COMPLETE RACE RESULTS
COTTONWOOD, Calif. – Far from the manicured golf fairways and paved bike paths that have evolved into collegiate cross country courses, the Southern Oregon University men's and women's cross country teams picked up a pair of team and individual wins on tough terrain at the Simpson Invitational on Saturday morning.
Carter Stedman and Mason Weisgerber crossed the line in first and second to lead the No. 22-ranked Southern Oregon men to a team title, scoring 19 points to beat Oregon Tech's 40. In his Raider debut, Stedman completed the 8,000-meter course in 26 minutes 32.63 seconds, and Weisgerber finished right behind in 26:32.70. The Raiders finished with five runners in front of Tech's third.
SOU's women — ranked No. 19 in the NAIA preseason coaches' poll — scored 25 points to take first over OIT's 32. Alyssa Johnson pushed the pace for the women, completing the 6,000-meter course in a winning time of 24:00.62 and finishing 1 minute 23 seconds ahead of second place. In what was essentially a dual meet in the team standings, the Raiders put six runners ahead of the Owl's fourth.
Freshman Josh Hepner earned a third-place finish in his collegiate debut, completing the 8K course in 26:58.71. Hayden Roth (27:30.19) and Trenton Abraham (27:48.69) rounded out the men's scoring, taking sixth and seventh place.
On the women's side, freshmen Alaina Casady and Emily Picard took fourth and fifth overall. Casady, from The Dalles, completed the 6K course in 25:52.52, and Picard, from Madras, ran 26:06.30. Ashley Jentzsch took seventh (26:47.12) and Mercedes Harms placed eighth (26:56.21).
Also marking their first taste of competition for SOU, Kayla Gorchels placed ninth (27:18.61), Natalie Sandeen 14th (29:57.28), and Izzie Calingasan 17th (31:41.50).
Stedman's and Johnson's wins mark the first in their collegiate cross country careers.
The Raiders return to California next Saturday for Cal Poly Humboldt's Jim Hunt Invitational.
MEN'S TEAM SCORES — 1. Southern Oregon 19, 2. Oregon Tech 40, 3. Simpson (Calif.) 87
SOU MEN'S 8K RESULTS (of 30 total entries)
1. Carter Stedman, 26:32.63
2. Mason Weisgerber, 26:32.70
3. Josh Hepner, 26:58.71
6. Hayden Roth, 27:30.19
7. Trenton Abraham, 27:48.69
10. Logan Huffman, 28:23.88
15. Dominic Vaughn-Luma, 29:31.99
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES — 1. Southern Oregon 25, 2. Oregon Tech 32
SOU WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS (of 23 total entries)
1. Alyssa Johnson, 24:00.62
4. Alaina Casady, 25:52.52
5. Emily Picard, 26:06.30
7. Ashley Jentzsch, 26:47.12
8. Mercedes Harms, 26:56.21
9. Kayla Gorchels, 27:18.61
14. Natalie Sandeen, 29:57.28
17. Izzie Calingasan, 31:41.50