POCATELLO, Idaho. — The Eastern Washington cross country teams had a strong showing at the Big Sky Championships. The men finished fourth with a score of 135 points, which is one place better than they were selected in the preseason poll. The women finished fifth with 151 points.

The men had their best finish since 2015, where they also finished fourth. This is only the third time in history that the men finished fourth, the other two times were in 2015 and 2005.

"We moved up a place from last year," said head coach Sam Read. "It wasn't easy with Idaho and Idaho state being on our heels all year, but the guys came and got the job done! These seniors have brought this team from the bottom of the conference and placed better every year. They deserve so much credit in what they have done for this program in their time."

Noah Hasselblad was the top finisher for the Eagles, finishing 22nd with a time of 24:48.3. Finishing right behind Hasselblad was Evan Peters in 25th with a time of 24:59.4. Other scores for the Eagles include Owen Higgins in 30th, Austin Steed in 31st, and Jesus Herrejon in 35th.

"It's a weird feeling, said Read. "Last year we were 5th and walked away so excited. This year we are disappointment. It wasn't our best team performance which is a tough pill to swallow. But we did have some bright spots with Jasmin, Nattie, and Rylee leading the way for us."

The women were led by Jasmin Muneton finishing 23rd with a time of 17:58.9. The next finisher was Nattie Ruzauskas in 27th with a time of 18:07.9. Other scorers for the Eagles were Rylee Brandon in 31st, Sara Sanders in 37th, and Jenni Bissell in 38th.

"Awesome day for EWU," said Director of Track and Field / Cross Country Erin Tucker." "These ladies and guys set out on a mission at Camp to be 4th and they fought with great resolve to get there. Men up 1st took 4th and allowed that senior group to go out with their best finish as a team ever. 5 guys in the top 30 that is so awesome to see. The women fell short of their goal by 1 point and got fifth for the 2nd year in a row. This senior group saw themselves go from the bottom of the league to the upper half in four years. What a way to fight for relevancy. Sam has done an amazing job with this XC team the last four years and Eagle Nation should be proud of that!"
 
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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