Women's Results -
Women's Team Results
Men's Results -
Men's Team Results
SPOKANE, Wash. - Senior
Theresia Schnurr scored a top-20 finish, placing 17th overall and 15th among collegiate runners, to lead the Alaska Nanooks men's and women's cross country teams at the Runners Soul Erik Anderson Cross Country Invitational Saturday afternoon at the Plantes Ferry Soccer Complex.
Schnurr completed the women's six kilometer course in 22 minutes and 24 seconds and was third among her Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents in a race that was dominated by Division I racers from Washington State. WSU had all five of their runners capture spots among the top seven finishers to easily take the team title with 21 points. Gonzaga was second with 114 points, while Western Washington's women's team was third with 133 points. The Nanooks finished 12th in the 26-team field and were fourth among GNAC teams represented at the event.
"It was really neat to see
Theresia Schnurr near the front of the race in such an impressive women's field," said assistant coach Matt Dunlap. "Theresia got herself engaged early and led the ladies finishing 17th overall."
Dunlap was also pleased with the performance by junior
Jana Benedix, who finished just a second behind rookie Kryston McPheters (23:32, 60th) for a course time of 23:33, which placed her 62nd overall. "Jana ran an extremely smart race as she was able to move up in the pack and passed other competitors for the entire race."
Alaska's other racers included McPhetres older sister Alyson (24:03, 89th) and junior
Marit Rjabov (24:59, 135th).
On the men's side,
Tux Seims led the Nanooks on the 8K course in 26 minutes and 28 seconds (108th).
Andrew Arnold was clocked at 27:51 (152nd), while
Joseph Dillon and
Kenneth Brewer crossed back-to-back in 28:32 (171st) and 28:38 (172nd) and
Nolin Ainsworth finished in 29:07 (184th).
"
Tux Seims got out to a quick start today, ran a smart race and was able to push hard for the entire race ultimately leading him to break the 27-minute mark for the first time in his young career," said Dunlap. "It was fun to watch two of our freshman, Kenny Brewer and Josephy Dillon work together too. They have become good training partners and it was exciting to see them push each other."
Next up for Alaska is a visit to the Big Island to race against the University of Hawaii-Hilo on Oct. 8, which is their final brush up before the GNAC Conference Championships on Oct. 22 and then the NCAA West Region Championships on Nov. 5.
"Today was a good test for the Nanooks and a helpful tool as the team was able to view the same course that they will be racing on in six weeks for the Division II West Region Championships. It was a good eye-opener for all who raced and showed them what is possible and what our team is capable of accomplishing this year. I look forward to our return to Spokane later this season."
