Tuesday, September 30, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. -  Montana State University Billings will  host the Yellowjacket Invitational Cross Country meet Friday at Amend Park in Billings at 10 a.m.

Joining MSUB in the race will be Dickinson State, Rocky Mountain, Westminster, Great Falls and Central Wyoming.  Amend Park will also be the site of the NCAA West Regional next month (Nov. 22).

The meet is one of three on this weekend’s schedule involving GNAC teams.

Alaska, Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon will head to Salem Saturday for the Willamette Charles Bowles Invitational.  CWU will also send some runners to Tacoma for the Pacific Lutheran University Invitational.

Alaska Anchorage, Seattle Pacific, Simon Fraser, Simon Fraser and Western Washington are all idle.

UAA, SFU and WWU are all ranked in this week’s USTFCCCA national cross country poll.

The Seawolf men moved up one spot from last week and are ranked seventh.  Western Washington slipped two positions falling to 22^nd in the men’s poll.

In the women’s poll, Simon Fraser maintained its No. 9 ranking, while Western Washington fell one spot to 20^th.

Seven GNAC teams are ranked in this week’s regional poll. 

UAA is second, WWU is fifth and SFU is seventh in the men’s regional rankings.  SFU is second and WWU, CWU and UAA are fifth, sixth and seventh in the women’s regional poll.

Vikings Post Two Perfect Scores at Saint Martin’s

Western Washington posted two perfect scores of 15 in winning the Saint Martin’s Invitational last Saturday on the Saint campus.

Nathan Richards led the first five Viking runners over the finish line in a time 26:21.78.  That effort earned him GNAC Male Athlete of the Week honors along with Robert Peterson of Montana State Billings.

Peterson had a third-place finish in the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational.  He led the Yellowjackets to an eighth place team finish out of 33 Division II squads, covering the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25:42.2.

WWU’s women had the top 13 finishers at Saint Martin’s led by Katelyn Steen who posted a 6,000-meter time of 18:06.26.

Meanwhile, SFU’s Rebecca Bassett and Marc-Antoine Rouleau had the best finishes by GNAC runners in the Stanford Invitational. 

Bassett was fourth among Division II women and 37^th overall in a 6,000-meter time of 22:03 and was selected GNAC Female Athlete of the Week.

Rouleau finished 73^rd overall in a 8,000-meter time of 24:58 and was SFU’s top finisher after finishing fourth and second on his team in his previous two races.

LAST WEEK’S SUMMARIES

Stanford Invitational (Sept. 27 at Palo Alto): Men (Non-Division I) – Chico State 30, UC San Diego 100, Claremont-Mudd 130, Pomona Pitzer 139, Victoria 179, Simon Fraser 189, Humboldt State 204, Azusa Pacific 209, Cal State Stanislaus 230, Cal State Monterey Bay 247 (20. Seattle Pacific 555).  Individuals Overall (6,000 Meters) – 1. Joe Rosa, Stanford, 23:16; 73. Marc-Antoine Rouleau, SFU, 24:58; 108. Travis Vugteveen, SFU, 25:15; 125. Oliver Jorgensen, 25:24; 140.  Cameron Proceviat, SFU, 25:29; 150. Turner Wiley, SFU, 25:34.  Women (Non-Division 1) – Victoria 71, Chico State 104, Simon Fraser 109, UC San Diego 111, Claremont-Mudd 143, Humboldt State 145, Azusa Pacific 156, Academy of Art 203, Seattle Pacific 249, Cal State Stanislaus 279.  Individuals Overall (6,000 Meters) -  1. Abby Regan, Washington State, 20:31; 37. Rebecca Bassett, SFU, 22:03; 67. Jennifer Johnson, SFU, 22:34; 75. Anna Patti, SPU, 22:38; 92. Miryam Bassett, SFU, 22:49.

Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational (Sept. 27 a Minneapolis): Men (Division II) – Wisconsin Parkside 90, Augustana 99, Indiana Wesleyan 189, Central Missouri 206, Lakehead 224 (8. MSU Billings 273). Individuals (8,000 Meters) – 1. Matt Johnson, Regina, 25:33; 3. Robert Peterson, MSUB, 25:43; 16. Jamon Rodriguez, MSUB, 26:34; 71. Garrett Love, MSUIB, 27:48.  Women (Division II) - Minnesota Duluth 74; Augustana 97; Northern Michigan 115; Run N Fun, 244; Mary 186 (10. MSU Billings 318. Individuals (6,000 Meters) – 1. Samantha Rivard, UM-Duluth 22:02.8; 15. Nocona Frame, MSUB, 22:59.6; 57. Renae Hepfner, MSUB, 24:11.9; 67. Rio Frame, MSUB, 24:20.2.

Saint Martin’s Invitational (Sept. 27 at Lacey): Men – Western Washington 15, Saint Martin’s 63, Trinity Lutheran 71, Olympic 122, Skagit Valley 123. Individuals (8,000 Meters) – 1. Nathan Richards, WWU, 26:21.78; 2. Andrew Wise, WWU, 26:28.93; 3. Isaac Griffith, WWU, 26:29.04; 4. Jonathan Quimby, WWU, 26:36.01; 5. Logan Giese, WWU, 26;39.59.  Women - Western Washington 15, Saint Martin’s 57, Trinity Lutheran 74, Olympic 106.  Individuals (5,000 Meters) – 1. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 18:06.26; 2. Taylor Guenther, WWU, 18:57.79; 3. Sofia Marikis, WWU, 19:10.54; 4. Shawna Troupe, WWU, 19:11.13; 5. Kali Klotz-Brooks, WWU, 19:13.42.  

GNAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Men -  Nathan Richards, Western Washington (Sr., Longview, WA – R.A. Long) and Robert Peterson, MSU Billings (Jr., Billings, MT) ... Richards led the Vikings to a perfect team score of 15 in winning the Saint Martin’s Invitational in an 8,000-meter time of 26:21.78.  Peterson finished third in Division II in the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational in a time of 25:42.2 as the Yellowjackets finished eighth out of 33 teams.

Women – Rebecca Bassett, Simon Fraser (So., Nanaimo, BC) was the GNAC’s top finisher in the prestigious Stanford Invitational.  She placed 37^th overall in a 6,000-meter time of  22:03.  That ranked fourth among all non-Division I runners, trailing only one runner each from Azusa Pacific, Chico State and the Academy of the Arts.