BILLINGS, Mont. - The Central Washington University cross country teams battled both the elements and the competition at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday.
On Friday, teams got a chance to preview the course in warm, 69 degree weather. Very few could have predicted the weather change that took place. By the time the starter's gun sounded, the ground was covered in snow as runners were forced to pierce through 30 degree temperatures.
"We knew the forecast was changing from rain to snow, and it definitely showed up," CWU Head Coach Kevin Adkisson said. "It was crazy to run the course in nice weather yesterday and then show up and run in there to four inches of snow today. It was something that everyone had to deal with. We ran tough and gave good efforts. A lot of things were determined early in the race because of the weather and course conditions."
Western Washington earned the women's crown with 53 points. The Vikings upset Alaska Anchorage, getting the better of the Seawolves by seven points. The Wildcats brought home seventh place with a total of 168 points.
Molly Mattson put together the best performance for the Wildcats on Saturday. The sophomore from Selah brought home 24th with a time of 23:21. Lily Tyrrell hustled to a 31st place finish with a time of 23:36.
"Molly [Mattson] did a really good job," Coach Adkisson said. "Again, it was really tough to move up during the race. She was able to pick up some places. We wanted to get both her and Lily [Tyrrell] in the top 20. Lily kind of faded towards the end of the race but otherwise ran well."
Caitlin Gohr and Delaney Clem ran a smart race, using each other to gage their pace. Gohr took 36th with a time of 23:47.9. Clem finished one spot behind her teammate with a time of 23:48.8. Madison Child was the final runner to record points for the Wildcats. She took 40th with a time of 24:01.7.
"We also had some strong efforts from the rest of the pack," Coach Adkisson added. "Delaney [Clem] kept the group moving forward. Caitlin [Gohr] moved up and got ahead of her right at the end. Solid runs, but not enough to break into that group we wanted to be."
Western Washington secured the team sweep. They took the men's race with a dominate 38 points. Simon Fraser and Alaska Anchorage tied for second with 76 points. The Wildcats wrangled a seventh place finish with 157 points.
Trevor Allen provided a bright spot for the Wildcats on Saturday. Allen ran a methodical race, working his way through the pack. A strong push towards the end of the 8k race landed Allen in ninth place. Allen's time of 25:32.2 provided the Wildcats with a top 10 finisher on the day.
"Trevor [Allen] had a big, big performance for the men," Coach Adkisson said. "It's been quite a while since we had a male competitor get inside the top 10. He made a good move in the last mile to get into the top 10. That's super exciting for him."
Rajesh Gill was the next best finisher for the Wildcats. His time of 26:28.2 landed him in 28th place overall. Garrett Hough, Zach Sundt and Donovan Barnhart worked well with each other to finish in close proximity of each other. Hough took 39th with a time of 26:49.6. Sundt grabbed 40th place with a time of 26:51.8. Barnhart finished just one spot behind his teammate with a time of 26:53.1.
"The middle of the pack was really tight," Coach Adkisson said. "We couldn't make up the ground we needed to today. Rajesh [Gill] moved up really well throughout the race. He may have started out a little too relaxed. He had too much ground to cover at the end."
The Wildcats take a week off before returning to action at the NCAA Regionals in Monmouth, Ore. on Nov. 9.
