CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington closed out the regular season Saturday morning with a strong showing in its final tune-up before the Big Sky Championships. The Eagle women captured the team title with 85 points, while the men finished fourth with 166 points.
"The last regular season meet before conference gave us lots of hope and fire going into conference," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Erin Tucker said.
Sara Sanders led the way for the Eastern women, placing third overall with a time of 20:57.2.
Rhiannon Davies was the next Eagle across the finish line, taking 14th.
Hannah Lee followed in 17th, with
Ifechi Okoye close behind in 19th.
Emma Tomlinson rounded out Eastern's five scorers with a 35th-place finish to help secure the team victory.
"How about our women, wow, wow, wow!" Tucker said. "I love when we win meets, but it is how we won that matters this time. Four in the top 20 to close the regular season! I'll take it! Make no mistake, this was a great field and our ladies ran very well."
On the men's side,
Owen Higgins paced Eastern with a 22nd-place finish, crossing the line in 24:23.2.
Conner Wirth followed just two spots behind in 24th with a time of 24:25.9.
Charlie Ledwith placed 34th,
Trajn Swalstad finished 35th and
Jiri Ceska rounded out the Eagles' scoring five in 51st.
Eastern's men continued to make progress despite battling through adversity during the regular season, with several Eagles producing some of their best performances heading into the championship portion of the schedule.
"Our men have been up and down with injuries and sickness, but I am confident we will rise to the occasion in two weeks when we get to Flagstaff," Tucker said. "Five of the top seven guys had or ran at their PRs. We are peaking at the right time!"
With the regular season complete, Eastern now turns its full attention toward competing for the conference championship.
"Next stop Flagstaff! Go Eags!" Tucker added.
Up Next
Eastern heads to Flagstaff, Ariz., for the Big Sky Championships on Oct. 30, hosted by Northern Arizona.
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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