Griz compete at Inland Empire Challenge

Saturday, October 17

Lewiston, Idaho

Montana

Inland Empire Challenge

10/17/2015 6:26:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

By: Montana Sports Information

Results

The Montana cross country teams had five personal bests Saturday as the Grizzlies competed at the Inland Empire Challenge at Lewiston, Idaho.

The Montana women finished second behind Gonzaga in Division I scoring in the 10-team field. The Grizzlies placed third behind Gonzaga and Eastern Washington in the 12-team men's field.

"Overall I was really happy," said UM cross country coach Vicky Pounds. "Both teams had solid days. It was nice to get to a lower elevation and race on a fairly flat course."

Freshman Emily Pittis and sophomore Reagan Colyer both broke 18 minutes on the women's five-kilometer course. Pittis finished fourth among Division I runners, 18th overall, in a time of 17:51. Colyer was fifth among Division I runners, 19th overall, in 17:56.

"The women took it out pretty fast today," said Pounds. "Emily was solid, and Reagan ran a PB. We had a few who struggled, but most ran PBs or close to their PBs."

Junior Lauryn Wate (18:09), senior Heather Fraley (18:33) and sophomore Emily Cheroske (18:39) rounded out Montana's top five.

Calgary's Emma Cook-Clarke won the women's race in a time of 16:38. Six women, including two from Northwest Christian and two from Gonzaga, broke 17 minutes.

Gavin Hasty made it two freshman leaders as he covered the men's eight-kilometer course in a team-best time of 25:07, 42 seconds faster than he ran the Montana Invitational two weeks ago. Hasty finished 13th among Division I runners, 28th overall.

Sophomore Nathan Wellington ran a 25:23, junior Adam Wollant a 25:26, sophomore Paden Alexander a 25:46 and freshman Jonathan Eastwood a 26:24.

"Gavin, Nate and Jonathan all went out pretty hot. Paden and Adam took it our slower and moved up through the race, and Gavin and Nate held on," said Pounds.

Gillette College's Festus Lagat finished 21 seconds clear of the field to win the men's race in 23:36. Lewis-Clark State's Sam Atkin also broke 24 minutes, finishing in 23:36. Gonzaga's Troy Fraley, with a time of 24:17, was the first Division I finisher.

Montana will compete in two weeks at the Big Sky Conference championships in Cedar City, Utah.