MOSCOW, Idaho – James Mwaura's Gonzaga cross country career probably could not have started any better. The true freshman debuted with a first place finish at the Clash of the Inland Northwest at the University of Idaho Golf Course Friday.
 
Mwaura cruised to the win over the 6,000-meter course with a time of 17:04.8. The Tacoma, Wash. native led the GU men to a dominating first place finish. Seven Zags placed in the top-eight.
 
Gonzaga's Sammy Truax came in second place at 17:15.1, while Kyle Thompson (17:15.4) and Andrew Clusserath (17:19.9) were third and fourth. Kellen Manley placed sixth, crossing the line at 17:22.1. Yacine Guermali (17:23.2, seventh) and Stefan Bradley (17:25.6, eighth) also had top-10 finishes.
 
"Wow, it's hard not be excited about this bunch of Zag runners," Director of Gonzaga Cross Country Pat Tyson said. "Rookie James Mwaura and his Zag posse strolled over the challenging 6K course for easy wins over host Idaho, Eastern Washington, and Montana. Our top seven finishers had a 21-second spread! I told the team that I like where they are on Aug. 31, but ultimately this is step one of hopefully an amazing journey this fall! We have a lot of work ahead, but a great place to open up this season."
 
The Gonzaga women made their debut under new head coach Jake Stewart. The Zags placed third as a team, led by Aimee Piercy's sixth-place finish on the 4K course. GU's Caroline McCarthy crossed the line with a time of 14:47.6 in 11^th place. Claire Gillett (15:07.1) and Molly Foster (15:08.7) were 21^st and 22^nd. Olivia Evans finished with a time of 15:17.5 in 26^th place.
 
"There's a lot that we can take away from tonight's opener," Stewart said. "In two weeks' time, will bring some more athletes into the mix and get a sense of where they're at. There were positive results this evening and results I'm sure some of the women wanted to have be better. We have to make it our goal in the next two weeks to improve, and that is something we all have to be aware of. I believe in this program, I really am excited about what we can do here, and we all collectively have to view this as our starting point."
 
The hosts, Idaho, swept the top five spots of the women's race, including Andrea Condie's first place finish. Her finish of 13:50.3 was well ahead of the rest of the field. Teammate Kara Story was second at 14:02.1.
 
The Bulldogs make the short trip to Colfax, Wash., for the Cougar Classic on Sept. 14. The men's 8K race begins at 5:15 p.m., followed by the women's 6K race at the Colfax Golf Club.