With four first-year runners placing in the top eight, the Whitman women's cross country took first place in the team scoring at Saturday's season-opening Whitman Invitational at Fort Walla Walla Park.
Led by rookies Yasmeen Colis and Sara McCune, who placed third and fourth, respectively, in the women's 4,000 meters, Whitman posted a winning team score of 24 place points for its top five finishers. The Whitworth women were second with 35 points, followed by Northwest Nazarene in third place with 79 points.
Whitman's victory marked the first time since 1999 that the Missionary women have won their invitational.
In the men's 6,000 meters, Whitworth swept the top three individual spots and was a clear-cut winner with 18 place points. Whitman was second with 48 points and Whitworth third with 74.
"We're excited to see our first-year women run so well," Whitman coach Malcolm Dunn said. "I knew it was going to be close because of the talent we have in our first-year class, and because the Whitworth women lost some good runners to graduation."
Whitworth finished third in both the women's and men's races at last year's Northwest Conference championships. Both Whitman teams placed seventh a year ago but expect to move up this fall.
"We have more experience returning on our men's team, and I was pleased with how our veteran guys ran today," Dunn said. "In terms of their times and where they placed in the field, they are far ahead of where they were a year ago at this time."
Whitworth's Jacob Dietz won the men's race in 19:46.57. Teammates Jeff Grassley and Dusty Caseria finished second and third, respectively, with times of 19:49.28 and 19:49.82.
Whitman senior Sam Clark was fourth in 19:55.15. Brian Woods, a Missionary junior, was sixth in 20:08.19.
"Sam had a great race," Dunn said. "Had he been a little more assertive at the beginning of the race, he might have finished a little closer to the top two or three. Brian had a tremendous last 400 meters, passing three or four runners down the stretch. But, again, there's a chance that a stronger start might have allowed him to finish higher than he did."
On the other side of the coin, Colis and McCune probably started the women's race with a little too much pop, Dunn said. "They were a little more aggressive than was probably prudent at the start, but they were trying to stay with a very good runner. Both Yasmeen and Sara showed their racing maturity by finishing as well as they did, after having gone out so quickly."
Kristi Dickey, who graduated from Whitworth this past spring after an all-conference running career, ran unattached Saturday and won the women's race in 15:15.57. Julie Lauterbach, a Whitworth senior, was second in 15:23.76 with Colis taking third in 15:30.49 and McCune fourth in 15:48.48.
Michela Corcorran, a third member of Whitman's talented first-year class, was close behind in fifth place, finishing in 15:52.68. Amy Chapman, a fourth Missionary first-year runner, was eighth in 16:30.76.
Lisa Taylor, a Whitman junior running her first college race, placed ninth in 16:33.04. Caitlin Kearney, Whitman's senior captain, shook off cramps in one leg to place 11th in 16:40.86.
In the men's race, Whitman sophomore Nick Littman turned in a strong performance, placing 11th in 20:20.93. "Nick has matured a lot as a runner over the past year, both physically and mentally," Dunn said.
Freshman Matt Kelly placed 15th in 20:39.20 while senior teammate Adam Kopet was 16th in 20:45.04. Curtis Reid finished 18th in 20:52.69. "It was great to see the two freshman guys place relatively well," Dunn said. "Matt will run faster than that, and Curtis is showing that he also is going to be good contributor in his first year. Adam's performance today is very indicative of how hard he worked this summer to start the season in great shape."
Sam Johnson, a Whitman senior running his first cross country race, placed 20th in 21:06.79. Johnson was a member of Whitman's last two national championship cycling teams. "Sam is still learning to run at the college level," Dunn said. "We expect him to continue improving as the season goes along."
Also running for the Whitman men were Tim Marrinan, 25th, 21:32.36; Galen Cobb, 31st, 23:00.43; Gus O'Malley, 33rd, 24:00.76; Robert Marcotte, 35th, 24:14.28; and Travis Meyers, 37th, 25:00.16.
Rounding out the top 10 for the Whitman women were first-year runner Heather O'Moore, who was 18th in 16:53.31; sophomore Alex Pogue, who was 22nd in 16:58.43; senior Emma Catmur, who was 29th in 17:24.60; and sophomore Lindsay Records, who was 32nd in 17:37.98.
