CHENEY, Wash. – The Gonzaga men's and women's cross country teams opened their 2023 seasons with a sweep of the team and individual titles at the Clash of the Inland Northwest on Friday morning.
Jessica Frydenlund and
Wil Smith led the way, each winning the individual title in their respective races as GU totaled seven runners in the Top 10 of the 4K race and nine runners in the Top 10 of the 6K race.
THE WOMEN
The GU women scored 16 points to secure the team title comfortably over Eastern Washington (59), Idaho (82), and Carleton (96).
In her first collegiate race, Frydenlund crossed the finish line with a time of 13:48.4 and nearly 16 seconds ahead of second place in
Alicia Anderson (14:04.0). The Zags placed in each of the Top Four spots, with
Alexi Fogo (14:15.5) and
Brittney Hansen (14:15.9) taking third and fourth, respectively. The sophomore trio of
Anna Grabowski (14:20.9, sixth),
Jorun Downing (14:26.6, eighth), and
Anna Lanigan (14:29.9, tenth) rounded out the Top 10 finishes for Gonzaga in their season opener.
Frydenlund's finish marks the tenth best 4K finish in program history and shatters the winning time of 14:32.2 at the Clash last year. The team win marks the Zags' third title at this event in the last four years, with Eastern Washington narrowly edging GU last year.
THE MEN
On the men's side, Gonzaga swept the Top Five to earn 15 points and a dominant win over Idaho (61), Eastern Washington (70), and Lewis-Clark (107).
Coming off an All-WCC Preseason nod on Wednesday, Smith led the Zag men to their seventh straight Clash of the Inland Northwest title with a first place finish of 18:32.7. Despite finishing with an exact same time of 18:32.7,
Bryce Cerkowniak placed second behind Smith as Gonzaga placed in each of the Top Six spots, with just 1.3 seconds separating first and sixth place.
Evan Bates (18:32.8),
Kyle Radosevich (18:32.9),
Drew Kolodge (18:33.3) and
Riley Moore (18:34.0) piled across the finish line, securing places one through six. Not far behind were
Jeremiah Mackie (18:39.8, eighth),
Cooper Laird (18:41.6, ninth), and
Paul Talens (18:42.6, tenth) to round out the Top 10.
"Just a really exciting day over on the EWU campus," Head Coach
Pat Tyson said. "Zags executed a 'workout style race' perfectly! Our young runners got the butterflies that come with the first race under control!"
UP NEXT
The Gonzaga women will head to Malibu, Calif. on Sept. 9 for the Waves Invite, hosted by Pepperdine. The men will be in action next at the Cougar Classic when both squads head to Colfax, Wash. on Sept. 15.
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