The Seattle University cross country teams earned top-five finishes in their final preparation for the conference championships as they competed in the Beaver Classic Saturday morning at Avery Park.
Hannah Mittelstaedt (Maple Valley, Wash.) once again led the Redhawk women, finishing sixth overall with a time of 22:31. Jennifer Stolle (Seattle, Wash.) finished in 15th place with a time of 22:58, followed by Sarah Bolce (Sacramento, Calif.) in 16th place with a time of 23:00.
Lauren Hammerle (Seattle, Wash.) was the next Redhawk to cross the finish line, finishing the six-kilometer course in 23:35 for a 26th-place finish, with Sophie Curatilo (Honolulu, Hawaii) right behind her in 27th place with a time of 23:40. The next two Seattle U runners also worked together, as Meghan Arigo (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) finished in 45th place in 24:55, and Ashley Dalton (Bellingham, Wash.) finished in 46th place with a time of 24:56.
Amy Tolentino (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) finished 54th in the event with a time of 25:26, Allison Prather (Carpinteria, Calif.) crossed the finish line in 64th place in 26:03, and Mary Thompson (Simi Valley, Calif.) finished in 67th place in 26:21. As a team, the women finished in second place with 70 points, behind meet champion Portland but ahead of teams from Oregon State and Oregon.
"The women had fantastic races today. They improved greatly from their team finish last year, finishing second, which was a goal of ours going in. Most impressive was the heart and determination I saw out on the course today. Those ladies gave it everything they had. I've never been as proud of my ladies as I was after seeing today's race. With that same 'do or die' attitude and one final week of preparation for the conference meet, I know we can go to North Dakota and put together an amazing race," head coach Trisha Steidl said.
In the men's eight-kilometer race, Kelton Sears (Maple Valley, Wash.) was the top finisher for the Redhawks, finishing in 25th place with a time of 26:10. Collin Overbay (Spokane, Wash.) finished in 27th place with a time of 26:17.
Just like the women, the men started working together and crossing the finish line close to one another. Miles Hille (Woodinville, Wash.) finished in 47th place with a time of 26:48, just ahead of Graham Kinzel-Grubbs (Portland, Ore.) in 48th place in 26:52. Peter VanNuland (Newcastle, Wash.) crossed the finish line in 54th place in 27:00, followed by Ryan Dennison (Pacifica, Calif.) in 55th place in 27:02 and Jeff Baklund (Auburn, Wash.) in 57th place in 27:03.
Kevin Kopetz (Derry, N.H.) crossed the finish line in 65th place with a time of 27:10, while Chris Auld (Eugene, Ore.) finished in 90th place in 28:09, just ahead of twin brother Dan Auld (Eugene, Ore.) in 91st place in 28:14. The Seattle U men finished in fifth place as a team with 158 points, with Oregon earning the team title.
"I was overall disappointed with the men's results. They've shown, and I know they are capable of, much more. If we're going to have a bad race, this is the week to do it and hopefully that's out of their system now. We have the potential to put together a strong race at the conference meet next weekend. Each and every guy needs to focus on all the little things in this final week before heading to North Dakota so we can put it together when it counts," said Steidl.
Running unattached, Erik Barkhaus (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) finished the race in third place with a time of 24:45, only five seconds behind race winner David Laney. Matthew McClement (Bellingham, Wash.), also running unattached, used the race as a workout as he recovers from an injury, finishing in 82nd place with a time of 27:43.
"Erik put together a phenomenal race this morning. He was gutsy and put himself in the lead group from the beginning. When things started to string out a bit, he went for it rather than playing it safe with the group. I saw him push today unlike any race I've seen from him before; very strong. I'm excited for what this means for his upcoming track season," Steidl said. "For Matthew, today was more of a workout and a way to gauge where his fitness is. He looked solid for a guy who's only been running for literally a couple of days and only a max of four miles at that. He's headed in the right direction."
The top seven Seattle U male and female runners are scheduled to compete in the Great West Conference Championships next Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Ray Richards Golf Course in Grand Forks, N.D.