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Mounties Wrap Up Season At NAIA Championships
Kenosha Wisconsin, November 17— The NAIA Championships returned to Kenosha Wisconsin after 4 years in Louisville Kentucky, and the Mounties had Men’s and Women’s teams competing in the same national meet for the first time since 2003, and both fields were some of the deepest in the history of the meet. The men ran the first race of the day, and despite some good performances had a rough day finishing 19th out of 28 teams. After a strong start and fading mid race, Zach Heath closed well to lead the Mounties finishing 83rd in 26:07. Senior Josh Ego, who moved well throughout the race and ran one of his best races, was close behind finishing 93rd in 26:11. Adam Goulet was the Mounties third runner, finishing 106th in 26:18. Cameron Starner and Morgan Saltenberger rounded out the scoring finishing 152nd and 169th respectively in 26:38 and 26:50. Doug Benson, the Mounties 6th runner was 1 spot behind Saltenberger also in 26:50. Senior Troy Blackburn, competing in his last race, was running well as the top runner before a cramp with 600m left forced him to struggle in at 27:51. The women’s team ran well, however with one of the deapest fields in the meets history, they were only able to finish 22nd in the team race. Marcella Bosch improved about 30 places from last year finishing 42nd in 18:34, and Senior Stephanie Windle was close behind finishing 44th in 18:38. For both athletes this was the best finish they have had at the NAIA championships. They have now competed in this race a combined 7 times. Sara Bates moved up well after a slow start finishing 165th in 19:45. Chelsee Harmon ran one of her best collegiate races, and was the Mounties 4th runner finishing 203rd in 20:08. Christy Pletan rouned out the scoring finishing 210th in 20:14. Katie Clapp and Dani Murphy were the 6th and 7th runners in 20:38 and 21:09 respectively. According to Coach Welch, “all in all, while they did not finish were they had hoped, both teams should feel good about the year, especially after missing out on this meet last year.”
Mounties Awarded At Large Bids To NAIA Meet
The Eastern Oregon University Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams were rewarded for their strong seasons with a trip to Kenosha Wisconsin to compete in the NAIA Championships. For the 12th ranked men’s squad this will be their first trip since finishing 7th in 2004, and the 16th ranked women’s squad last competed in 2005.
Mounties Run Well At Region Championships; Men Second, Women Third
Olympia Washington, November 3— The Mountaineer Cross Country teams continued their impressive seasons running well on a challenging course at the NAIA Region 1 Championships. The 10th ranked men finished 2nd behind 24th ranked Simon Fraser, while the 17th ranked women finished 3rd behind top ranked Simon Fraser and #7 University of British Columbia. Both teams also defeated several other ranked teams. The women’s team closed well gaining several spots over final 400m allowing them to edge Lewis-Clark State by 5 points and College of Idaho by 17 points. Marcella Bosch lead Mounties, earning All Region honors, with her 7th place finish in 18:36. Stephanie Windle was close behind finishing 12th in 18:47, just missing All Region honors. Freshman Christy Pletan ran well as the Mounties third runner equaling her personal best of 19:34 to finish 24th. Sara Bates 33rd in 19:47 and Chelsee Harmon 45th in 20:08 rounded out the top 5. Katie Clapp and Dani Murphy were 6th and 7th runners finishing 63rd and 64th respectively in 20:43 and 20:46. The men’s team entered the meet ranked second and were aiming for the top spot. They were able to beat the team ranked ahead of them, however they were unable to overcome Simon Fraser who was ranked a 5th entering the meet. Zach Heath was the first Mountie across the line finishing 9th in 25:47 with teammate Cameron Starner, who ran a lifetime best 0f 25:50, just behind in 11th place. The Mounties pack dynamics sealed their runner up finish as the next 4 finishers were within 27 seconds of Starner. Troy Blackburn finished 15th in 26:01, Josh Ego was 19th in 26:09, and Doug Benson 20th in 26:10 rounded out the scoring with Morgan Saltenberger just behind in 26:17. Adam Goulet was with his teammates before falling three times in the final 600m and finishing in 26:38. While the Mounties did not earn automatic berths to the NAIA Championships they all but secured their spots on Saturday. The final fields will be announced on Tuesday.
