Thursday, September 17, 2015

SEAWOLVES PERFECT IN HAWAII: Alaska Anchorage had two races in Hawaii and finished with two perfect men’s scores. The Seawolves won both the men’s and women’s races at Saturday’s Hawaii Pacific Invitational. While the men were perfect at 15 points, the women were one point off of perfect with a score of 16. Sophomore Henry Cheseto won the men’s race in a time of 25:58.6 for 8,000 meters. Sophomore Caroline Kurgat won the women’s 5,000-meter race in a time of 18:15.9.

APPLE RIDGE ASCENT: The GNAC collected both team titles at the Apple Ridge Invitational, hosted by Central Washington in Yakima, Wash. Western Oregon opened the season by winning the men’s 6,000-meter race with 22 points. The Central Washington women equalled the WWU men’s effort, winning the 4,000-meter competition with 22 points.

AND THE FRESHMEN SHALL LEAD THEM: Of the Western Washington men’s scoring five at the Apple Ridge Invitational, three of them were freshmen running in their first collegiate races. Nickolas Mounier placed third in a time of 20:24, Dylan Hayes was fourth in 20:28 and Justin Irvine was seventh in 20:53. In the women’s race, Tracy Melville led the Vikings in her first collegiate race with a time of 15:08.

IN THE RANKINGS: All six ranked GNAC programs remained in the Sept. 16 USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Polls. Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington maintained their positions at No. 7 and No. 19, respectively. Simon Fraser moved up four spots to No. 21. In the women’s poll, Alaska Anchorage moved up to No. 9 while Simon Fraser slipped two spots to No. 10. Central Washington maintained their No. 22 position.

CHAMPIONSHIPS: Western Washington will host the 2015 GNAC Cross Country Championships on Sat., Oct. 24, at Bellingham’s East Lake Padden Park. Western Oregon will host the NCAA Divison II West Regional Championships on Sat., Nov. 7, on their own Ash Creek Preserve course on campus in Monmouth. All GNAC teams automatically qualify for the regional meet. The top four men’s teams and the top five women’s team in the regional meet qualifiy for the NCAA Division II Championships, which take place on Sat., Nov. 21, in Joplin, Mo.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS OF THE WEEK
MEN
Henry Cheseto, Alaska Anchorage
Sophomore • Kapenguria, Kenya

Cheseto led Alaska Anchorage to their second perfect team score in as many weeks at the Hawaii Pacific Invitational. Cheseto won the 8,000-meter race in a time of 25:58.6 (average of 5:13 per mile), beating teammate Dominik Notz by one second. Cheseto led an Alaska Anchorage team that had the top six placers in the race. Also Nominated: Isaac Mitchell (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN
Rebecca Bassett, Simon Fraser
Junior • Nanaimo, B.C.

Bassett won a close race at Friday’s Ash Creek Invitational, beating Chico State’s Sadie Gastelum at the tape as she covered the 4,600-meter course in 16:28.1 (5:45 per mile average). Bassett led the Clan to a fourth place finish in the meet with 136 points. They were the top GNAC scoring team. Also Nominated: Dani Eggleston (Central Washington), Megan Fristoe (Concordia), Caroline Kurgat (Alaska Anchorage), Sierra Manzer (Northwest Nazarene).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• Alaska is in the midst of a two-weekend break from competition after hosting two races at their own Moda Health Alaska Invitational on Sept. 3 & 5. The Nanooks will next compete at the Stanford Invitational on Sat., Sept. 26.

• The Alaska men won the shorter 5,000-meter race at the Alaska Invitational to open the season, led by a second place finish by sophomore Alexander Eckert (16:11.7).

• The Nanook women placed second in both the 6,000-meter race and the 5,000-meter race at their Alaska Invitational. Junior Dorothy O’Donnell was the top finisher for Alaska in both races with a pair of third place races (23:36.7 for 6,000 meters, 19:10.7 for 5,000 meters).

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• For the second week in a row, Alaska Anchorage put together a perfect team score with a 15-point performance at Saturday’s Hawaii Pacific Invitational. The Seawolves were a bit more spaced out in the 8,000-meter race than they were at 5,000 meters, with a spread of 47 seconds between the No. 1 and No. 5 runners.