Also running for the Whitman women wee Lizzie Littlewood, 33rd, 17:37.98; Megan Bush, 37th, 17:53.84; Rand Biersdorf, 39th, 18:26.69; Emily Rodriguez, 40th, 18:36.25; Andrea Kunz, 41st, 18:49.93; Betsy Schroeder, 43rd, 19:00.95; Rachel Stein, 45th, 19:16.76; Rachel Patterson, 48th, 19:39.56; Fiona Taggart, 49th, 19:49.44; Lauren Imbrock, 50th, 20:11.82; and Allie Freed, 51st, 21:20.51.
"We just came off a hard week of training, so it was great to see how well our teams ran today," Dunn said. "They were running with tired legs."
Whitman competes next Saturday at the Lewis & Clark Invitational in McIver State Park near Estacada, Ore. Both races will be the standard length for the college level -- 6,000 meters for the women and 8,000 meters for the men. "That will be a major adjustment for our first-year runners who were used to running 5,000 meters in high school," Dunn said.
The resurgent Whitman men's and women's cross country teams both placed third in Saturday morning's Lewis & Clark Invitational at McIver State Park near Estacada, Ore. A year ago at the same invitational, the Missionary women finished fourth while the men were sixth.
In the men's 8,000 meters, junior Brian Woods placed fifth in 26:38 and senior Sam Clark was eighth in 26:44 to pace Whitman. The Missionary men took third with 68 place points for their top five runners, finishing just four points behind second-place Central Washington University. Linfield was first in the eight-team field with 43 points.
Competing without one of its top runners, the Whitman women's squad was third with 57 points -- just one behind second-place Lewis & Clark. Central Washington tallied 46 points to take first in the six-team women's field.
First-year runners Sara McCune and Michela Corcorran led the Missionaries, placing seventh and eighth, respectively, with times of 23:28.7 and 23:32.6 for the 6,000 meters. Yasmeen Colis, another member of Whitman's talented first-year class, sat out the race with a sore foot.
"There's a chance Yasmeen will run in the Sundodger Invitational next Saturday in Seattle," Whitman coach Malcolm Dunn said. "We'll have to wait and see. We want to be more cautious at this point in the season and make sure Yasmeen is healthy for the more important meets later in the season."
Although Colis was sidelined and a few of his runners had troubles Saturday, Dunn was generally thrilled with his team results.
On the women's side, Whitman finished between two of its Northwest Conference rivals, trailing Lewis & Clark by a single point in the team scoring but beating fourth-place Linfield by 26 points. "Even without Yasmeen, Saturday's results show that we're right in the thick of the conference hunt," Dunn said. Lewis & Clark, which was missing its third-best runner, placed second at last fall's NWC Championships. "Linfield is also having some injury problems early this season and was missing two or three of its top runners."
In the men's race, Whitman finished 25 points behind Linfield but beat fifth-place Lewis & Clark and seventh-place Pacific by wide margins. "It's an encouraging sign to see our men finish second among four conference schools, and to see our men come within four points of beating an NCAA Div. II school (Central Washington)."
As first-year college runners, McCune and Corcorran were running the 6,000-meter distance for the first time on Saturday. "Sara ran a smart race and showed that making the transition from 5K to 6K is going to be a good thing for her," Dunn said. "Michela probably started a little fast for where her fitness base stands at the moment, but she came back to finish strong."
Senior Caitlin Kearney (12th, 24:06.2), junior Lisa Taylor (14th, 24:13.1) and first-year runner Heather O'Moore (16th, 24:24.3) also contributed to Whitman's top five team score. "Caitlin ran a smart race, and Lisa continues to adjust well to racing in her first season of college running," Dunn said. "Heather was another of our bright spots. She showed that the 6K is going to be a good distance for her."
Two more first-year runners, Megan Bush and Amy Chapman, placed 26th and 27th, respectively, in 25:16.8 and 25:20.5. "Megan ran much better than she did a week ago and showed she has a lot of potential," Dunn said. "This wasn't a good day for Amy, though. She had a side ache early in the race and never really recovered from that. She's going to have much better races."
