The Eastern Washington University men's and women's cross country teams will open the 2021 season on Friday (Sept. 3) by hosting the Clash of the Inland Northwest at the EWU Sports and Recreation Center fields.
 
The meet begins at 10 a.m. with the women's 4,000-meter race, followed by the men's 6,000 at 10:30 a.m. Joining EWU will be Gonzaga, Idaho, Montana Lewis-Clark State, Community Colleges of Spokane, Whitman, Whitworth and Walla Walla University.
 
The Eagles return nine women's competitors with previous collegiate experience, while the men return eight. Both squads lost just three letterwinners from last year's team which competed in only two meets because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Both teams finished 10th at the Big Sky Conference Championships on Feb. 27 in Ogden, Utah.
 
In this year's preseason polls, both squads were picked to finish 10th, with powerhouse Northern Arizona selected to win both the men's and women's titles. Both teams of Lumberjacks won league titles at the 2020-21 championship meet in Ogden.
 
The 2021 Big Sky Conference XC Championships are scheduled to take place Oct. 29 in Portland, Ore. Eastern will also compete at the Cougar Classic (Sept. 10 in Colfax, Wash.), Mike Johnson Classic (Sept. 24 in Monmouth, Ore.), Highlander Invitational (Oct. 16 in Riverside, Calif.) and Inland Empire Championships (Oct. 16 in Lewiston, Idaho) during the regular season.
 
Men's Outlook

The Eagles will return eight competitors with experience competing in cross country for Eastern, plus one other with collegiate experience. The breakdown of those nine athletes are four juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020-21 season did not count against a student-athlete's eligibility.
 
Carter Ledwith is returning for the Eags and was the top finisher for Eastern at both the 2020-21 and 2019 conference championships. As a junior last season, he was 38th with a time of 25:55.7 on the 8,000-meter course in Ogden. A year prior, he was 29th, also on an 8,000-meter course, with a time of 28:30.3. He finished the highest for Eastern in the 2019 NCAA West Regional Meet, placing 63rd in the 10,000 meters with a time of 31:09.5.
 
Six of the other returning student-athletes also competed in the 2020-21 Championships – Alex Kness, Jamie Christner, Jacob Stirpe, Lucas Robert and Danny Maxwell. Two of EWU's lost letterwinners -- Drew Whited and Ethan Green -- also competed for EWU in the meet in Ogden.
 
At the 2019 conference championship meet, Ledwith was joined at the league championships by three other competitors on EWU's 2021 roster – Ronan Price, Stirpe and Kness.
 
Also competing for EWU in cross country for the first time is Justin Roosma, a sophomore from Walla Walla, Wash. As a freshman in 2019 at Pacific Union College, Roosma won the California Pacific Athletic Association title on an 8,000-meter course with a time of 24:46.5, and he also placed 16th at the NAIA Championships with an 8K time of 25:15.4.
 
Roosma competed in outdoor track and field for the Eagles and advanced to the NCAA West Regionals in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after setting a school record with a time of 8:54.69. He earned All-Big Sky honors by placing third in the steeple at the league championships. He also had two other performances that rank him in the top five in school history – 3:48.43 in the 1,500 (third) and 1:50.31 in the 800 (fifth).
 
Newcomers on the team – all freshmen -- include Noah Hasselblad, Jesus Herrejon, Marcus Lemon, Austin Steed and Cameron Stuard.
 
Women's Outlook
 
Eastern's nine returning student-athletes with collegiate experience include two juniors, five sophomores and a pair of freshmen. The 2020-21 season – consisting of one regular season meet and the Big Sky Conference Championships because of the Covid-19 pandemic -- did not count against a student-athlete's eligibility.
 
Eastern's top returning athlete at the 2020-21 Big Sky Conference Championships was Kaylin Sheley, who had a time of 19:22.2 on the 5,000-meter course to place 47th. Also back are five others who were are part of that squad who competed in Ogden – Kenzie Gaines, Maddie Drennen, Anna Harrison, Jenni Bissell and Megan Pitzman.
 
Sheley, Drennen, Gaines and Pitzman all competed for the Eagles at the 2019 championships. Sheley had the second-best finish for the Eagles, finishing 60th in the 5,000 meters with a time of 20:34.6.
 
Other returning student-athletes are Lilly Fetzer, Lizzy Stites and Erik Leinweber. The Eagles lost a trio of letterwinners.
 
Expecting to make her collegiate debut in 2021, Marielise Taylor was on the team last year as a freshman but did not compete. She was a frequent qualifier at the State 3A Championships in cross country, appearing all four years of high school and placing in the top nine three of the four years. In 2019, Taylor placed sixth in her senior season, helping North Central win the title on a 5,000-meter course. Her 5K personal best was in 2019 with a time of 18:04.6.
 
Eastern's other eight members of the women's cross country team are freshmen, including Allie Andrews, Lindsay Butler, Madilynn Carr, Nicole DeHerrera, Loren Linnenburger, Jasmin Muneton, Amanda Nygard and Lily Snow.