Full Results
Sophomore Colton Johnsen finished first overall on the men's side at the Montana Invitational in Missoula, Mont., today (Sept. 29) with a time of 25:33.37 in the 8,000-meter event, helping the Eastern Washington University cross country teams find success in their third meet of the season.
"Big performances all over the place today from both sides," head coach Chris Shane said. "I am extremely proud of this squad. They came into this meet beat down from training and delivered their best race of the year."
On the women's side, senior Kari Hamilton placed highest, taking third with a time of 18:16.46 in the 5,000-meter race. Right behind her was sophomore Kaili Keefe, finishing in fifth with a time of 18:23.99
Other teams competing in the invitational included the host, University of Montana, Montana State, Montana Western and Rocky Mountain.
"It couldn't have been a better weekend," Shane added. "Now we keep building."
Top Performers
The next student-athlete to cross the line for the men was senior Matthew Hommel, taking seventh with a time of 26:14.
Rounding off the top ten for the men was freshman Ronan Price, finishing ninth overall with a time of 26:19.54 and junior Domenic Rehm, coming in 10th with a time of 26:20.99.
The next best finisher for the women was senior Gracie Ledwith, finishing with a time of 18:55.53, good for 13th overall.
Team Scores
The meet was tallied by dual matches, so on the men's side, Eastern Washington defeated both Montana and Montana State with team scores, collecting 19 points against MSU and 26 points against UM.
EWU defeated Montana with score of 26-29 on the women side, but fell to Montana State 22-39.
Other EWU finishers
Women:
14. Kaelah Corrigan 19:11.22
15. Lily Tyrrell 19:51.41
24. Ashley Arreola 21:08.15
Men:
11. Austin Oser 26:24.34
21. Mason Nicol 27:11.97
23. Logan Stahl 27:18.10
Comments from head coach Chris Shane
On the men: The men ran with the goal of winning the meet and they beat a very solid Montana State team today and took down Montana as well for the team title. Colton was on fire and made it look effortless taking the individual win. Ronan Price stepped up in a big way and continues to make big improvement. What I was most impressed with today was the fact that every single guy fought all the way to the end.
On the women: Our women were very impressive as well. Beating a Montana team that received a preseason vote win the conference title this year. Kari Hamilton ran her strongest race of the season and had a monster kick to close. Kaili Keefe ran extremely smart and moved up 30 spots over the course of the race. I'm proud of freshman Lily Tyrrell, who has been battling a cold and was possibly the difference in second or third today as a team. Kaelah Corrigan ran a personal best for 5k today on the most difficult course we have ever run as a collegiate team.
What's Next
EWU makes its longest trip of the season to Louisville, Ky., for the Pre-National Invitational on Oct. 14. The Inland Empire Championships will also be on the same day at the Lewiston Orchards Golf Course in Lewiston, Idaho.