In leading the Whitman men's contingent, Woods finished nine places higher than he did at last year's Lewis & Clark Invitational. Clark moved up 20 spots. "Brian and Sam ran well together at the front," Dunn said. "Our men's team in general did some great pack running."
Rounding out the top five for the Whitman men were freshman Matt Kelly (16th, 27:01.3), sophomore Nick Littman (17th, 27:04.9) and first-year senior Sam Johnson (22nd, 27:25.6). "It was great to see Matt adjust so well to the longer distance in his first college race at 8,000 meters," Dunn said. "Nick continues to get stronger, and Sam had a great race for someone running cross country for the first time. Give Sam a few more weeks and he could be right up there with Matt and Nick."
Freshman Curtis Reid (25th, 27:45.2) and senior Adam Kopet (32nd, 28:03.2) also ran strong races for the Missionary men. Reid ran past several runners in the final stages of the race, and Kopet clocked a personal-best time, Dunn said. "Curtis had no trouble running at the longer distance for the first time. He's one of the runners we'll try to send out at a quicker pace next Saturday team. Adam's next goal is to get under 28 minutes for the first time."
Others running for the Whitman men were Eli Asch (37th, 28:45.2), Nick Johnson (41st, 29:02.2), Tim Marrinan (50th, 29:53.2), Robert Marcotte (59th, 31:10.8) and Travis Meyers (63rd, 32:18.9).
Senior Emma Catmur (29th, 25:25.6) and sophomore Alex Pogue (30th, 25:26) were tops among an additional 13 women who ran for Whitman. Lizzie Littlewood, a first-year runner, was 35th in 25:42.2 while sophomore Betsy Schroeder was 39th in 26:18.4.
Others running for Whitman were Rand Biersdorf (43rd, 26:30.8), Lindsay Records (46th, 26:51.7), Andrea Kunz (48th, 27:00.6), Emily Rodriguez (49th, 27:13.6), Rachel Stein (59th, 28:12.5), Rachel Patterson (62nd, 28:38.7), Lauren Imbrock (68th, 29:25), Fiona Taggart (69th, 29:37.7) and Allie Freed (72nd, 30:53.8).
First-year runner Sara McCune was 47th and senior Sam Clark placed 75th as the Whitman cross country teams ran in the "open" races at the 15th-annual Sundodger Invitational at Lincoln Park in Seattle, Wash.
McCune finished the women's 6,000 meters in 23:16, while Clark mastered the men's 8,000 meters in 26:29.
In the team scoring, the Whitman women placed 14th among 23 schools with 333 points -- just two points behind Central Washington University. The Missionary men finished 15th among 28 teams with 408 place points.
Hosted by the University of Washington, the Sundodger offers "open" races for smaller schools. Two additional "invitational" races were held Saturday for NCAA Div. I schools.
Clark was one of three Missionary men to finish under 27 minutes. Junior Brian Woods was 85th in 26:42, while sophomore Nick Littman was close behind in 94th place with a time of 26:47. "Nick led Sam and Brian through the first four miles before succumbing in the final kilometer to tired legs," Whitman coach Malcolm Dunn said.
Both Clark and Woods placed much higher than they did at last year's Sundodger. Clark was 184th and Woods 143rd a year ago.
Freshman Matt Kelly and senior Adam Kopet filled out the Whitman top five. Kelly, despite tweaking a calf muscle, finished 134th in 27:20. Kopet broke 28 minutes for the first time, placing 153rd in 27:37. "Adam improved on his performance last week at Lewis & Clark, and he dropped nearly two minutes off his Sundodger time from last year," Dunn said.
On the women's side, McCune was one of three first-year runners in Whitman's top five. "This was another strong performance for Sara, who continues to race well at the 6K distance," Dunn said.
First-year competitor Michela Corcorran ran second for the Missionary women, placing 71st in 23:48. Lisa Taylor, a junior running her first season of college cross country, was 83rd in 23:59. Heather O'Moore, the third member of Whitman's first-year triumvirate, placed 96th in 24:14, finishing one spot and one second in front of senior teammate Caitlin Kearney.
"Lisa and Heather both had solid performances, while Michela and Caitlin faded a little in the final kilometers," Dunn said.