• Sophomore Henry Cheseto led the Seawolves’ five after placing third in the Sept. 5 opener, finishing in 25:58.6. The performance earned Cheseto selection as the GNAC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week.

• Senior Dominik Notz was one second behind Cheseto in second place in a time of 25:59.4.

• The pair of perfect scores allowed Alaska Anchorage to maintain their No. 7 national ranking and a No. 2 West Region ranking in this week’s USTFCCCA Division II polls.

• The Alaska Anchorage women finished one point off of a perfect score at the Hawaii Pacific Invitational, winning with 16 points. The Seawolves took the top four places in the race along with sixth place to round out the scoring five. The time difference between UAA’s top-five runners was 56 seconds.

• Sophomore Caroline Kurgat won her second race in Hawaii this season, covering the 5,000 meters in a time of 18:15.9. Junior Joyce Chelimo was two seconds behind with a second place finish in 18:18.0.

• The Seawolves moved up one spot in the USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll to No. 9 and traded places with Simon Fraser in the West Region rankings at No. 2.

• Alaska Anchorage will not compete for the next two weekends. Their only remaining meet before the GNAC Championships will be the Oct. 10 Western Washington Invitational in Bellingham, Wash.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington posted a pair of solid team performances at their season-opening Apple Ridge Invitational in Yakima, Wash. The Wildcats’ women won the four-team meet with 22 points, with all five scoring runners placing in the top eight. Central’s men placed second behing Western Washington with a score of 58 points.

• Senior Dani Eggleston was the winner in the women’s 4,000-meter race with a time of 15:00. Senior Erin Chinchar was second in 15:02 while senior Megan Rogers placed fourth in 15:12. In all, the CWU women put just 51 seconds between their top five runners.

• The opening performance allowed Central Washington to main their No. 22 position in the USTFCCCA Division II National Poll and their No. 5 ranking in the regional poll.

• Freshman Jonathan Lafferty opened his collegiate career as CWU’s top runner in the meet, placing ninth with a time of 20:57 for 6,000 meters. Sophomore Josh Boston was two places behind in 11th place at 21:10.

• The Apple Ridge Invitational starts a string of three straight weekends of competition for Central Washington. They will compete at the Sundodger Invitational on Saturday and will travel south to the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 26.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia received a taste of life as a Division II cross country program with their appearance in Friday’s Ash Creek Invitational. The Cavaliers’ women finished seventh in the 13-team meet while the men placed 11th.

• Junior transfer Megan Fristoe was Concordia’s top runner, placing fourth in the women’s 4,600-meter race in a time of 16:46.3. Freshman Nicole Pederson showed well, placing 15th in a time of 17:10.0.

• On the men’s side, junior Jared Seckel was Concordia’s top placing runner, finishing 43rd in 19:49.1 over 6,300 meters.

• Concordia will finish three straight weekends of competition on Saturday as they participate in the Sundodger Invitational. The Cavaliers will then have a weekend off before the Oct. 3 Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational.

• Concordia is in the second year of a three-year transition process to NCAA Division II membership. This is their first year playing full Division II and GNAC schedules. While the Cavaliers are eligible to win the GNAC championship, they are not eligible for regional & national competition.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings did not compete last weekend. The Yellowjackets return to action on Saturday at the Montana State Invitational in Bozeman, Mont.

• Senior Robert Peterson was the week one GNAC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week after winning both men’s races at the Moda Health Alaska Invitational. He won the 8,000-meter race in a time of 26:18.3 and the 5,000-meter race in a time of 15:44.6.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene opened their season by participating the Chukar Classic, hosted by Treasure Valley CC in Weiser, Idaho. The NNU women finished second with a score of 64 points while the men placed third with 76 points.

• Sophomore Isaac Mitchell was NNU’s top runner in the men’s four-mile race, finishing second in 21:12. Mitchell was just two seconds behind winner Max Hampton of College of Idaho.

• Freshman Sierra Manser was the top NNU in the women’s 5,000-meter race, placing fourth in a time of 19:59. Senior Hailey Gordon finished sixth in 20:07 while sophomore Anysia Manser was eighth in 20:29.

• Next weekend’s Sundodger Invitational is the only time that Northwest Nazarene will see another GNAC team prior to the GNAC Championships in October. The Crusaders will race at the San Francisco State Invitational on Oct. 9 and the Lewis & Clark Invitational on Oct. 17.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s did not compete last weekend. The Saints will join the majority of GNAC squads at the Sundodger Invitational on Saturday in Seattle.

