Raider men take 1st, women 2nd at Humboldt Invitational
SOU Sports Information
MEN'S RESULTS
WOMEN'S RESULTS
TRINIDAD, Calif. – The Southern Oregon University cross country teams left the Humboldt State Invitational with a little success and plenty to think about after making their 2014 debuts Saturday morning at Patrick's Point State Park.
Jared Hixon (Palmdale, Calif./Palmdale) was eight seconds off the pace in third place to help the second-ranked Raider men to a team victory over three other squads on the 8,000-meter course. The 13th-ranked Raider women were second of six teams in 6,000 meters, led by Summer Cano (Hillsboro, Ore./Century)'s fourth-place finish.
Hixon hit the finish line in 25 minutes, 54.89 seconds, and not far behind him were eight other Raiders in the top 18. Max Runia (Central Point, Ore./Crater) took sixth in his SOU debut, Cary Dunagan (Reno, Nev.) was eighth, Zach Boyd-Helm (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) 11th, Ray Schireman (Medford, Ore./North Medford) 12th, Kevin Jorgensen (Yreka, Calif./Yreka) 14th, Connor Cushman (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) 15th, Dylan Alexander (Encino, Calif./Birmingham) 16th, and Hayden Teachout (Duvall, Wash./Cedarcrest) 18th.
Rebecca Lupescu (Portland, Ore./Westview) placed sixth for the Raider women. She was 35 seconds behind Cano, who had a time of 23:25.58.
SOU newcomers Jessa Perkinson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) and Karen Silvas (Santa Ana, Calif./Segerstrom) finished seventh and 11th, while Aspen Abbott (Gardnerville, Nev./Douglas) and Jessie Rozario (Rocklin, Calif./Del Oro) were 15th and 19th overall.
"The men got out the first two miles really slow, so we had to scramble to make up a lot of ground the last half of the race," SOU coach Grier Gatlin said. "The women were a bit more aggressive but still way off the front halfway into the race.
"It was a good start but both teams need to be a lot better next week (at the Cascade Conference Preview Meet)."
To Gatlin's point, Hixon was 28 seconds behind the leader at two miles and made up 20 seconds of ground.
Justin Valdez won the men's race unattached in 25:46.35, and Humboldt's Keefe Hanson was runner-up in 25:53.54.
The Raiders were without All-American Eric Ghelfi (Redding, Calif./Redding Adventist Academy).
Humboldt had to top-two finishers in the women's race, Tatiana Gillick (22:12.43) and Annie Roberts (22:29.08).
MEN'S TEAM SCORES – 1. SOU 35, 2. Humboldt State 43, 3. Fresno Pacific 48, 4. Dominican 119.
Complete SOU Results
3. Jared Hixon (Palmdale, Calif./Palmdale), 25:54.89
6. Max Runia (Central Point, Ore./Crater), 25:58.72
8. Cary Dunagan (Reno, Nev.), 26:11.55
11. Zach Boyd-Helm (West Linn, Ore./West Linn), 26:18.50
12. Ray Schireman (Medford, Ore./North Medford), 26:22.01
14. Kevin Jorgensen (Yreka, Calif./Yreka), 26:29.27
15. Connor Cushman (West Linn, Ore./West Linn), 26:34.94
16. Dylan Alexander (Encino, Calif./Birmingham), 26:41.47
18. Hayden Teachout (Duvall, Wash./Cedarcrest), 26:58.33
22. Dylan Paulk (Portland, Ore./Grant), 27:07.01
24. Greg Garcia (Moraga, Calif./Campolindo), 27:20.08
30. Clayton Bunn (Yreka, Calif./Yreka), 27:58.78
31. Eli Stillman (Paradise, Calif./Paradise), 28:01.45
33. Jose Ortiz (Santa Ana, Calif./Santa Ana), 28:03.90
35. Caleb Diaz (Medford, Ore./North Medford), 28:11.90
36. Donnie Coulson (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles), 28:18.12
39. Matt Williams (La Crescenta, Calif./La Crescenta), 28:35.24
44. Camden Stemple (Medford, Ore./South Medford), 29:53.31
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES – 1. Humboldt State 35, 2. SOU 43, 3. Fresno Pacific 56, 4. Dominican 123, 5. Sonoma State 125, 6. Mills 183
Complete SOU Results
4. Summer Cano (Hillsboro, Ore./Century), 22:50.58
6. Rebecca Lupescu (Portland, Ore./Westview), 23:25.58
7. Jessa Perkinson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg), 23:35.91
11. Karen Silvas (Santa Ana, Calif./Segerstrom), 23:55.01
15. Aspen Abbott (Gardnerville, Nev./Douglas), 24:17.21
19. Jessie Rozario (Rocklin, Calif./Del Oro), 24:25.83
27. Natalie Berania (Sacramento, Calif./Pleasant Grove), 25:21.80
30. Stephanie Ramirez (Salinas, Calif./Salinas), 25:42.13
36. Emily Lamb (Felton, Calif./San Lorenzo Valley), 26:43.86
39. Atalie Frank (Salem, Ore./South Salem), 27:26.10
44. Veronica Cardenas (Palmdale, Calif./Palmdale), 27:46.25
47. Angie Meza (Saugus/Saugus), 28:53.85