Amy Chapman and Lizzie Littlewood, two more first-year runners, placed 143rd and 145th, respectively, with times of 24:55 and 25:00. "Lizzie made another impressive jump," Dunn said. "She, Emily Rodiguez, Fiona Taggart and Allie Freed have all made great strides over the last three weeks of racing."
Rodriguez, also a first-year runner, finished 201st in 26:11. Taggart and Freed, both sophomores, were 249th and 257th, respectively, in 28:26 and 29:43.
In the men's race, junior Tim Marrinan led Whitman's next tier of runners, placing 190th in 28:17. "Tim turned it around from last weekend and demonstrated some tough running in a couple of spots in the race," Dunn said.
Next in line for Whitman were Nick Johnson, 209th, 28:43; Sam Johnson, 238th, 29:51; Robert Marcotte, 247th, 30:16; Travis Meyers, 264th, 31:16; and Gus O'Malley, 266th, 31:33. "The fast pace at the beginning of the race took its toll on Sam Johnson's legs," Dunn said. "Sam struggled mightily in the final two miles of the race."
An additional 10 women ran for Whitman: Alex Pogue, 168th, 25:25; Emma Catmur, 169th, 25:26; Megan Bush, 173rd, 25:29; Betsy Schroeder, 203rd, 26:14; Rand Biersdorf, 216th, 26:44; Andrea Kuntz, 221st, 26:53; Lindsay Records, 228th, 27:05; Rachel Stein, 241st, 27:40; Rachel Patterson, 250th, 28:26; and Lauren Imbrock, 259th, 29:54.
"As a whole, we're looking forward to the second stage of our season, with longer recoveries between races," Dunn said. "The Willamette Invitational in two weeks will give us another chance to measure ourselves against many of the teams in our conference. It is clear that the conference meet in six weeks will be an exciting race, and we're looking to place both teams in the top half of the field."
First-year runner Yasmeen Colis returned from injury to place 44th in the women's 5,000 meters and give the Whitman cross country teams their top performance at Saturday's 32nd annual Charles Bowles Invitational in Salem, Ore.
Running in a huge women's field of 298 runners, Colis finished in 18:58.75. First-year teammate Sara McCune was close behind, placing 47th in 19:01.65.
In the men's 8,000 meters, senior Sam Clark paced the Missionaries by placing 69th in a time of 26:04.35. Junior teammate Brian Woods was right behind, finishing 71st among 305 runners with a time of 26:04.85.
"Both teams ran well today," Whitman coach Malcolm Dunn said. "People ran fast, which is what we wanted to see at this point in the season."
Saturday's race was the first for Colis since she placed third in the women's 4,000 meters at the season-opening Whitman Invitational in early September. "Both Yasmeen and Sara ran good races, although Yasmeen was a bit fatigued at the end," Dunn said. "She lost some time she wouldn't normally lose."
"Of the 11 women who ran for us today, eight or nine ran personal-best times," Dunn added. "Even with three of our top 10 women not running, we had four runners finish under 20 minutes. That's impressive and says good things about the depth of our women's team."
Senior Caitlin Kearney and first-year runners Michela Corcorran and Amy Chapman missed Saturday's race due to illness or injury. Corcorran has been Whitman's second- or third-best runner this season.
Junior Lisa Taylor (88th, 19:40.8) and first-year runners Heather O'Moore (122nd, 19:59.10) and Lizzie Littlewood (139th, 20:13.20) rounded out Whitman's team score. The Missionaries finished with 415 place points, placing 15th among 32 teams. Of eight participating Northwest Conference schools, Whitman was fourth.
Sophomore Alex Pogue (161st, 20:26.55) and senior Emma Catmur (174th, 20:36.15) gave the Missionary women seven runners under 21 minutes.
In the men's race, freshmen Matt Kelly (133rd, 26:55.30) and Curtis Reid (155th, 27:15.10), along with senior Adam Kopet (174th, 27:29.40), completed Whitman's team score. The Missionaries finished with 553 points, placing 21st among 31 schools and fifth out of eight NWC schools.
"Both Sam and Brian ran very strong races, and both had personal-best times," Dunn said. "I'm pretty sure that Matt, Curtis and Adam ran personal-best times as well. With today's race, we've now had four guys run under 27 minutes this season, which is great."
