MOSCOW, Idaho – Kelsey Klettke put an exclamation point on the season opener for the Lewis-Clark State College cross country teams as she cruised to a first-place finish at the All-Idaho Cup on Saturday. “It was a great race for Kelsey individually,” LCSC coach Mike Collins said. “She led the race from start to finish and in the process she set an all-time school record.”
Klettke, a junior from Vancouver, Wash., finished the 5-kilometer course in a time of 17:48.41, more than 20 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Her time topped the school mark of 17:52 set by Tausha Kuzmic in 2002.
Competing against the University of Idaho, Gonzaga University, College of Idaho, and Eastern Washington, both the Warrior men’s and women’s team had a strong showing on the day.
The LCSC women, which have made nine consecutive trips to nationals, claimed fourth-place as Shaelie Edwards and Samantha Minor finished second and third on the team, respectively. Edwards finished in 25th with a time of 19:44.69, and Minor was 28th at 19:47.90.
“From a team standpoint I felt we ran well,” Collins said. “We need to get better, but the results from this race are very encouraging. We had less than 60 seconds between our No. 2 and No. 8 runners, so we have some great depth. We just need these girls to continue to work hard to move closer to the front. When we do that, we will be very, very tough.”
The Warrior men’s team, which has made eight straight trips to nationals, also finished fourth overall and had very good performances from Sean Huey and Fernando Esperanza. Huey claimed fifth with a time of 25:57.56, and Esperanza was sixth as he finished the course in 26:07.00.
The Warrior men’s team, which has made eight straight trips to nationals, also finished fourth overall and had very good performances from Sean Huey and Fernando Esperanza. Huey claimed fifth with a time of 25:57.56, and Esperanza was sixth as he finished the course in 26:07.00.
Markus Geiger, of Idaho, took first-place with a time of 24:52.81.
“Even though the outcome may not look that great, I am pretty happy with where we are at,” said Collins. “We saw a very good team race and finished only 12 points behind College of Idaho, which finished ninth last year at nationals. In addition, we ran without two guys who have historically been in our top five. So, with both of those guys in the lineup it might have been interesting today.”
Lewis-Clark State is now off for a few weeks before competing again at the Eric Anderson Memorial Invite in Spokane on Sept. 25.
For complete women's results click here. For men's results click here.
Lewis-Clark State is now off for a few weeks before competing again at the Eric Anderson Memorial Invite in Spokane on Sept. 25.
For complete women's results click here. For men's results click here.
