The Eastern Washington University cross country team hosted the first meet of the season today (Sept. 1) at the Clash of the Inland Northwest in Cheney, Wash. The women's team took home the win thanks to a first-place finish by Lilly Fetzer and placing five inside the top-ten. The men's team placed second out of six teams.

 "They did awesome, for this meet we don't really train for it and there is not much of a race plan. We are just coming off of camp and our first two weeks of training. So, a lot of tired people and the course hits you hard, it's a tough course. They ran really tough and that's what we really want to focus on today," said head cross country coach Sam Read.

The Eagle men and women ran their first 6k and 4k, respectively. The Eagles were led by Fetzer (1st, 14:32.2), and redshirt freshman, and sophomore Noah Hasselblad (3rd, 18:43.8). Fetzer, Madilynn Carr (2nd, 14:49.2), Nattie Ruzauskas (4th, 14:54.8), Jenni Bissell (9th, 15:13.4) and Maddie Drennen (10th, 15:15.1) were able to finish in the women's top ten. On the men's side, Hasselblad and Cameron Stuard (5th, 18:48.1) placed in the top five.

"We had the top-two and the women's team won, which is a huge confidence boost. Our women's team, Lilly, Madi, and really that whole pack right behind trained so hard this summer so it's just exciting to see results pay off," added Read. "We kind of threw time out the window today but the racing was there. I think the guys did a really good job packing up and working off of each other, which is going to be really valuable in the longer races in the 8k. Noah and Cam leading the way for us looked really strong and I think both of them will enjoy an extra 2k on their race, too."

The women earned a first-place win as a team with 26 points and the men finished second with 56 points. Competing teams were Gonzaga University, Lewis-Clark State, Whitman College, Walla Walla University and Whitworth University.

The Eagles compete again next at the Idaho and Eastern Washington Duals in Spokane, Wash., on Sept. 9th at the Wandermere Golf Course.  

Additional quotes from coach Sam Read:

On Hosting a Home Meet: "It is always fun looking around and seeing a bunch of red and Eastern logos everywhere and I think that's what propelled some of our runners today, is just having that hometown support. And then these are the fields we train on, so it's great to have that memory when we're racing."

On Next Week's Meet: "The extra 2k on both of the races are going to be the adjustment for everyone, especially for our newcomers. The biggest thing is going to be working together and keeping those packs really strong."
 
 
Men's Performances
3rd Noah Hasselblad (18:43.8)
5th Cameron Stuard (18:48.1)
15th Jesus Herrejon (19:21.5)
23rd Marus Lemon (19:48.0)
30th Anthony Carlascio (20:04.4)
32nd Jamie Christner (20:13.1)
35th Danny Maxwell (20:22.1)
41st Austin Steed (20:46.2)
45th Alec Kness (20:53.7)
51st Hayden Fisher (21:14:4)
 
 
Women's Performances
1st Lily Fetzer (14:32.2)
2nd Madi Carr (14:49.2)
4th Nattie Ruzauskas (14:54.8)
9th Jennie Bissel (15:13.4)
10th Maddie Drennen (15:15.1)
13th Faith Martinez (15:21.5)
18th Loren Linnenburger (15:40.7)
23rd Amanda Nygard (15:47.7)
25th Rylee Brandon (16:02.6)
26th Anna Harrison (16:06.2)
34th Rhiannon Davies (16.49.8)
36th Lizzie Stites (16:54.8)