Whitman sophomore Nick Littman struggled early but finished strong, placing 182nd in 27:38.25. "Nick showed a lot of composure," Dunn said. "He pulled himself together after a bad start and ran well."
Others running for the Whitman men were Tim Marrinan (219th, 28:16.60), Eli Asch (229th, 28:35.35), Nick Johnson (256th, 29:34.75), Travis Meyers (282nd, 30:57.05), Robert Marcotte (288th, 31:26.05) and Gus O'Malley (295th, 32:48.70).
Also running for the Whitman women were Megan Bush (209th, 21:10.45), Betsy Schroeder (214th, 21:14.65), Emily Rodriguez (221st, 21:28.25) and Andrea Kunz (250th, 22:15.65).
Whitman's next race is the Bigfoot Open on Saturday, Oct. 14, in Spokane.
Whitman and Whitworth, the only two Northwest Conference schools competing in Saturday's Big Foot Open in Spokane, fought to a flat-footed draw.
In the men's 8,000 meters, Whitman placed third in the team scoring with 98 points, edging Whitworth by a single point. In the women's 5,000 meters, however, it was Whitworth squeaking past Whitman in the team scoring. The Pirate women took second place with 63 points, beating their Missionary counterparts by two points.
"Both races were a lot of fun to watch," Whitman coach Malcolm Dunn said. "It's encouraging to see both of our teams running right with Whitworth, which has been one of the stronger programs in the conference."
The men's race might be the first time in a decade that Whitman has outscored Whitworth in an 8,000-meter race, Dunn noted.
Junior Brian Woods and senior Sam Clark were Whitman's top runners in the men's race, which drew nine full teams and 84 runners. Woods finished 11th in 27:08 and Clark was 12th in 27:13. "Both Brian and Sam finished ahead of Whitworth's top runner, which is something that probably hasn't happened in awhile," Dunn said.
In the women's race, which drew six teams and 86 runners, first-year runners Sara McCune, Yasmeen Colis and Michela Corcorran paced the Missionaries. McCune finished fourth in 18:52, while Colis was ninth (19:00) and Corcorran 12th (19:06).
Whitman's Lisa Taylor, a junior running her first year of college cross country, placed 20th in 19:29. Two more first-year runners, Lizzie Littlewood and Amy Chapman, were next in line, finishing 31st and 34th in 19:51 and 19:56, respectively. "It's great to have six women run under 20 minutes in a 5K," Dunn said. "It's been years since we've done that."
Heather O'Moore, another first-year runner, nearly gave the Missionaries a seventh runner under 20 minutes. She finished 36th in 20:11.
Lewis-Clark State won the team scoring in the women's race with 39 points. After Whitworth and Whitman, the Community Colleges of Spokane was fourth with 72 points, followed by Clark CC (116) and Skagit Valley CC (190). Kristi Dickey, running for a Spokane club team, won the women's race in 18:17.
The Community Colleges of Spokane won the men's race with 25 points. Lewis-Clark was second with 61 points. After Whitman and Whitworth, a club team and four college squads completed the men's field. Lewis-Clark State's Calin Hantau won the men's race in 26:02.
Rounding out Whitman's top five in the men's race were senior Sam Johnson (21st, 27:37), sophomore Nick Littman (30th, 28:07) and freshman Matt Kelly (33rd, 28:17). Johnson, a standout on Whitman's club cycling team in recent years, is running his first season of cross country.
"It was very encouraging to see Sam Johnson run his first really smart college race," Dunn said. "Now that he knows he can do it, we'll be counting on him to run another smart race at the conference championships in two weeks."
Whitman's second five in the men's race were Adam Kopet (42nd, 28:54), Curtis Reid (45th, 29:03), Tim Marrinan (49th, 29:10), Eli Asch (53rd, 29:26) and Nick Johnson (60th, 29:58). Robert Marcotte was 69th in 31:09 and Travis Meyers 71st in 31:20.
"The times on the men's side are on the slow side, but this is by far the toughest men's course we'll run all season," Dunn said. "There are two significant uphill climbs, and there are some tight turns where runners are forced to slow down. It was just good to see our guys run so well head-to-head with Whitworth."
