SEATTLE - Seattle U’s cross country season opens at the University of Washington-hosted Sundodger Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 8 at Lincoln Park. Six teams will be competing in this year’s event: Seattle U, Washington, Boise State University, Oregon State University, Pepperdine and Trinity Western University, one of Canada’s top programs. The women’s race begins at 11:00 AM PT, with six Seattle U competitors entering to run the 6k course. The men’s 8k race starts at 11:35 AM PT, featuring eight Seattle U men competing for the team.
Last year’s Sundodger Invitational saw the Redhawk men finishing in third place as a team, while the women finished sixth. Four of this Saturday’s entries entered the Sundodger in previous years: Cal Davidson-Turner, Shannan Higgins, Rachel Kastama and Kyle Kennedy.
For the women’s race, Seattle U will enter four freshmen to accompany Higgins and Kastama: Marie Chahrouri, Adahra Poasa, Ellie Postma, and Abby Smith. On the men’s side, Davidson-Turner and Kennedy are joined by freshmen Javon Arnone, Stephen Crocker, Alex Franklin, and Ansel Pendley-Griffin, as well as redshirt sophomore transfer Nathan Pixler and graduate transfer Evan Talan.
Head Coach Kelly Sullivan feels confident going into his second year. “We are excited to get the season started on both the women’s and men’s side. We have decided to run most of our incoming freshman, both transfers on the men’s side and a few of our returnees to start the season. This is a great opportunity for the freshman and two transfers to wear the Seattle University uniform and for most to compete in their first collegiate meet.
“The rest of the team,” Sullivan says, “will continue to train and be ready to compete at the Dellinger Invitational in two weeks.”
Lincoln Park is located at 8011 Fauntleroy Way SW, Seattle, WA 98136. For live results, click here.
SEASON PREVIEW
In order to bring Redhawk fans up to speed, Coach Sullivan also breaks down the upcoming season’s roster:
Fifth-year seniors Jacques Hebert, Ben Monk and Chay Weaver: “Jacques and Ben are both coming in this fall in really solid shape and add a ton of experience. Both are, with good reason, very excited about their senior years. Chay is working hard to come back and compete for us late in the season.”
Senior Eli Boudouris: “Eli is coming off a great junior year where he ran a number of personal bests for the 800m, mile, and 1500m… he also set a new school record in the 3000m steeplechase.”
Senior Cal Davidson-Turner: “Cal had the best summer of his college career. He is really dedicating himself… that gives us four returning seniors that have individual goals, including being among the top in the WAC.”
Fifth-year senior graduate transfer Evan Talan: “I have known Evan for four years, and was excited to learn that he wanted to begin graduate school at Seattle U. Leading the club program at Oregon State University, Evan was able to coach himself to some really impressive times - especially in the 1500m - so we are really excited to see what he can do.”
Junior Blake Delaney: “Blake is studying abroad in Greece so he will be redshirting this fall, but we expect to see him back for both indoor and outdoor track.”
Sophomores Lance Slichko and Kyle Kennedy: “Both Lance and Kyle had really productive freshman years and ran in the team’s top 7 last fall as freshman. Lance finished his freshman year off by placing fourth in the WAC 1500m final while Kyle was eighth in the 3000m steeplechase. I believe that they can once again make a big impact this fall.”
Sophomore Devin Hasty: “Devin is more of a middle-distance runner – cross country should help him to get even stronger for indoor and outdoor track.”
Redshirt sophomore transfer Nathan Pixler: “Nathan was one of the top high school 800m, 1600m, 3200m and cross country runners during his senior year. He hasn’t run cross country since his senior year, but is coming into the fall healthy and with a solid foundation from this past year and summer.”
Freshmen Epheson Giday, Noah Creighton, Stewart Keene and Ryan O’Connor: “All four will be redshirting this fall. Epheson was one of the top high school distance runners in the state of Washington over the past few years, while Noah, Stewart, and Ryan are all middle-distance types.”
Freshmen Javon Arnone, Stephen Crocker, Alex Franklin, and Ansel Pendley-Griffin: “All four are coming into their freshman years having had great high school careers and very strong summers. They have already shown a lot of promise in practice and are ready to contribute.”
Senior Olivia Stein: “Olivia is one of the program’s all-time best, and is coming off a brilliant junior season. She earned All-WAC in cross country and both indoor and outdoor track. She also set a new school record in the 10k, and had WAC finishes of third place in the indoor 3k and 5k runs, followed by a 2018 outdoor WAC conference title in the 10k and runner-up in the 5k. Olivia is also a great leader off the course, so she brings a lot to the table every day.”
Junior Shannan Higgins: “Shannan is coming off a fantastic sophomore year that saw her drop her times in the mile and 1500m significantly, and has become one of the program’s leaders. She is ready for another breakout junior year.”
Juniors Anastasia Honea and Siobhan Rubio: “They are among the WAC’s top 800-3k runners who both run great cross country. In time, we will make final plans on racing or redshirting them this fall.”
Juniors Thea Foulk and Emily O’Hara: “They have had brilliant summers and grown a lot in confidence. The staff know that they have made breakthroughs since last year.”
Sophomores Megan Delorey, Rachel Kastama and Elle Stein: “They are coming into the year healthy and ready to go. All three ran in the team’s top seven at different times, with both Rachel and Megan often placing in the top five. They are ready to contribute again after very productive freshman years.”
Freshmen Marie-Therese Chahrouri, Fiona O’Leary, Adahra Poasa, Ellie Postma and Abby Smith: “All five will compete this fall. The early signs are that all of them will contribute greatly towards the season’s overall success.”
We are hosting the WAC Championships at Jefferson Park on Saturday, Oct. 27! Stay tuned for further details.