MEN'S RESULTS | WOMEN'S RESULTS
ASHLAND, Neb. — The No. 2-ranked Southern Oregon men's cross country ensured its final regular season meet and Midwest trip was well worth the travel, winning the Blazing Tiger Classic in dominant fashion at Mahoney State Park.
The Raiders scored 73 points to second-place Mid America Christian's 115 while routing 26 other teams, including No. 19 Dordt (119) and No. 17 St. Mary (Kan)(132). They were paced by Mason Weisgerber for the third consecutive outing, who placed third overall of 422 competitors. The All-American senior finished the 8,000-meter course in 24 minutes 42.6 seconds.
Two more Raiders finished in the top-10. Carter Stedman was sixth in 25:03.6 and Andrew Rush was seventh in 25:05.8. Sophomore Josh Hepner wasn't far behind, placing 11th in 25:21.3.
Through 1,000 meters, SOU sat in sixth place in the team standings, but by the 3,000-meter split, they moved to second after Rush passed 25 runners and Hepner moved from 59th to 12th. Southern Oregon seized the lead by the 5K mark.
Sophomore Gus Blank, rounded out the scoring, finishing 47th in 26:02.6. SOU's one through five spread was the tightest since the season opener, with one minute 20 seconds separating Weisgerber and Blank.
In the women's 6,000-meter trek, senior Alyssa Johnson took third overall, finishing in 22:00.9. The No. 23-ranked Raider women finished 12th of 28 teams with 320 points.
Emily Picard, a sophomore from Madras, finished next and placed 17th in a personal best time of 22:52.6. Meadow Baxter placed 108th (24:52.2), Mercedes Harms was 114th (24:55.1) and Ellieana Massey took 122nd (25:05.4).
Of the 344 competitors in the 6K race, Johnson and Picard recorded the quickest finishes of the day. The pair completed the final 1,000 meters in 3:36.5 and 3:37.9, respectively.
The Southern Oregon cross country teams will compete in the Cascade Conference Championships in Lewiston, Idaho on Nov. 6.
MEN'S TEAM SCORES (Top 10) – 1. Southern Oregon 73, 2. Mid America Christian 115, 3. Dordt 119, 4. St. Mary (Kan.) 132, 5. Columbia (Mo.) 147, 6. Benedictine (Kan.) 191, 7. Doane 208, 8. Kansas Wesleyan 240, 9. Mount Mercy 280, 10. Evangel 285
SOU MEN'S 8K RESULTS (of 422 total runners)
3. Mason Weisgerber, 24:42.6
6. Carter Stedman, 25:03.6
7. Andrew Rush, 25:05.8
11. Josh Hepner, 25:21.5
47. Gus Blank, 26:02.6
100. Bjorn Austbo, 26:58.8
102. Trenton Abraham, 27:00.5
114. Logan Huffman, 27:13.2
214. Carter Yates, 28:16.4
SOU WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS (of 344 total runners)
3. Alyssa Johnson, 22:00.9
17. Emily Picard, 22:52.6
108. Meadow Baxter, 24:52.2
114. Mercedes Harms, 24:55.1
122. Ellieana Massey, 25:05.4
189. Kayla Gorchels, 26:03.7
199. Izzie Calingasan, 26:13.4
224. Ashley Jentzsch, 26:33.9