The Seattle University cross country team competed in the Sundodger Invitational hosted by the University of Washington Saturday morning. Both the men's and women's teams, who ran in respective events at Lincoln Park in West Seattle, had a strong showing for the Redhawks.
"I am very happy with how we performed today and we are starting at a strong point as a team," said head coach Trisha Steidl. "We had several runners run personal records, which is very exciting to begin the season with."
Hans Heitzinger led the men's squad in the 8k event, with a 25:35.51 overall time. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native led the Redhawks on the day with a 36th place finish. Freshman Kelton Sears followed Heitzinger with a 37th place finish and a time of 25:40.40. Two places after Sears was Nicholas Alvarado who finished with a 25:44.14 overall time for 39th place.
Also participating in Saturday's invitational for the men were Matthew McClement (25:55.58), Erik Barkhaus (26:10.24), Adam Kollgaard (26:18.66), Michael Van Nuland (26:22.27), Graham Miller (27:53.54), Keenan Clinch (27:55.12), Chris Auld (28:14.55), Ryan Dennison (28:37.87) and Dan Auld (28:54.90).
The men's team collectively finished in seventh-place with 157 total points and a team time of 2:09:05.97.
"The men's team had a small spread and are starting out stronger than they finished last season," said Steidl. "It was a great way to start off the racing season."
On the women's side, sophomore Celeste Cassidy ran a solid 23:29.84 race. She led the SU women in the 6k race and landed in 45th place. Junior Brittney Hovdenes finished in 46th place, right behind Cassidy, with a 23:31.81 time. Concluding the race in 57th through 59th place were Lauren Hammerle (23:57.68), Sarah Bolce (24:00.72) and Rachel Yorkston (24:01.72), respectively. The Redhawk women also concluded the day in seventh place. They finished with a team time of 1:59:01.77 and 192 total points.
"The women's team had a good showing," Steidl continued. "The top-5 had a small spread, which is great and shows a solid group effort."
Running for the women also were Greta Stickney (25:13.26), Julia Miller (25:15.82), Allison Prather (26:10.04), Ashley Dalton (26:31.98) and Nicole Waters (26:37.43).
"We had a couple of key folks who were dealing with some aches and a couple of people who still are not running yet," concluded Steidl. "Once we get those people all running at 100 percent, we will be able to add to our current depth and strength on both the men's and women's sides."
Rustin Winger competed in the open race and finished with a 29:15.61 time. He was the only Seattle runner to run in the open race on both the men's and women's teams.
The cross country team returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 3, in the Emerald City Open at Lower Woodland Park in Seattle, Wash. Race time begins at 10:30 a.m.