SALEM, Ore. - Katie Hansen (Portland, Ore.) finished 14th in the women's 5k race and Nicholas Alvarado (San Francisco, Calif.) was the top Seattle finisher in the men's 8k race as the Seattle University cross country teams competed in the 32nd annual Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette University at Bush Park Saturday morning.
Hansen finished the 5000-meter course in a time of 18:19.65, just eight seconds outside the top ten. She was the third runner from a GNAC school to cross the finish line, behind only Katie Hummel and Rachel Bleakney-Bailey of Central Washington.
Charisse Arce (Seattle, Wash.) was the next Seattle runner to finish the race, placing in 113th place in a time of 19:52.45. Greta Stickney (Poulsbo, Wash.) finished in 123rd place with a time of 19:59.30, while Jaime Clark (St. Louis, Mo. - 20:25.75), Rhiannon Cadelinia (San Francisco, Calif. - 20:29.00), and Natalie Martinez (San Francisco, Calif. - 20:33.70) finished within eight seconds of each other. Jennifer Innes (San Bruno, Calif.) completed the course in 21:38.55.
As a team, the Seattle women finished in 21st place with 523 points. The Redhawks, who finished ahead of conference rival Saint Martin's University, ran the race without Rachel Yorkston (Bellingham, Wash.), the team's second best runner in the first two races who missed this meet with a foot injury.
In the men's race, Alvarado finished in 97th place with a time of 26:27.45 over the 8000-meter course. Lucas Franco (Lopez Island, Wash.) finished in 139th place in a time of 26:58.55, followed by Andrew Lybarger (Spokane, Wash.) in 151st place with a time of 27:11.45.
Nick Kirschner (Seattle, Wash.) crossed the finish line in a time of 27:27.05, followed by Chris Henry (West Seattle, Wash.) in 28:35.80, Andrew Wilburn (Boise, Idaho) in a time of 32:02.75, and Jeff Allen (Indianola, Wash.) with a time of 32:20.35. The Redhawk men finished the team competition in 26th place with 692 points, ahead of regional rivals Pacific University of Oregon, The Evergreen State College, Pacific Lutheran University, and Chaminade University.
The Seattle University cross country teams return to action next Saturday, October 7, at the Western Washington Cross Country Invitational at Lake Padden Park, which is south of Bellingham, Wash., beginning at 10:30 a.m.