2009 GNAC Cross Country Runners-of-the-Week
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| Schnurr |
Week of Aug. 24-30: Men – Manual Santos, Central Washington (Jr., Yakima, WA – Davis) also earned two wins in Alaska with winning margins of 23.8 and 30.5 seconds. Clark redshirted last season at CWU after transferring from Clark Community College. Women – Theresia Schnurr, UAF (So., Buhlertal , Germany) raced to a pair of victories in duals with Central Washington Thursday and Saturday finishing 23.7 seconds and 18.5 seconds ahead of the field and leading the Nanooks to two dual meet victories.
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| Chelimo |
Keino |
Week of Aug. 31-Sept. 6: Men – Micah Chelimo, Alaska Anchorage (Fr., Eldoret, Kenya) led the Seawolves to a dual meet win over nationally fourth-ranked Abilene Christian, finishing first in a 5,000 meter time of 15:18.6. Women – Ruth Keino, Alaska Anchorage (So., Kapcheno, Kenya) and Theresia Schnurr, Alaska Fairbanks (So., Buhlertal, Germany). . .Jeptoo finished first in a 5,000 meter time of 18:22.8 to lead the Seawolves to a 16-47 dual meet win over Abilene Christian. Schnurr won her third race in three starts, posting a time of 17:58 in the Hawaii Pacific Invitational.
Week of Sept. 7-13: Men – Bennett Grimes, Western Washington (Jr., Pocatello, ID - Century) and Chris Reed, Western Oregon (Jr., Klamath Falls, OR). Women – Sarah Porter, Western Washington (Jr., Hockinson, WA). . .Grimes, Reed and Porter all had impressive wins in leading their respective teams to invitational titles Saturday. Grimes won the CWU Apple Ridge Run Invitational near Yakima in a 6,000 meter time of 19:49, finishing 20 seconds ahead of teammate Blake Medhaug. The Vikings placed five runners in the Top 7 in winning the team title with 19 points. .Reed outran 116 other runners in winning the Lewis & Clark Invitational at McIver Park in Estacada, Ore., in an 8,000-meter time of 25:29.8. The Wolves finished first among the 11 colleges and one club team with 51 points. . .Porter won the women's CWU Apple Ridge Run Invitational in a 4,000 meter time of 15:13, more than a full minute ahead of the remainder of the field.
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| Chelismo |
Pixler |
Week of Sept. 14-20: Men – Micah Chelismo, Alaska Anchorage (Fr., Eldoret, Kenya). Women – Jessica Pixler, Seattle Pacific (Sr., Sammamish, WA - Eastlake). . .Chelismo and Pixler had second and third-place finishes, respectively, in the men's and women's invitational portion at the 18th annual UW Sundodger cross country meet at West Seattle's Lincoln Park. Chelimo was clocked in a time of 24:03.33, less than 10 seconds behind winner Kelly Spady of University of Washington, who had an 8,000 meter time of 23:54.94. Pixler, the two-time defending NCAA Division II national champion, had a time of 20:26.07 for her 6-kilometer (3.72-mile) run on a soggy course under drippy skies. The only two to finish ahead of the two-time defending NCAA Division II titlist were Kendra Schaaf and Mel Lawrence, both from the reigning Division I champion University of Washington.
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| Watson |
Pixler |
Week of Sept. 21-27: Men – Barak Watson, Northwest Nazarene (Fr., Nampa, ID - Columbia) finished second in the Bob Firman Invitational at Boise in an 8,000 meter time of 25:37.23. In three races this fall, Watson has a pair of second-place finishes and a fourth. He also placed second in the open division in the UW Sundodger Invitational Sept. 19 and placed fourth in the Roger Curren Invitational Sept. 12 at Nampa. Women – Jessica Pixler, Seattle Pacific (Sr., Sammamish, WA - Eastlake) placed second in the Stanford Invitational covering the 6,000 meter layout in 20:21 leading her teammates to a 12 th -place team finish. Pixler finished just one second behind Tara Erdmann, who was competing unattached. Erdmann placed 78th last year in the NCAA Division I national meet competing for Loyola Marymount.
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| Watson |
Puga |
Week of Sept. 28-Oct. 4: Men – Barak Watson, Northwest Nazarene (Fr., Nampa, ID – Columbia) ran the second fastest 8,000 meter time in Northwest Nazarene school history and finished eighth among 198 runners in the Willamette Chuck Bowles Invitational at Salem. His time of 24:32.05 was only 24 seconds behind winner Michael Wickman of Chico State who led the Wildcats to a five-point win over Boise State in the team race. Watson, who finished behind five Division I runners and two Chico athletes, has now had four consecutive Top 10 finishes to start his collegiate career. Women – Jaclyn Puga, Northwest Nazarene (Jr., Meridian, ID – Nampa Christian) placed 10 th out of 203 runners at Willamette in a time of 18:05.99 leading NNU to a ninth-place team finish. She was fourth among Division II West Region athletes, trailing three runners from Chico State.
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| Cheseto |
Keino |
Week of Oct. 5-11: Men – Marko Cheseto, Alaska Anchorage (Jr., Kapenguria, Kenya) won the San Francisco State Invitational at Golden Gate Park Friday in an 8,000 meter time of 24:52.6. It was the first win of the season and the third of his career for Cheseto, who is the defending GNAC champion and was the NCAA Division II West Region runner-up last fall. Women – Ruth Keino, Alaska Anchorage (So., Kapcheno, Kenya) led the Seawolves to a perfect score of 15 in the San Francisco State Invitational. Jeptoo finished third in a 6,000-meter time of 21:38.7 and was followed closely by four of her teammates. The five UAA athletes were separated by just 36 ½ seconds. Jessica Pixler and Jane Larson of Seattle Pacific finished 1-2, but were competing as individuals and didn't figure into the team score.
GNAC Cross Country Runners-of-the-Week (2001-09)
