COLFAX, Wash. – Azalea Groleau once again made her mark Friday evening in the Palouse.
A first-place individual finish in the season opener against UW on Sept. 2 was bound to be a tough act to follow, but Groleau did just that to lead Seattle University's cross country team in the Cougar Classic, as she navigated through a packed field to break the top-10 in the 6k race.
Washington State defended its home turf and led the way with the first eight individual finishers, but Groleau was the first to finish from all other teams, placing ninth overall in a field of 81 runners. Her time of 21:39.8 is the 14th best 6k in Seattle U history. Groleau herself holds the top 6k time in Redhawk history – a 20:28 mark that she set at the 2024 Bronco Invitational.
Equally impressive was freshman Roman Radecki, who stole the show once again after leading the way for Seattle U's men in the season’s first meet. In Friday's 8k race, Radecki once again finished first for the Redhawks with a time of 25:40.1, earning 53rd place in a field of 124. In case there were any doubts remaining about the freshman’s potential, Radecki provided an encore to solidify an exciting start to the season.
The individual efforts couldn’t carry the Redhawks to the top of the team scores, with the women’s team finishing fifth out of eight teams, and the men’s team finishing ninth out of nine teams.
“It was not the best day for the teams, although I am very encouraged with what I saw from our freshmen,” head coach Jordana LeSavage said. “Today’s showing does not diminish the fact that the team is putting in a great deal of quality work behind the scenes. This group is eager to get back to training and will maximize the next opportunity to its fullest.”
Following Groleau on the women’s side was Diana Camargo-Solis, who finished 21st with a time of 22:37.4 and Lydia Dale, who wasn’t far behind with a 22:47.4, good for 27th place. Mira Danish shined with a 44th place finish (23:38.4) in her first collegiate 6k.
Following Radecki on the men’s side were Alexzander Osorio (26:55.3) and Aidan Loeffelman (27:03.3), who crossed the finish line next for the Redhawks.
Seattle U will cross back through the Plains and return home, where it will have a few weeks to prepare for its next meet, the Charles Bowles Invite in Salem, Ore., on Saturday, Oct. 4.
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