Whitman's one-point victory over Whitworth in the men's race "shows the importance of every runner in cross country," Dunn said. "Matt Kelly passed a runner in the final five meters, which gained us a point, and Sam Johnson held off a few runners at the end."
Others running for the Whitman women included Emma Catmur (43rd, 20:27), Alex Pogue (47th, 20:44), Emily Rodriguez (52nd, 20:58) and Lindsay Records (57th, 21:04).
Also running were Rand Biersdorf (61st, 21:48), Andrea Kunz (62nd, 21:53), Betsy Schroeder (66th, 22:18), Lauren Imbrock (75th, 23:27), Rachel Stein (76th, 23:36), Rachel Patterson (78th, 24:00), Allie Freed (80th, 24:40), and Fiona Taggart (80th, 24:40).
Running the best race of his career, Whitman senior Sam Clark placed ninth and earned all-conference honors in the Northwest Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday morning at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash.
Meanwhile, in the women's race, first-year Missionary runner Sara McCune finished 14th and also earned all-conference honors.
"It's been a few years, I'm sure, since Whitman had all-conference performers in both races," Whitman coach Malcolm Dunn said. "That was a great thing to see for Whitman."
Saturday's results, in fact, marked the first time in 11 years that Whitman reaped all-conference honors in both the men's and women's ranks. In 1995, Kathleen Gibson and Alex Rolfe capped their senior seasons by winning their respective races at the conference championships.
The Missionaries just missed having a pair of All-NWC runners at the 2004 championships. Sierra Witnov placed 11th that season while Conor Flynn finished 15th, just one spot out of all-conference recognition.
In Saturday's team scoring, both Whitman teams placed a strong sixth, finishing just a few points out of the fifth place.
"Both teams moved up a spot from last year when they placed seventh," Dunn said. "Compared to last season, though, our teams are much, much stronger. But the conference as a whole is stronger, and we didn't finish as high today as we could have. We're right on the verge of breaking into the top three or four programs in the conference, and on any given day, I think we have the ability to do that."
The women's team scoring was especially close. With 126 points, the Missionary women finished just three points behind fifth-place Whitworth and just 11 points behind third-place Lewis & Clark.
Willamette and Puget Sound placed first and second, in that order, in both races. The Willamette women edged their Puget Sound counterparts by a 50-54 margin, while the Willamette men beat Puget Sound 40-58.
The Whitman men placed sixth with 138 points, finishing just five points behind Whitworth and 17 points in back of fourth-place George Fox.
With a strong closing kick, Clark finished the men's 8,000 meters in 25:11.29, which was more than two minutes faster than a year ago when he placed 36th at the conference championships. His Saturday time was a career-best effort by nearly a minute.
"The course today was flat, firm and fast," Dunn said. "All of the times were fast."
Running in 17th place with one-half mile to go, Clark "really poured it on down the stretch and was able to pass quite a few runners," Dunn said. "It was a tremendous finish for Sam."
In the women's 6,000 meters, McCune ran a career-best 22:23.41 to place 14th. Two more first-year runners Yasmeen Colis and Michela Corcorran, placed 19th and 20th with times of 22:43.60 and 22:44.55, respectively.
Rounding Whitman's top five for the team scoring were senior Caitlin Kearney, who was 39th in 23:25.47, and junior Lisa Taylor, who was 40th 23:25.47. Taylor is running her first season of cross country, and Kearney was running Saturday for the first time since being sidelined by an early season injury.
"Caitlin has been doing a lot of endurance work in the swimming pool and on the stationary bike," Dunn said. "It was great to see all of her hard work pay off today with a tremendous performance."
At last year's NWC championships, Kearney placed 53rd in 24:46.60. Two years ago, she was 72nd in 26:15.00.
In the men's race, junior Brian Woods had Whitman's second-best effort, placing 20th in 25:32.02. Woods was 23rd at last fall's conference championships with a time of 26:46.70. He placed 53rd two years ago.
Others in the men's top five for Whitman were freshman Matt Kelly, 34th, 26:12.77; junior Tim Marrinan, 41st, 26:30.16; and sophomore Nick Littman, 44th, 26:34.88. "Aside from Sam Clark and his tremendous finish, the race of the day for us was Tim Marrinan finishing in our fourth spot," Dunn said. "Tim had been running eighth or ninth for us this season. He made a breakthrough with his training two weeks ago, and it really showed today."
