LEWISTON, Idaho – Gonzaga's men's and women's cross country teams continued an impressive weekend with first and second place respective team finishes at the Inland Empire Classic on Saturday. The men's squad kicked off the weekend with a 26th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wis. on Friday, and the women opened the Saturday Slate with a team victory at the Bronco Invite in Sunnyvale, Calif.
On Saturday, the Zags' split-squads traveled to Lewiston, Idaho for the Inland Empire Classic. The women kicked off the meet in the 5K race, with
Anna Grabowski (Fourth, 17:20.0),
Jasmine Nguyen (Sixth, 17:28.0) and
Kate Donaldson (Seventh, 17:31.0) each securing Top Ten finishes to pace a second place team finish (37 team points).
The men followed suit in the 8K race, with
Will Thorsett (Eighth, 24:31.0) and
Jacob Alfonso (Ninth, 24:33.0) fueling a team win (64 points) with Top Ten finishes of their own.
THE WOMEN
Grabowski's 17:20.0 shifts the Gonzaga record book, placing herself seventh all-time in the 5K in program history. Nguyen and Donaldson also inked their names on that list, as their 17:28.0 and 17:31.0 times are now ninth and tenth best in program history, respectively.
Olivia Hobbs was the next Bulldog across the finish line, placing 11th with a time of 17:44.0. Teammate
Olivia Laurance crossed seven seconds later for a 17:51.0, 14th place finish to round out the point-scoring for the Zags.
Jorun Downing notched a Top 20 finish with a 17th place time of 17:52.0 right behind Laurence.
Olivia Ferraro (23rd, 18:07.0) and
Anika Jones (25th, 18:12.0) each cracked the Top 25 for Gonzaga.
Bailee Carr placed 30th (18:22.0),
Paige Trautman placed 34th (18:42.0),
Kate Ferrell placed 37th (18:47.0),
Elizabeth Brands placed 41st (18:53.0) and
Catherine Vlach placed 50th (19:05.0) to complete the list of attached runners for the Zags.
GU's 37 team points is their second lowest total of the season behind a 16-point effort at the Clash of the Inland NW to open the season. Idaho won the team title with a 26-point outing behind four Top Ten finishes. Despite finishing second and third, the Vandals' Katja Pattis and Leah Holmgren earned one and two points to lead the way.
THE MEN
Thorsett and Alfonso's eighth and ninth place finishes led the way for the Zag men in the 8K race. Gonzaga also benefitted with scoring from
Aidan Baughan (15th, 24:42.0),
Mason Kissell (18th, 24:44.0), and
Nick Braz (24th, 24:57.0).
Sam Geiger was the next GU runner to finish, placing 34th in a time of 25:06.0.
Caleb Richardson,
Nicky DiMartino, and
Carp Mukai each cracked the Top 40 with 37th, 38th, and 40th place times of 25:13.0, 25:14.0, and 25:19.0.
Luke Alfonso (49th, 25:30.0),
Charles Martinez (50th, 25:31.0),
Tommy O'Neil (58th, 25:43.0), and
Sean Janecko (78th, 26:06.0) rounded out the attached runners for the Zag men.
The Bulldogs secured the team title with a total of 64 points, edging Montana's 88 team points and Idaho's 94. Corban's Robert Swoboda won the individual title with a time of 23:54.0.
UP NEXT
Both teams will remain local for the Sasquatch Open on Oct. 25. That event will mark the end of the regular season for the Zags, before heading to the West Coast Conference Championships on Oct. 28 in Malibu, Calif.
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