NCU Women's XC Wins CCC Team Award
PORTLAND, Ore. – The 15th-ranked Northwest Christian University women’s cross country team, which ran impressively to a team title at the Southern Oregon University Raider Invitational Saturday, has been named the “Verizon Team of the Week” in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, the conference office announced Sunday.
Led by a 2-3-4 finish by Brittany Petersen, Ally Manley and Stephanie Hescock, the Beacons finished with 27 points to knock off seventh-ranked Concordia (46) and eighth-ranked Southern Oregon (63). The trio crossed the finish line within a 21-second span. Petersen clocked a time of 18:57.00, Manley crossed the line in 19:05.40 and Hescock finished in a time of 19:13.80.
However, according to NCU head coach Heike McNeil, it was the performances of NCU’s fourth and fifth runners, Ashley Kinney and Emily Svendson-McLean, that helped seal the victory. Kinney finished eighth in a time of 19:33, just seconds shy of her personal best, while Svendson-McLean, running in her first collegiate meet, placed 10th in a time of 19:54.
"Ashley and Emily are the two runners who won the race for us today,” said McNeil. “We've always struggled with this huge gap between our third and fourth runners, but not today. Ashley was the real star of this meet. She dug deep and the result was incredible.
“It’s really, really exciting, but it’s still a long season ahead,” added McNeil. “We need to make sure we keep everyone healthy. We’ll see how the rest of the season develops, and hopefully we can do something similar to this again.”
The meet was held at Oak Knoll Golf Course in Ashland, Ore., which will be the site of the CCC Championships Nov. 5.