MOUNTIES SWEEP CONFERENCE TITLES
Eagle Idaho, October 20— The Eastern Oregon University Cross Country teams ran well on the challenging course at Eagle Island State Park to sweep the Cascasde Collegiate Conference Championships. The women previously won the title in 2005, while the men had not won since 2003. The women’s team edged College of Idaho by three points, 43-46, as Marcella Bosch and Dani Murphy both used strong kicks in the final stretch, gaining valuable points. Bosch lead the way for the Mounties finishing 2nd in 19:00, with three of her teammates finishing in the top 10. Stephanie Windle was Mounties second runner finishing 7th in 19:40, despite falling hard early in the race going around a muddy corner. Sara Bates and Cristy Pletan both ran their best races of the season finishing 9th and 10th respectively in 19:46 and 19:52. Murphy rounded out the scoring, securing the win, with a 16th finish in 20:20. On the men’s side the Mounties packed up well, putting three athletes in the top 10 and eight in the top 17 to outdistance Southern Oregon 43-56. Zach Heath was the Mountaineers first finisher in 3rd place with a time of 26:15, with his next seven teammates less than a minute behind. Doug Benson and Troy Blackburn had top ten finishes, at 7th and 10th respectively in 26:41 and 26:46. Blackburn lead a wave of Mounties across the line. Morgan Saltenberger was 11th also in 26:46, Josh Ego 12th in 26:47, Cameron Starner 14th in 27:00, Adam Goulet 16th in 27:07, and Justin Dean 17th in 27:14. The Mounties will be off next weekend as they prepare the NAIA region 1 championships on November 3rd in Olympia, Washington, which will also serve as the qualifier for NAIA National meet on November 17th in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Mounties Perform Well On Home Course
La Grande Oregon, October 13— The Eastern Oregon University Cross Country teams kicked off Homecoming the by hosing Northwest Nazarence, Treasure Valley, and College of Idaho in the 2007 EOU Open. The short race distances created exciting races despite the small fields. Without two of their top 7 runners, the Mountie women finished second to Northwest Nazarene. Marcella Bosch lead the way finishing 2nd, with Sara Bates and Cristy Pletan close behind in 4th and 6th respectively over the 3k course. According to coach Welch, “Overall all the women ran quite well, doing good justice the idea behind running a short course, which is to get out fast and push what would normally be the middle of the race.” On the men’s side the Mounties dominated the race taking 7 of the top 10 places, and taking the team title with 20 points. Doug Benson finished 2nd on the 5k course, with 7 of his teammates finishing in the next 33 seconds. Zach Heath held on for 3rd after a fast start, with Troy Blackburn and Adam Goulet close behind. Morgan Saltenberger, Josh Ego, and Justin Dean all finished in the top 10. Next weekend the Mounties will be in Eagle, Idaho for Cascade Conference Championships. They will be looking to reclaim the conference titles. The women last won in 2005, while the men’s have had a three year drought after winning 11straight conference/district titles from 1993 to 2003.
Men Ranked 10th, Women 21st
The Eastern Oregon University Cross Country teams were both ranked in the top 25 on the most recent rankings released October 3 after their performances at the Willamette Invite. The men’s dropped one spot to 10th, while the women moved into the top 25 occupying the 21st position.
Men Finish 7th, Women 9th in Tough Fields At Charles Bowles Invite
Salem Oregon, September 29— The Mountaineer Cross Country teams traveled west to face tough competition at the Charles Bowles Invite hosted by Willamette University. The men’s field had six top 10 ranked NAIA and NCAA III teams, and the Mounties performed well finishing just behind NAIA #5 Lewis-Clark State. The Mounties had a 46 second gap between their first and sixth runner, as all six ran lifetime bests. Troy Blackburn once again lead the way finishing 28th in 25:22, with Zach Heath was close behind finishing 39th in 25:33. Doug Benson and Adam Goulet finished 52nd and 53rd respectively, both in 25:46. Additionally, Benson was recognized as the men’s athlete of the meet. Justin Dean and Morgan Saltenberger were the Mounties 5th and 6th runners finishing in 26:01 and 26:08 respectively. Cameron Starner and Josh Ego also competed in the race. The women’s field included 5 ranked NAIA teams, as well as the #11 ranked NCAA III team. For the first time this season the Mounties were able to nearly run a full team, which resulted in the ninth place finish close behind the 16th ranked NAIA team and four athletes running lifetime bests. Stephanie Windle and Marcella Bosch lead the way finishing 15th and 16th respectively in 18:11 and 18:12. Sara Bates finished 50th with a lifetime best of 19:00. Freshman Kristy Pletan, who has improved every race, finished 78th in 19:34 and Chelsee Harmon rounded out the scoring in her season debut finishing 104th in 19:48. Other EOU athletes in the race were Dani Murphey, Abby Morrison, Rachel O’Rielly, and Courtney Schmidig. O’Rielly’s time of 20:53 was a lifetime best by over 90 seconds. The Mounties will be off next weekend, before hosting the EOU Open on October 13th.
