ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Eastern Oregon University men's and women's cross country competed in its first meet of the 2021 campaign Saturday afternoon as the Mountaineers ran at the CWU Invitational. Both squads finished fifth in their respective races to start the season.
The race was originally set to be run in Yakima, Washington at the Apple Ridge Run course, but poor air quality forced the race to be moved. Despite the change, EOU made the most of its first race of 2021 in what were warm conditions in Ellensburg. By race time, competitors were welcomed to an average of 75 degree weather and clear skies.
For the Mountaineer men, they tallied 103 points to finish in the top-five. For the EOU women, they grabbed their fifth place finish with a total of 124 points scored.
Highlighting the day for the Mountaineers was the efforts of returning All-American Travis Running. He finished third overall in the 6K race and was just 0.9 seconds from earning a runner-up finish. He crossed the line in a time of 19:40.9 to place in the top-three.
For the 3.73 mile race, Running was smooth in his time averaging 5:16.6 per mile to lead the Mountaineer men to a fifth place team finish with 103 points. Finishing second on the team was freshman Cristian Mendoza who placed 21st in a time of 20:43.1.
Right behind Mendoza was fellow newcomer Justin Ash who placed 22nd. He was just over one second behind Mendoza with a final time of 20:44.4. Junior Hunter Nichols was the next EOU harrier to cross the finish line as he placed 30th in a time of 20:57.6.
Benjen Lilly rounded out the scoring portion for the Mountaineers with a 33rd place finish in a time of 21:19.5.
On the women's side, the top finisher for the Mountaineers was Katie Jo Gebhardt who placed 19th overall in a time of 17:05.9 for the 4K course. Ella Coughlan was the next EOU runner to cross the line as she finished three spots back of Gebhardt at 22nd. She ran a time of 17:22.8 for the course.
Jaimee Baxter was the third Mountaineer runner for Eastern. She was two spots back from Coughlan with a 24th place finish in a final time of 17:32.5. Two newcomers rounded out the scoring portion for EOU in Kendall Bonzani and Emma Hollon. They finished 29th and 30th, respectively. Bonzani posted a time of 17:51 flat, while Hollon ran a 17:56.1.
Eastern Oregon will have a six-day break before getting back on the course. The Mountaineers will host the EOU Invitational next Friday, Sept. 17. The race will take place at La Grande Country Club with the women running at 5:45 p.m. followed by the men at 6:30 p.m.
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