were the third and fourth runners in for the Zags, with Maria in 120th in 21:01, and Emma ten places behind in 21:05. Charlotte Dillon closed out the scorers in 174th in 21:27, as Gonzaga finished with a 1-5 split of 55 seconds.
Florida's Judy Chepkoech won a battle with Iowa State's Betty Kipkore, with both clocking 19:20.
Former WSU Cougar Rosemary Longisa, now competing for Iowa State, finished tenth in 19:25.
West Virginia, which placed three runners inside the top eleven, took the team title with 66 points, followed by Florida's 111. Northern Arizona was third with 130 points.
Washington State finished seventh with 263 points, while Washington was 16th with 431 points.
Gonzaga may make a case for a spot in the national top 30, as the Bulldogs were 23rd with 580 points, despite missing both NCAA qualifiers Jessica Frydenlund and Logan Hofstee.
WESTERN WASHINGTON AND CENTRAL WASHINGTON SET TO RACE AT LEWIS CROSSOVER...
Both Western Washington teams, along with the Central Washington women's squad, have an opportunity to make their cases to the national voters this Saturday when they run at the Lewis Crossover in Romeoville, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.
Action gets underway at 7:45 am Pacific with the men's 8k, followed by the women's 6k at 8:30 am Pacific.
Western Washington is the highest rated men's team in the field at the Lewis Crossover, with host Lewis ranked at number 10 and Saginaw Valley State ranked number 11.
Colorado Christian at number 20, Western Oregon at number 23, Anderson (South Carolina) at number 25, and number 30 Alabama-Huntsville are the other ranked men's teams in the field.
Twelfth ranked Lewis, number 16 Findlay, number 18 Winona State, number 23 Biola (California), and number 26 Saginaw Valley State are the ranked women's teams in the Lewis Crossover field.
paulmerca.blogspot.com will cover the meet in person for the first time.
NOTE: The USTFCCCA, and the sports information offices of Wisconsin, Washington, Washington State, Gonzaga, and Lewis contributed to this report.
paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links. You can also support the site by clicking the yellow "Buy Me A Coffee" link below or the blue icon on the lower right hand side.
Comments