Also running for the Missionary men were freshman Curtis Reid, 52nd, 27:01.65; senior Adam Kopet, 63rd, 27:34.79; junior Eli Asch, 65th, 27:46.28; senior Sam Johnson, 69th, 28:25.37; and senior Nick Johnson, 70th, 28:28.14.
Others racing for the women's team were first-year Heather O'Moore, 50th, 23:56.07; first-year Lizzie Littlewood, 60th, 24:27.37; senior Emma Catmur, 62nd, 24:30.62; and sophomore Alex Pogue, 64th, 24:38.38.
Both Missionary teams will race again in two weeks at the NCAA Div. III West Regional race in Chino, Calif.
With three first-year runners earning all-region honors, the Whitman women's cross country team placed sixth at the NCAA Div. III West Regional Saturday morning at Prado Park in Chino, Calif.
Yasmeen Colis led the way for the Missionaries, placing 19th with a time of 23:45.58 for the 6,000 meters. Sara McCune was 21st in 23:47.18 and Michela Corcorran was 28th in 24:05.48.
In the men's 8,000 meters, Whitman senior Sam Clark also earned all-region honors, finishing 27th in 26:04.95.
"I don't know that we've ever had four runners earn all-region honors in the same year," Whitman coach Malcolm Dunn said. "This is just another indication that Whitman cross country is headed in the right direction."
As a team, the Missionary women placed sixth in a field of 16 teams with 161 points. With Willamette finishing first with 63 points, Northwest Conference schools filled six of the top seven spots. Colorado College was the runner-up with 77 points, followed by Puget Sound (81), Lewis & Clark (135) and George Fox (145). Whitworth finished a spot behind Whitman with 187 points.
The Whitman women's squad placed 12th at last year's regional.
"Our women beat all of the southern California teams, and we beat Whitworth as well," Dunn said. "It was good to see the women's team finish so high, and it was fun to our top three first-year runners challenge the best runners in the region."
Willamette also won the men's regional crown, taking first in the 15-team field with 75 points. Occidental was second with 88 points and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps third with 92. Colorado College with 98 points and Puget Sound with 110 rounded out the top five. The Whitman men finished 10th with 279 points, moving up two spots from a year ago.
In placing 27th, Clark was the 12th-best finisher among Northwest Conference runners. He placed 71st at last year's regional final, when he was slowed by injury.
Junior Brian Woods and sophomore Nick Littman had Whitman's next-best finishes on Saturday. Woods was 50th in 26:54.55, while Littman was 61st in 27:14.00. "Nick probably ran his smartest race of the season," Dunn said. "He started conservatively over the first mile and then moved up to pass people the rest of the way."
Whitman junior Tim Marrinan continued his late-season surge, placing 75th in 27:47.25, and freshman Matt Kelly shook off the flu bug to finish 81st in 28:12.85. "Tim showed his strong performance at the conference championship was not a fluke," Dunn said. "Matt was running a fever last night, but he gutted it out today to help with our team score."
Others running for the Whitman men were freshman Curtis Reid, who was 89th in 28:21.75, and senior Sam Johnson, who overcame a late-season injury to place 100th in 29:41.10.
Julian Boggs, running for Colorado College, won the men's race in 24:32.60. Pomona-Pitzer's Will Leer was second in 24:34.55.
Whitman's Lisa Taylor, a junior running her first year of cross country, ran fourth for the Missionaries on Saturday, placing 48th overall in 24:47.13. "Lisa ran a better race today than she did at conference," Dunn said.
Two more first-year runners, Heather O'Moore and Amy Chapman, placed 61st and 67th, respectively, in 25:12.33 and 25:27.98. Senior Caitlin Kearney, falling victim to Los Angeles-area smog, struggled to a 91st-place finish with a time of 26:27.53. "It was frustrating for Caitlin to run in those conditions," Dunn said. "She's more susceptible to dirty air than most people, and she was having trouble breathing."
Willamette's Sarah Zerzan won the women's race in 21:45.68. Lewis & Clark's Tamma Carleton was second in 22:22.98.
"What very encouraging for our women's team is that five of our top seven will be back for three more seasons," Dunn said.