Southern Oregon won the men's race with a 30-point spread over runner-up Victoria on Satuday.
Southern Oregon Dominates CU/Puma Classic
PORTLAND, Ore.—With three teams inside the top 15, including fifth-ranked British Columbia, the No.2-ranked Southern Oregon men’s cross country defended its ranking with a team championship at the Concordia/Puma Classic held at Fernhill Park on Saturday.
The Raiders had all five scores inside the top 12 finishers to compile a meet-low 36-point total. The University of Victoria finished in second place with 66 points while UBC ended the meet in third with 68 points. The host Cavaliers tallied 98 points to squeak by No.12-ranked Simon Fraser by a single point.
UVik’s Matt Pieterson captured the individual title after covering the four-mile course in 19:50, a 10-second advantage over Eric Burck, competing unattached. Simon Fraser’s Kevin Friensen placed third with a 20:01.
Led by David Laney (5th, 20:06) SOU runners placed third, sixth, seventh, eighth and 12th in the team chase. Laney was followed by Ryan Gelfi (11th, 20:22) Dennis McCaffrey (12th, 20:24), Ryan Sorenson (13th, 20:24) and Hector Aleman (19th, 20:50) giving the Raiders a 44-second spread from their No. 1 to their No.5 racer
The top four Cavaliers finished within 32 second of each other with Martin Romero-Clark leading the way in 17th place with a 20:40. Three spots back, Jessy Brown crossed in 20:54 while Cordero Cisneros finished 25th overall with a 21:02 and Marcus Nelson finishing in 29th place with a 21:12.
Fielding an incomplete team, Northwest University was paced by Matt Porter who crossed in 67th place with a time of 22:01.
Behind Canadian powers Victoria, Simon Fraser and British Columbia, the Concordia women placed fourth as a team. Victoria recorded a meet-low 40-point total to edge No.4-ranked Simon Fraser by two points. Tenth-ranked UBC registered 89 points for third place while Concordia was charged with 112 points.
Alice Taylor led the conference representatives with a third-place showing after touring the 5,000-meter layout in 18:07. University of Saskatchewan runners Jodi Souter (1st, 17:33) and Caitlin Warkentin (2nd, 17:54) took the top two spots.
CU’s Lauren Moran edges SOU’s top runner by a second with Moran finishing in 22nd place with a 19:06 and Anya Martinez covering the course in 19:07 for 24th place.
Samantha Robert (33rd, 19:38) and Junia Limage (35th, 19:48) cracked the 20-minute barrier for CU as the team’s No. 3 and 4 competitors. SOU’s Kristen Juveland matched the accomplishment in 38th place with a 19:52.
With four individuals, Northwest University did not impact the team standings but the team’s top three harriers crossed near the 20-minute mark with Lindsey Wagner leading the team in 32nd place with a 19:36 to finish as the CCC’s fourth-best performance. Fellow Eagles Brittany Long (41st, 19:58) and Paige DeLapp (42nd, 20:01) crossed the line consecutively.