WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Gonzaga men's cross country team took first place honors at the Whitman Invitational at Veterans Memorial Golf Course in Walla Walla on Saturday behind a second-place finish from
Ansel Tucker. The win marks the men's second team victory of the season after their season opener in Cheney at the Clash of the Inland NW.
"A great confidence booster today," head coach
Pat Tyson said. "It shows that all the hard work is paying off on a nice coolish, cloudy, windless day in Walla Walla!"
THE RACE
Despite a second place finish, Tucker earned one point after finishing in 24:35.6. The redshirt sophomore never found himself lower than second place throughout the entirety of the 8K race, running his best split in the final 2,000 meters (6:06.6).
Nicky DiMartino was the second of five Zags to place in the Top 10, recording a fifth place time of 24:40.5. Right next to him across the finish line,
Nick Braz placed sixth with a time of 24:40.8. The pair earned three and four points, respectively.
Jacob Alfonso and
Will Thorsett completed the team scoring for the Zags with their eighth and ninth place finishes, earning five and six points. Alfonso finished in 24:56.1 and Thorsett finished in 24:59.6.
Mason Kissell just missed a Top 10 finish with a 25:03.6, 11th place time. The redshirt freshman, in his second race of the season, topped his season best (26:01.3, Cougar Classic) by nearly one minute.
Carp Mukai (14th, 25:14.0),
Luke Alfonso (17th, 25:19.0), and
Tommy O'Neil (18th, 25:26.5) each cracked the Top 20 for GU.
Charles Martinez (24th, 25:38.6),
Caleb Richardson (25th, 25:42.8), and
James Powers (63rd, 27:45.7) rounded out the list of attached runners for Gonzaga. The race included seven teams and 89 individual runners, including familiar foes Washington State and Eastern Washington.
UP NEXT
Both GU squads are off for a week before a busy weekend on Oct. 13-14. First, the Zag men head to Madison, Wis. for the Nuttycombe Invitational on Oct. 13. The meet is set to feature some of the nation's top squads as Gonzaga looks to build off a gritty performance at the high-caliber Griak Invitational last week. Next, the GU women are in Santa Clara, Calif. for the Bronco Invite on Oct. 14 in a meet that will feature a similar environment to the WCC Championships later in the month. The two teams will also run split squads on Oct. 14 down in Lewiston, Idaho for the Inland Empire Classic.
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FULL RESULTS
