The Cavalier men went finished 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 among counting runners at the Oak Knoll Loop Run on Saturday. The CU women were not slouches either, finishing 1-2-3-4-5-6 at the meet.
Cavalier XC Teams Sweep Their Season-Opener
RESULTS
INDEPENDENCE, Ore.—The Concordia cross country teams opened their respective seasons in impressive fashion Saturday, with both sides finishing 1-2-3-4-5 at the Oak Knoll Loop Run, hosted by Willamette University.
Beyond going 1-2-3-4-5 though, the Concordia men went 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 among counting runners, while the women, who only brought six athletes, went 1-2-3-4-5-6.
“It was the perfect environment for us to measure where we are in our training and we were pleased with the results and individual performances today,” said CU head coach Isaac Frederick, who could not have asked for a better results in his first meet as head coach of the Concordia cross country program.
On the men’s side, freshmen Sergio Gonzalez and Roman Kirkov led Concordia, as they finished second and third overall, respectively.
John Carley, a senior from the UO Running Club, won the race on the men’s side, finishing the 6K course in 18:05.62, but Gonzalez finished just eight seconds back of Carley in a time of 18:13.97, while Kirkov finished in 18:15.52.
“Our younger athletes have established themselves as immediate contributors and will have a big impact for us this season,” said Frederick.
Meanwhile, a trio of Concordia juniors finished right behind Gonzalez and Kirkov in Ben Foubert, Andrew Landstrom and Taylor Adrian. Foubert claimed fourth overall for the Cavaliers, running the course in 18:16.58. Five seconds behind him, Landstrom finished fifth in 18:22.03, while Adrian finished five seconds off of Landstrom in 18:27.84 to claim sixth.
The Cavaliers’ Alan Johnston (18:38.31), Nick Wilson (18:45.58), Jonatan Santillin (18:55.37) and Eason Everett (20:06.93) also ran for the team on Saturday, finishing eighth, 10th, 12th and 19th respectively.
As a team, the Cavaliers easily outpaced the competition, beating second-place Lane Community College by 35 points. Lane finished with 50 points as a team, while host Willamette finished third with 75 points.
On the women’s side, Mikel Elliott led the way for the Cavaliers, winning the 4K race with a time of 14:01.43.
Elliott was just a part of a three-headed lead pack for the Cavaliers’ though, as the Cavs’ top three runners finished more than 45 seconds ahead of the next finisher.
Linsie Michels and Sarah Whybark joined Elliott in the lead group, with Michels placing second and Whybark third. Michels ran the course in 14:17.92, while Whybark finished in 14:39.22
After those three, runners from the UO Running Club and Lane Community College separated the Cavs’ top three from the rest of the teams runners, who finished sixth, seventh and eighth overall.
Kristina Cupp claimed sixth for the Cavs in 16:15.24, while Megan VonBargen finished seventh in 16:16.15 and Ellen Dexter finished eighth in 16:24.71.
“Our top three finishers today on the women’s side ran very well up front, while the rest of the group has shown consistent improvement,” said Frederick.
As far as the women’s team race, only Concordia and Willamette fielded full teams for the meet. As a result, the Cavaliers scored the minimum 15 points, while the Bearcats finished well behind with 45 points.
Both Concordia teams will return to Willamette University for their next race, which will be the Charles Bowles Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 29.
“With our first race under our belt, we’re really looking forward to the Charles Bowles Invitational, a meet that will prepare us for conference and National Championship competition,” said Frederick.
Racing will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Charles Bowles Invitational.