SPOKANE, Wash.- Gonzaga Cross Country again captured two victories in the Sasquatch Invitational on Friday, again defending their streak of winning the meet every time it has occurred.
The men's team captured the 8k title on a brisk afternoon, led by Caden Swanson running a 25:10.7 race to finish third overall. The Zags had the top five finishes by affiliated runners. Zander Trevino and Ansel Tucker finished with times of 25:19 and 25:23 to finish fourth and fifth, while Caleb Richardson locked in sixth place with a race of 25:24.
 On a course that had long stretches exposed to the wind, the Zags felt solid about their performance to get another local win. "We got everything that we needed out of this today! It was really solid and we're focused and excited for next week!" said coach Pat Tyson, his attention now turning to the WCC championships in Spokane next weekend. "Been a big couple weeks getting to today and the guys are very excited for the WCC next week and we're ready to step up to the challenge" remarked Swanson after the race.
The women's team collected another victory in the 5k, led at the front by Maria Taggi Padro's second place finish of exactly 18 minutes. Jorun Downing and Anna Lanigan finished right behind her with times of 18:10 and 18:15 to capture third and fourth place in the meet. Anika Jones and Tawny Smith each ran sub-19 minute 5ks as well, rounding out the scoring five with their times of 18:32 and 18:46. Lanigan remarked after the meet that the team felt that this showing was a "great showing of how deep our team is" and is a great indicator of how excited everyone is for the run in to the conference championship next weekend.
Full results from the Sasquatch Invitational can be found here. The Zags will host the WCC championships for the final time next weekend. The race will take place at the new Spokane Valley Cross Country course and will begin on Saturday, November 1st.
