PARKLAND, Wash. – Competing against rival small college competition for the first time this season, the Whitworth cross country teams had a pair of impressive showings on Saturday at the Pacific Lutheran Invitational with two third place finishes.
The Pirate men took third out of 12 schools, while the women were third out of 11.
Alex Peters led the men's team by finishing 9th overall with a time of 25:02.3 on the eight-kilometer course. Ramon Rodriguez of NCAA Division II Central Washington won the race in 24:26.3.
London Haley followed in 15th place (25:20.4) and James Dugenet was 17th in 25:25.4, giving Whitworth three runners among the top-20 finishers in a field of 147. Isaac Akiyama had his best showing of the season, finishing 26th in 25:56.1. Tyler Eakin crossed in 42nd place with a time of 26:36.3.
Perhaps more important than the third place finish was the fact that the Pirate men were second among Northwest Conference schools. The final team scores were: George Fox 62, Central Washington 70, Whitworth 96, Lewis & Clark 99, Trinity Western 102, Whitman 137, Puget Sound 190, Pacific (Ore.) 235, Green River CC 254, Pacific Lutheran 255, Everett CC 320, Olympic CC 379.
For the women, Abby Staley led the way with a seventh place finish with a time of 22:22.1 on the six-kilometer course. Trinity Western's Constance Nankivell won the race in 20:28.4.
Kezlie Thygesen crossed the line in 17th place in 23:23.6 and Ashlyn Dary followed in 20th position with a time of 23:38.0. Lulu Brady was right behind in 22nd in 23:40.6 while Lily Jones rounded out Whitworth's top five in 31st place in 23:56.7. There were 106 finishers in the women's race.
The final women's team scores were: George Fox 31, Lewis & Clark 69, Whitworth 84, Central Washington 85, Puget Sound 154, Whitman 158, Pacific (Ore.) 164, Pacific Lutheran 201, Green River CC 287, Everett CC 313, Treasure Valley CC 314.
After a weekend off the Pirates will be back in action on October 5th at the Whitman Invitational.
