ABILENE, TX-- Seattle U's men's and women's cross country team began their postseason competition at the WAC Championships this Friday, October 27 in Abilene, Texas. The women's team finished 6th overall in the 6k out of 11 teams with a total of 192 points, and the men's team finished 11th overall in the 8k with a total of 306 points.
On the women's side, Azalea Groleau continued to shine by being the first Redhawk to cross the finish line and being named second team All-WAC. Groleau finished in 16th place out of 88 total runners, with a time of 21:16.3, improving from her time of 22:04.4 and 38th place spot at last years tournament. Emily Harris and Lilianne Hargreaves were the next Seattle U team members to finish the race, with Harris in 34th place and a time of 22:31.7, and Hargeaves finishing in 35th place with her time of 22:38.7. The women's team showed overall improvement from their 8th place finish at last years WAC Championships, and finished ahead of Utah Tech, Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian, Tarleton, and UT-Rio Grande Valley.
On the men's side, junior eligible transfer Yonas Sauers was the first Seattle U team member to cross the finish line, finishing in 51st place out of 88 total runners with a time of 25:56. Khalid Hirsi and Lance Mason were the next to complete the race, finishing in 63rd and 68th place with times of 26:35.5 and 26:52.2, respectively.
"It was an up and down day," says head coach Kelly Sullivan, "The up being Azalea leading the women by earning her first All-Conference award and the rest of the team backing her up. The course got a ton of rain the two days prior so it ran slow and really heavy. All six of them competed really hard to get a solid sixth. Utah Valley and CBU are both ranked high nationally, giving Azalea a big time performance finishing that high overall. The men struggled today. Unfortunately Yonas, who's had a brilliant season, got really sick this past week and we kept our fingers crossed hoping it would pass and he'd have time to recuperate, but it took a lot out of him. The men got out too slow and that's on me for not emphasizing how important it was going to be. CBU is ranked fifth nationally and it showed, the conference is super talented and we needed to be more aggressive. I am proud of a number of setbacks both teams had this fall health wise and never quit. We'll see what happens in two weeks." he continues.
The Redhawks will be traveling to Sacramento to finish out their postseason on Friday, November 10, at the NCAA West Regionals.
Click here to see the full women's results
Click here to see the full men's results
Women's 6k Results:
Azalea Groleau: 21:16.3
Emily Harris: 22:31.7
Lilianne Hargreaves: 22:38.7
Grace Much: 23:29.7
Rowan Cuadrado: 23:36.4
Diana Camargo Solis: 23:48.1
Men's 8k Results:
Yonas Sauers: 25:56:00
Khalid Hirsi: 26:25.5
Lance Mason: 26:52.2
Gus Harquail: 27:18.7
Parker Wagnild: 27:41.9
Matthew Holme: 27:54.5
Alex Jensen: 28:00.6
Dan Barreto: 28:28.5
Stay connected with Seattle U cross country and get all the latest team updates by downloading the GoSeattleU mobile app available now for free in the App Store or Google Play.
On the women's side, Azalea Groleau continued to shine by being the first Redhawk to cross the finish line and being named second team All-WAC. Groleau finished in 16th place out of 88 total runners, with a time of 21:16.3, improving from her time of 22:04.4 and 38th place spot at last years tournament. Emily Harris and Lilianne Hargreaves were the next Seattle U team members to finish the race, with Harris in 34th place and a time of 22:31.7, and Hargeaves finishing in 35th place with her time of 22:38.7. The women's team showed overall improvement from their 8th place finish at last years WAC Championships, and finished ahead of Utah Tech, Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian, Tarleton, and UT-Rio Grande Valley.
On the men's side, junior eligible transfer Yonas Sauers was the first Seattle U team member to cross the finish line, finishing in 51st place out of 88 total runners with a time of 25:56. Khalid Hirsi and Lance Mason were the next to complete the race, finishing in 63rd and 68th place with times of 26:35.5 and 26:52.2, respectively.
"It was an up and down day," says head coach Kelly Sullivan, "The up being Azalea leading the women by earning her first All-Conference award and the rest of the team backing her up. The course got a ton of rain the two days prior so it ran slow and really heavy. All six of them competed really hard to get a solid sixth. Utah Valley and CBU are both ranked high nationally, giving Azalea a big time performance finishing that high overall. The men struggled today. Unfortunately Yonas, who's had a brilliant season, got really sick this past week and we kept our fingers crossed hoping it would pass and he'd have time to recuperate, but it took a lot out of him. The men got out too slow and that's on me for not emphasizing how important it was going to be. CBU is ranked fifth nationally and it showed, the conference is super talented and we needed to be more aggressive. I am proud of a number of setbacks both teams had this fall health wise and never quit. We'll see what happens in two weeks." he continues.
The Redhawks will be traveling to Sacramento to finish out their postseason on Friday, November 10, at the NCAA West Regionals.
Click here to see the full women's results
Click here to see the full men's results
Women's 6k Results:
Azalea Groleau: 21:16.3
Emily Harris: 22:31.7
Lilianne Hargreaves: 22:38.7
Grace Much: 23:29.7
Rowan Cuadrado: 23:36.4
Diana Camargo Solis: 23:48.1
Men's 8k Results:
Yonas Sauers: 25:56:00
Khalid Hirsi: 26:25.5
Lance Mason: 26:52.2
Gus Harquail: 27:18.7
Parker Wagnild: 27:41.9
Matthew Holme: 27:54.5
Alex Jensen: 28:00.6
Dan Barreto: 28:28.5
Stay connected with Seattle U cross country and get all the latest team updates by downloading the GoSeattleU mobile app available now for free in the App Store or Google Play.