Viking men finish first and women second at the CWU Invitational in Ellensburg. PHOTO: WWU Athletics
WWU Cross Country Opens 2018 Season With Strong Debut
September 16, 2018
ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University cross country teams opened the 2018 season with solid finishes at the Central Washington University Invitational raced Saturday afternoon at Rotary Park.
The men’s squad finished 1st of three teams in the 7K race, while the women were 2nd in the 5K.
In the men’s race, WWU scored 20 points to finish ahead of Central Washington (52) and Seattle Pacific (65).
WWU locked down five of the top six spots in the race, with sophomore Eric Hamel (Enumclaw, WA) finishing 2nd in 22:49 and redshirt freshman Bentley Wilson ( Newport Beach, CA/Newport Harbor) 3rd in 22:55. CWU freshman Turlan Morlan won the race in a time of 22:37.
The women finished 2nd with 47 points, trailing SPU (24 points) and ahead of Central Washington (51).
WWU was led by the Los Alamos, New Mexico combination of juniors Talia Dreicer (19:02) and Sophia Galvez (19:07), who finished 6th and 7th respectively. Sophomore Jane Barr (Seattle, WA/Roosevelt) also notched a top-10 placing in 9th with a time of 19:26.
The Vikings return to action next Saturday at the Saint Martin’s Open in Lacey, Washington.
