Westmont Women’s Cross Country will be looking to see their #17 ranking improve after winning the Vanguard Invitational and finishing ahead of second-ranked Biola on Saturday.
Westmont sophomore Kelley Collins won the 5,000 meter race in a time of 17:40. Collins finished 3.5 seconds ahead of Loyola Marymount’s Kyra Burke.
“It all kind of clicked for the runners this week,” said assistant coach Lindsey Connolly. “This is what we thought they could do the whole season. They were at the front the whole race and mixed it up with Biola.”
Senior Corrine Cherne finished sixth for the Warriors in a time of 18:07. Junior Jessica Meyers claimed 13th place in a time of 18:23 and senior Heidi Nicholls notched 14th, completing the course in a time of 18:29. Sophomore Hailey Alexander completed the scoring for the Warriors finishing 18th in a time of 18:41
“Our team spread was 1:01, which was an improvement from 1:16 the previous Saturday at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational,” said Connolly.
The women tallied 42 points to claim the victory. Biola finished with 63 points to take second. Loyola Marymount claimed third place with 85 points. Other GSAC competitors in the race consisted of Hope International (eighth place, 250 points), Vanguard (11th place, 282 points), Concordia (12th place, 289 points) and San Diego Christian (16th place, 465 points).
In the men’s 8,000 meter race, Westmont finished in fifth place with 133 points. The total was 18 points more than #19 Vanguard which finished fourth. The race was won by Loyola Marymount with 76 points, UC Irvine finished second with 95 points while California Baptist claimed third with 96 points.
Other GSAC competitors including Concordia (sixth place, 166 points), Biola (ninth place, 208 points) and San Diego Christian (14th place, 418 points).
Freshman Kyle Fredrickson finished first for the Warriors, claiming 11th place with a time of 25:59. Senior Evan Kramer placed 20th in a time of 26:14 while freshman Thomas Hamlin took 29th in a time of 26:31. Freshman Jacob Grant notched 45th place, completing the course in a time of 27:23 and freshman Nicholas Swider was 54th in a time of 27:39.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will next compete on Saturday, October 25 at Biola’s NAIA Westmont Coast Jamboree. The event will serve as a warm-up for the GSAC Championship on November 8 in Santa Clarita.
