Saturday, September 3, 2011

Saint Martin's Joscelyn Minton and Spencer Hunt won individual titles Saturday in the University of Puget Sound Invitational cross country meet at Fort Steilacoom in Lakeland.

Minton won the women's 6K taking the lead before the two-mile mark and pulling away from the rest of the field to win in a time of 24:02, 26 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Katie Gebert of Pacific Lutheran.

Erika Copeland also finished in the Top 10 with her best outing for the Saints placing eighth in a time of 25:14. The Saints finished third in the team standings behind Pacific and Pacific Lutheran.

Hunt and Kyle Van Santen ran 1-2 in the men's 8K in times of 25:26 and 25:27. Also in the Top 10 were SMU's Joe Berger and Joseph Patti.

They placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in times of 27:02 and 27:22. SMU won the team title finishing with a score of 26, 25 ahead of Pacific.

Puget Sound Invitational (Sept. 3 at Lakewood): Men - Saint Martin's 26, Pacific 51, Pacific Lutheran 58, Puget Sound 76. Individuals (8,000 Meters) - 1. Spencer Hunt, SMU, 25:26; 2. Kyle Van Santen, SMU, 25:27; 5. Joe Berger, SMU, 27:02; 6. Joseph Patti, SMU, 27:22. Women - Pacific 41, Pacific Lutheran 52, Saint Martin's 59, Puget Sound 65. Individuals (6,000 Meters) - 1. Joscelyn Minton, SMU, 24:02; 8. Erika Copeland, SMU, 25:14.

Seawolves Sweep Titles in HPU Invitational

Ruth Keino and Yonatan Yilma led Alaska Anchorage to first-place finishes at the Hawaii Pacific Invitational cross country meet Saturday.

Yilma won the men's 8,000-meter event edging teammates Micah Chelimo and Alfred Kangogo. All three were credited with identical times of 26:15.

The men's squad registered a perfect score of 15 points as freshman Dylan Anthony (26:46) and Jacob Parisien (27:00) all finished in the Top 5.

Keino recorded a time of 18:22 to win the women's 6,000-meter race. UAA's Susan Tanui finished second in a time of 18:27 and Miriam Kipng'eno was fifth in 18:42.

Hawaii Pacific Invitational (Sept. 3 at Honolulu): Men - Alaska Anchorage 15, BYU-Hawaii 54, Hawaii Pacific 101. Individuals (8,000 Meters) - 1. Yonatan Yilma, UAA, 26:15; 2. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 26:15; 3. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 26:15; 4. Dylan Anthony, UAA, 26:46; 5. Jacob Parisien, UAA, 27:00. Women - Alaska Anchorage 21, BYU-Hawaii 51, Hawaii 78, Hawaii Pacific 119, Hawaii Hilo 201. Individuals (5,000 Meters) - 1. Ruth Keino, UAA, 18:22; 2. Susan Tanui, UAA, 18:27; 5. Miriam Kipng'eno, UAA, 18:42; 6. Bryn Haebe, UAA, 19:04; 7. Shoshana Keegan, UAA, 19:12.

Plunkett, Potter Sweep UAF Races

Natty Plunkett of Seattle Pacific and Brian Potter of Montana State Billings each won their second races in three days Saturday in the UAF Cross Country Short-Course meet at Fairbanks.

Plunkett won the women's 4K in a time of 15:14.3. Potter won the men's race in a time of 12:49.4. Both athletes won the long-course races on Thursday.

The team winners were also the same as Thursday as Seattle Pacific outpointed MSU Billings 23-49 to win the men's title and host UAF posted a team score of 29 points to finish 14 points ahead of the Falcons for the women's title.

Alaska Fairbanks Short-Course Invitational (Sept. 3 at West Ridge Trails): Men - Seattle Pacific 23, MSU Billings 49, Alaska Fairbanks 51. Individuals (4000 Meters) - 1. Brian Potter, MSUB, 12:49.4; 2. Alex Horton, SPU, 12:58.9; 3. Jacob Wahlenmaier, SPU, 13:00.5; 4. . Tyler Kornfield, UAF, 13:07.2; 5. Will Harrison, SPU, 13:07.5. Women - Alaska Fairbanks 29, Seattle Pacific 43, MSU Billings 57. Individuals (4000 Meters) - 1. Natty Plunkett, SPU, 15:14.3; 2. Heidi Laabs-Johnson, SPU, 15:18.7; 3. Heather Edic, UAF, 15:21.9; 4. Theresia Schnurr, UAF, 15:22.6; 5. Crystal Pitney, UAF, 15:22.9.