BILLINGS, Mont. – The Central Washington University Cross Country Teams competed at the GNAC Championships late Saturday morning with the women's team earning a 5th-place finish with 126 points as
Payton Conover paced the 'Cats with a 13th-place finish and a time of 21:47.8 with
Maddy Harrison not far behind in 14th-place and a time of 21:48.9. The Wildcat men's squad had a 7th-place finish with 185 points, led by
Luke Hurd with a 25th-place finish and a time of 25:15.1.
RACE RESULTS
The women's squad had two more finish in the top 40 after Conover and Harrison.
Lillian Neff was the next finisher for the crimson and black at 31st with a time of 22:26.1 while
Hannah Pidduck shortly followed in 35th-place and a time of 22:37.0.
Julie Johnson and
Katie Manly finished back-to-back in 42nd and 43rd, respectfully with times of 22:54.6 and 22:59.5.
Camryn Holterhoff earned herself a top 50 finish as the seventh runner for the 'Cats with a 46th-place finish and a time of 23:14.1.
On the men's side
Charles Naught was the next 'Cat to cross the finish line after Hurd, placing 38th with a time of 25:48.2.
Dima Serafimovici finished next in 42nd with a time of 25:54.8 followed by
Kellen McInelly in 49th-place and a time of 26:13.5.
Max Hutton was the final point scorer for the Wildcats, finishing in 53rd with a time of 26:21.7. Rounding out the Wildcat runners was
Ares Van Straaten in 58th with a time of 26:34.6 and
Ethan Moore at 74th and a time of 28:04.2.
QUOTING CWU ASSISTANT CROSS COUNTRY COACH MATT LAYTEN
"Our women's team had a solid day! We had our highest conference team finish since 2018.
Payton Conover spearheaded our team finish at 13th overall. Freshman
Maddy Harrison had a strong run in her first GNAC Meet, just outside the top-10. Both with personal bests at that distance. It was a rough day for our young guys squad, but we'll regroup for our next race at the NCAA Regionals in a few weeks as we move up to a 10k distance."
UP NEXT
The Wildcats turn their attention to the NCAA West Region Championships where they will look to make some noise and see if they can earn a spot at the NCAA Championships. The West Region Championships will take place on Saturday, November 8 at the Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Oregon.
