The Seattle University cross country team had a strong showing at the Mike Hodges Invitational in Clackamas, Ore. Friday afternoon. The men's team posted two top-20 times, in Nicholas Alvarado and Erik Barkhaus for a fifth-place finish. Rachel Yorkston led the Redhawk women to a seventh-place finish on the day.
"It ended up being an unseasonably hot and humid day for the meet," said head coach Trisha Steidl. "While that certainly had an effect on the overall times, I was proud of how the team handled themselves in such conditions. They ran strong and focused and kept their eyes on their goals."
Alvarado, who finished in 17th place, ran the men's four mile race in a team-leading 20:33. Following the SU senior was Barkhaus, who finished one place behind Alvarado with a time of 20:39. The tandem helped lead the Redhawks to their third top-five finish on the season.
Freshman Kelton Sears concluded the race 10 seconds behind Barkhause for a time of 20:49 and a 27th place overall finish. Michael Van Nuland ran the invitational in 21 minutes flat and Hans Heitzinger was 11 seconds behind Van Nuland in reaching the finish line. Sophomore Matthew McClement finished the day with a time of 21:21 and with a 21:45 time was Adam Kollgaard. Chris Auld (22:21), Graham Miller (22:29) and Dan Auld (22:41) concluded the race in the middle of the pack. Rounding out the Redhawk men, were Rustin Winger (23:28), Keenan Clinch (23:42) and Chris Henry who finished with a time of 25:22.
"The men ran by far the strongest team effort I've seen since I've been coaching at SU," Steidl continued. "To only be eight points behind UW is fantastic and shows how hard the team has been working not only on getting stronger and faster, but also in coming together as a team."
On the women's side, Yorkston earned a top-time for SeattleU with a 19:22 finish in the 5K race. The SU senior concluded the day in 30th place. Three spots after was Lauren Hammerle, who finished eight seconds behind Yorkston. Senior Greta Stickney was in the top-three for the Redhawk women with a 19:43 time on the afternoon. Sarah Bolce (20:06), Brittney Hovdenes (20:08), Celeste Cassidy (20:17) and Jennifer Stolle (20:18) concluded from 61st through 67th places, respectively.
Allison Prather (20:32), Julia Miller (20:36), Ashley Dalton (21:25) and Nicole Waters (22:22) rounded out the Seattle runners.
"The women ran well and are showing that they are ready to take on tougher competition," concluded Steidl. "I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do in the next two weeks of racing."
SeattleU will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Beaver Classic. Race time is slated for 9 a.m. in Corvallis, Ore.