CHENEY, Wash. — The Eastern Washington cross country team opened their season on Friday morning in Cheney, hosting the Clash of the Inland Northwest meet including runners from Carleton College (Minn.), Gonzaga, Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College, Spokane Community College, Whitworth and Whitman College. The Eagles finished second on the women's side with a score of 59 and third on the men's side with 70.
 
"Both teams took a step forward this summer and we are in a better starting spot than last year," said head coach Sam Read. "Our pack running was so strong on both sides and it's great to see our team relying on each other."
   
The starting pistol fired for the women's 4K race at 8:30 as 54 runners embarked north across one of Eastern's upper recreation fields. The course wound around the university's ropes course and the EWU Soccer Field.
 
Senior Kaylin Sheley led the Eagle women with a 7^th-place overall finish at 14:22.9. Nattie Ruzauskas was close behind at 14:27.0, good for 9^th.
 
"Kaylin has continued her momentum from last track season and will give us more firepower up front," Read added. "Ellie (Linnenburger), Jenni (Bissell) and Amanda (Nygard) had great improvements from this course last year to help bolster our depth."
 
Junior Noah Hasselblad led the way for the Eagle men as the only Big Sky runner to keep pace with the Zags, finishing 7^th overall in the 6K race with a time of 18:32.2. Team captain Jesus Herrejon came in 13^th (19:02.7), followed by new faces Cam McChesney (14^th; 19:04.5) and John Hoffer (17^th; 19:20.2).
 
"Despite looking really worn down the past few weeks (of training), our newcomers on the men's side gave great performances."
 
McChesney and Evan Peters, who finished 20^th at 19:29.4, both transferred to Eastern from Portland State over the summer. Hoffer (Tumwater, Wash.) and Charlie Ledwith (Spokane, Wash.) are true freshmen who jumped into the team's top seven for the first race.
 
Gonzaga finished first in both races at the event, including a perfect 15 score by the men.
 
"Got to give props to both Gonzaga squads," Read noted. "They have reloaded and will look to make noise at the national level once again."
 
The Eagle men were finished to pick 5th and the women 7th in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
"We're really excited for this year. I think we will continue to surprise some people."
     
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ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
 
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