• Freshman Larissa Kolasinski was an individual winner in her first collegiate meet, leading the Saints at the Sept. 5 Puget Sound Invitational. She covered the 6,000-meter course in 23:10.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• After opening the season in Alaska, Seattle Pacific took last weekend off. The Falcons will return to competition on Saturday at the Sundodger Invitational.

• The Falcons’ women won both races at the Sept. 3 & 5 Moda Health Alaska Invitational. The Falcons won the 6,000-meter race with a score of 21 points and won the 5,000-meter race with a score of 18 points.

• The women’s performance was enough to move the Falcons up two spots in the USTFCCCA West Regional Poll to No. 7.

• Senior Anna Patti claimed both individual titles at the Alaska Invitational to earn week one GNAC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week honors. She won the 6,000-meter race in 22:11.5 and the 5,000-meter race in 18:34.5.

• Saturday will mark the 22nd consecutive year that Seattle Pacific has run at the Sundodger Invtational.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser opened the 2015 season with a pair of solid team finishes at the Ash Creek Invitational. The Clan men finished second in the 13-team competition with 64 points.  The SFU women were fourth with a score of 136 pts.

• Junior Rebecca Bassett outlasted Chico State’s Sadie Gastelum to win the women’s 4,600-meter race in a time of 16:28.1. The performance against some of the region’s best runners earned Bassett selection as the GNAC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week.

• Junior Oliver Jorgensen was Simon Fraser’s top men’s placer in eighth place, covering the 6,400-meter course in 18:44.9. Senior Marc-Antoine Rouleau was three places behind in 11th, finishing with a time of 18:50.4.

• The strong team performance against the defending west region champion allowed the Simon Fraser men to move up four spots to No. 21 in this week’s USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll and maintained their No. 6 West Region ranking.

• The Simon Fraser women slipped two spots to No. 10 in this week’s USTFCCCA Division II Poll and are now the second ranked GNAC team behind Alaska Anchorage. The Clan also traded places with the Seawolves in the West Region rankings, dropping to No. 3.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon opened the 2015 season at home, hosting the Ash Creek Invitational. The Wolves’ men made a solid showing, placing fourth out of 13 teams. The WOU women finished eighth of 12 teams.

• Sophomore David Ribich was WOU’s top runner in the men’s 6,400-meter course, placing 19th in a time of 19:07.3. Senior Zach Holloway was 10 places back, finishing in 29th place in a time of 19:32.7.

• Junior Nicole Maurmann was the WOU leader in the women’s 4,600-meter race, placing 29th in 17:38.0. Freshman Grace Knapp was 10 places back with a 39th place finish of 17:52.1.

• The men’s performance allowed the Wolves to emerge at No. 10 in the USTFCCCA West Region Poll, giving the GNAC four of the 10 teams ranked regionally.

• Western Oregon will be the host of the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships, which will take place on Sat., Nov. 7.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington ran well in their season opener at the Apple Ridge Invitational. The Vikings’ men won the four-team competiton with a score of 22 points, placing all five scoring runners in the top-10. The WWU women placed second with a score of 34 points.

• Three freshmen figured into the Viking men’s top-four. Nicolas Mounier placed third in a time of 20:24. Dylan Hayes placed fourth in 20:28 and Justin Irvine placed seventh 20:53. Junior Cody McCranie broke up the freshman trio, placing sixth in 20:48.

• Freshman Tracy Melville led a quartet of Vikings’ women to finish in the top-10 of the 4,000-meter race. Melville placed third in a time of 15:08. Junior Brittany Grant placed fifth in a time 15:44 while senior Taylor Guenther was sixth in 15:45. Junior Lillianna Stelling placed ninth in a time of 15:53.

• Western Washington’s men maintained their No. 19 ranking in this week’s USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll as well as their No. 5 regional ranking. The WWU women moved up one in the regional rankings to No. 6, but did not receive any votes in the national poll. The Vikings had received votes in the preseason rankings.

• Western Washington will host the GNAC Championships on Sat., Oct. 24, at Bellingham’s Lake Padden Park. It is the second time that WWU has hosted the GNAC meet. The first was in 2005.