MOSCOW, Idaho – The Lewis-Clark State College men’s cross country team overcame multiple NCAA Division I opponents to come away with the title at the Inland Northwest Cross Country Challenge at the University of Idaho on Saturday. Also up against stiff competition, the LCSC women’s team finished fourth.
With his teams having not competed since Oct. 3, Warrior head coach Mike Collins was more than pleased with the way his teams ran.
“We had two extremely tough weeks of training,” said Collins. “We came into this event a little bit tired, and, honestly, I’m a little surprised with the results.”
The men’s team, ranked No. 10 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll, outran 11 other teams to win their third title in four events so far this season. LCSC won the meet with 67 points, narrowly defeating Eastern Washington which finished with 70. Spokane Community College claimed third with 93, Gonzaga was fourth at 94, and the University of Idaho earned fifth with 113.
In his first career finish as the team’s No. 1, junior Jake Miller (photo) led the way over the hilly course for the Warriors with an eighth-place finish and a time of 25:07.47. Sean Huey came in a second later at 25:08.87 to take 11th, and he was followed by Dave Marks’ 12th-place finish and time of 25:13.08. In all, out of 113 runners, LCSC had five finish in the top 25.
“Jake worked real hard last summer, and it is obviously paying off for him,” said Collins. “Overall, we had a good group effort.”
The University of Calgary took the women’s title with 38 points, while Gonzaga was second at 44, and the University of Idaho was third with 50. The Warriors tally of 102 was good enough to beat out four other schools including Frontier Conference foe Carroll College which finished sixth at 162.
“Considering we were missing a couple runners, the women ran a good race,” said Collins. “And to finish in front of a conference school helps solidify where we are in the conference.”
Senior Lindsay Szybura led the women’s team, which is currently ranked No. 11, as she finished at No. 12 in a time of 18:51.86. Szybura was followed by Kelsey Klettke who finished 15th with a mark of 18:59.75.
Next Saturday the Warriors will play host to the Warrior Invite at Lewiston’s Hells Gate State Park.
MEN’S RESULTS
Team scores – 1, LCSC 67. 2, Eastern Washington 70. 3, Spokane CC 93. 4, Gonzaga 94. 5, U. of Idaho 113. 6, U. Calgary 115. 7, Washington State 119. 8, U- 236. 9, U- 264. 10, Carroll 280. 11, Skagit Valley 337. 12, Flathead Valley CC 365.
Overall winner – Paul Limpf, U- , 24:20.64.
LCSC – 8, Jake Miller 25:07.47. 11, Sean Huey 25:08.87. 12, Dave Marks 25:13.08. 21, Eric Tuwei 25:40.27. 22, Grant Eldridge 25:41.73. 31, Chris McConnell 25:55.15. 44, Mickael Testa 26:22.51. 46, Josh Shrewsbury 26:25.94. 64, Tanner Smedley 27:05.15. 66, Frank Lagrimanta 27:06.11. 82, Tommy Bollinger 27:53.98. 86, Conor Thompson 28:05.89. 90, Andy Keim 28:28.84. 108, Alex Weber 30:47.43.
WOMEN’S RESULTS
Team scores – 1, U. Calgary 38. 2, Gonzaga 44. 3, U. of Idaho 50. 4, LCSC 102. 5, Eastern Washington 159. 6, Carroll 162. 7, Spokane CC 189. 8, Flathead Valley CC 245.
Overall winner – Katie Fenton, U. Calgary, 17:55.71.
LCSC – 12, Lindsay Szybura 18:51.86. 15, Kelsey Klettke 18:59.75. 29, Allie Ford 19:28.69. 30, Tayler Harrington 19:34.15. 36, Chelsey Leighton 19:48.52. 37, Stephanie Shuel 19:49.90. 38, Casey Hampton 19:51.44. 41, Jessie Gulsvig 19:57.70. 51, Madison Randall 20:18.62. 53, Amy Watkins 20:23.95. 55, Whitlee Young 20:32.60. 64, Sheree Barbour 21:14.29. 90, Tammy Parker 23:05.14.
