Led by top ten performances from Katie Hansen (, ) in the women’s race and Nick Cannata-Bowman (, ) and Michael Van Nuland (Newcastle, Wash.) in the men’s race, the Seattle University cross country teams swept the Emerald City Open, held in windy and rainy conditions Saturday morning at Lower Woodland Park.
Hansen posted the best time of her career in this 6000-meter race, finishing third with a time of 23:13, 45 seconds behind Mo Huber of Washington and 34 seconds behind Bailey Schutte of . Greta Stickney (, ) was the next runner to cross the finish line, placing 12th with a time of 25:25.
Senior Jen Hamann (, ) finished in 14th place in 25:33, followed by Celeste Cassidy () in 15th place in 25:48. Natalie Martinez (, ) was a key finisher for the Redhawks, crossing the finish line in 17th place in 25:52, three seconds ahead of a Seattle Pacific runner and helping clinch the team title. The Redhawks finished with 27 points, while the Falcons had 35 points and finished third with 65 points.
Julia Miller (, ) finished in 25th place with a time of 26:42, with Sarah Bolce (, ) crossing the finish line in 27th place in 27:25 and Haley McGoldrick (Scottsdale, Ariz.) following close behind in 28th place in 27:37. Ashley Dalton (, ) finished in 31st place in 28:03, with Kerianne Quiocho () right behind her in 32nd place with a time of 28:10.
“I felt that the women approached the race well,” head coach Trisha Steidl said. “I saw the ladies continue to move up as the race progressed, taking out those who had been far ahead of them in the first loop. This course is hilly and difficult, which makes strength and patience vital, and our team has those attributes and used them well today.”
Cannata-Bowman crossed the finish line seventh in the 8000-meter event with a time of 27:29, with Van Nuland in ninth place in 27:58. Erik Barkhaus ( , Wisc.) finished in 12th place with a time of 28:12, while Adam Kollgaard () earned a 14th-place finish with a time of 28:28. Rob Webster, Jr., of the won the individual race with a time of 26:17.
Rounding out the scoring was Graham Miller (), who finished in 18th place with a time of 29:00. Crossing the finish line five seconds later was Matthew McClement (, ) in 19th place in 29:05, followed 12 seconds later by Hans Heitzinger () in 20th place in 29:17. With those seven coming in the top 20, the team earned top honors with 23 points, followed by the Seattle Running Club (51 points), Bellevue Community College (72 points), and Green River Community College (86 points), competing in its first meet since 1992.
Twin brothers Chris Auld and Dan Auld () finished the race together, with Chris finishing one second ahead of Dan in 23rd place in 29:58, with Dan earning a 24th-place finish in 29:59. Alec Adams (, ) finished in 27th place in 30:43, and Alex Poplowski () rounded out the Redhawk runners with a 32nd place finish in 32:06.
“I was very pleased with everyone’s intensity today as well as their intelligent approach to the race. We’ve had a different top finisher on our team every meet this year and that’s a good sign, as those four have had a good pack going and it seems to get stronger in each race,” said Steidl.
The day started off with a moment of silence in remembrance of Steve Manos, an alum of and one of the top runners in program history who died over the summer after a long battle with cancer. All participants in the event wore a red ribbon in his honor. Also, a 2000-meter community race followed the other two races, and assistant women’s soccer coach Rich Schreiner dominated, covering the course in 7:45, over two minutes faster than his nearest competitor.
The cross country teams will have two weeks to prepare for the Cascade Conference Preview meet, to be held at in Saturday, Oct. 18, beginning at 10 a.m. Steidl is confident that the teams will continue their progression at that event.
“Both teams have steadily improved with each meet so far this season. If everyone is healthy, I think the women’s team is really going to shine. And I believe the men will be part of an exciting race, and I am looking forward to it,” Steidl said.