PORTLAND, Ore. - It was a sloppy Friday morning in the Pacific Northwest as the Saint Mary's Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams competed at the WCC Conference Championships.
The rainy conditions in Portland made the course at Fernhill Park rather perilous, but the Gaels gutted out impressive performances against their conference foes.
RAYNA PARADE'S INTO TOP 10
The women's 6K got the action started Friday morning, as multiple Gaels got off to great starts. Rayna Stanziano jumped in the top ten early, running inside the top five within the opening three minutes of the race.
Her Gaels teammate Molly Dreher got off to a speedy start as well, hanging with Stanziano and the opening pack for the opening minutes of the race. Stanziano held steady in fifth through the halfway point of the race, as Dreher settled into 33th.
The Saint Mary's trio of Emily Field, Sofia Cuevas, and Dani Rowlinson weren't far behind at the halfway point, running 44
th, 45
th, and 46
th respectively.
The wind and rain made for a slippery occasion Friday morning, and Stanziano was unable to maintain her pace down the stretch, claiming 8
th in a time of 20:23.0. Stanziano was named First Team All West Coast Conference after the race as well.
Molly Dreher held steady throughout the race, finishing in 33
rd in a time of 21:37.3. Dani Rowlinson didn't let the weather phase her, claiming 40
th in a personal best time of 21:55.3.
Emily Field and Sopfia Cuevas paced each other all race, as the two finished side-by-side in 42
nd and 43
rd in times of 21:58.0 and 21:58.1 respectively. Cuevas' 21:58.1 was also a personal best by 14 seconds.
Klara Frih was next to finish for the Gaels, crossing the line in 47
th in a time of 22:17.6. Syliva Ingram and Jiana Cortero weren't far behind Frih, finishing in 58
th and 63
rd in times of 22:46.7 and 22:59.5. Kaylee Barnes and Daylana Ferguson rounded out the field for the Gaels, as Barnes finished 70
th in a time of 23:12.6 and Ferguson in 77
th in a time of 23:44.0.
COACH MARTY KINSEY ON THE WOMEN'S PERFORMANCE…
"The women really stepped up today. We were only 24 points off of Santa Clara who was originally ranked, so the team have a lot of motivation for the NCAA regional championships in two weeks' time. Overall, the women really stepped it up in tough conditions and ran the best team race we've had all year."
MEN SNAG 8TH
The Men's 8K was next up, and the Fernhill the track is slightly shorter than a true 8K, meaning the results are not true representations of 8K times.
Blaine Reynolds was out quick for the Gaels, running in 21
st through the opening 1.2k of the race. Luke Bland and Troy Coulston started well for the Gaels as well, running in 30
th and 34
th respectively.
Curtis Volf was quick off the marks for Saint Mary's as well, moving up to 33
rd after the opening 2k of the race.
Blaine Reynolds held steady throughout the entire race, finishing as the fastest Gael in 47
th in a time of 24:08.6. Curtis Volf finished just a few seconds back in 50
th, crossing the line in a time of 24:16.1.
Thomas Osborne was 55
th for Saint Mary's, finishing in a time of 24:33.8. The Gaels had a large group across the line next, as Sam Tyas and Richard McLain finished 60
th and 63
rd in times of 24:39.4 and 24:52.0 respectively.
Then came Noah Pagaran, Troy Coulston, Luke Bland, and Reinder Prince, who claimed positions 65 through 69. Pagaran finished in 25:08.7, Coulston in 25:10.6, Bland in 25:11.7, and Prince in 25:13.3.
Aidan Donovan rounded out the field for the Gaels, finishing 77
th in a time of 25:45.3.
COACH HARLAN LOPEZ ON THE MEN'S PERFORMANCE…
"The effort was there but the result was not. We need to be better and have some things to clean up before regionals."
UP NEXT
The Gaels have one more race to wrap up the season, as the teams head to Washington for the NCAA West Regionals at Chambers Bay Golf Club on Friday November 11.
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