ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University cross country teams host the CWU Invitational in Ellensburg on Saturday.
It marks the first home fall meet for the Wildcats since 2019, though they did host the CWU Winter Invitational early this year. This weekend's meet was originally slated for Yakima, Washington, but smoke concerns prompted the move to Ellensburg.
"We are always feeling out the season," CWU Head Coach
Kevin Adkisson said. "We are definitely racing our way toward the championship and getting in better shape each race. This very first race, things are rough around the edges. We are still figuring out how fit everyone is."
Joining the Wildcats at the CWU Invitational are College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon University, Green River College, Northwest University, Olympic College, and Western Washington University.
Central brings a core group of
Trevor Allen,
Rajesh Gill,
Ty Savely, and
Shawn Clough. Allen, placed ninth at the GNAC Championships in 2019. Gill finished 30
th at the 2019 Championships and specialized in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters during the 2021 track season.
Zach Sundt and Garret Hough also return for the Crimson and Black after finishing 43
rd and 44
th respectively in 2019.
Ty Savely and
Shawn Clough are the top newcomers for the Wildcats. Clough finished fourth over 8,000 meters in CWU's lone 2020-21 meet, the CWU Winter Invitational.
"We are very encouraged with what we saw on the men's side," Adkisson added. "We saw some really good things in our intra-squad meet last week. The top four looks really solid. That is going to turn out to be a really solid pack of guys who can work together."
On the women's side, the Crimson and Black look to
Madison Child, Caitlyn Gohr, and
Kay Lester to guide the pack.
Zoie Mastin and
Tailer Cochran look to add into the mix in the opening weekend for the 'Cats.
"There's some good strength on the women's side with a good mix of veterans and younger runners," Adkisson noted. "We are excited to see where they'll go and to see who emerges as the front runner."
Child placed 41
st at the 2019 Championships with a time of 24:01.7. She then ran a 22:58.0 at the NCAA West Regional. Gohr placed 36
th at the Championships with a mark of 23:47.9.
Mastin shined during the spring track season, posting a mark of 18:55.12 in the 2021 GNAC Outdoor Championship.
"The first weekend it's always great to get out there and see a little more," Adkisson said. "We have a decent idea what our pack can do based on our training so far, but being able to see other teams, it'll help us determine how much work we have cut out for us this far."