Mounties Get Solid Performances At Bob Firman Invite
Eagle Idaho, September 22— The Mountaineer Cross Country teams were in action Saturday at the Bob Firman Invitational at Eagle Island State Park in Boise, Idaho. The meet also provided an opportunity for the Mounties to preview the course that will be used for the Cascade Conference Championship next month. Both teams turned in solid performances despite missing key contributors. Marcella Bosch lead the way for the women’s team finishing 30th, covering the 5k course in 19:33. Sara Bates was close behind Bosch with one of the best performances of the day, finishing 40th in 19:59. Kendra Stone was the teams third finisher at 20:31, which was good enough for 60th place. Stone was followed by three freshman; Kristy Pletan 72nd in 20:49, Courtney Schmidig 108th in 22:27, and Rachel O’Rielly110th in 22:42. Coach Welch noted that all three freshman performed well. The women’s team finished in 11th place. The men’s field included some of top NCAA division II teams in the nation, as the meet also served as the West Region Preview for the division II schools. The 11th ranked Mounties got out to a slow start and were buried 1.5 miles into the race. However, they raced well from there and moved up to finish 6th as team and within reach of second with a better start. Troy Blackburn once again lead the way with Zach Heath not far behind. Blackburn finished 16th in 26:02 and Heath was 19th in 26:08, which is a lifetime best. Morgan Saltenberger and Justin Dean also ran lifetime bests of 26:33 and 26:53 respectively, with Doug Benson between them at 26:38. Josh Ego, who had an off day, was the Mounties final finisher at 27:08. Next week the Mounties will be in Salem for the Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette University, and full teams will be in action for first time this season.
Windle Competes At Sundodger Invitational
Seattle Washington, September 15— Stephanie (Colkitt) Windle opened up her 2007 cross country season at the Sundodger Invitational hosted by the University of Washington. She finished 15th in the women’s open race covering the 6k course in 22:49. This was Stephanie’s first race in nearly two years. Next up the Mounties will be as the Bob Firman / Cascade Conference Preview meet in Eagle, Idaho on September 22.
Mounties Open Season At Northwest Nazarene Invite
Nampa Idaho, September 8— The Eastern Oregon University Cross Country teams opened the 2007 season with good results at the Northwest Nazarene Invite. The women’s team ran without two of their projected top 4 runners and were able to finish 4th in the team race. Marcella Bosch was the first runner across the line finishing 9th covering the 4k course in 15:16. Sara Bates, Kendra Stone, Kristy Pletan, and Abby Morrison rounded out the scoring. Finishing in 15:43, 16:16, 16:43, and 17:36 respectively. Courtney Schmidig and Rachel Orielly also competed for the Mounties finishing in 18:29 and 18:46. According to coach Welch many of the women ran tentatively, however it was a promising start to the season. On men’s side the 17th ranked Mountaineers raced well finishing second behind Boise St. and knocking off 14th ranked Albertson College in the process. Senior Troy Blackburn lead the charge finishing 2nd in 18:46 over the 6k course with teammate Zach Heath close behind at 18:53 to finish 4th. Morgan Saltenberger had the best overall race of the day and just missed the top 10 finishing 11th in 19:25 with Adam Goulet finished 15th in 19:46. After Goulet the Mounties took 4 of the next 6 spots as Josh Ego, Doug Benson, Cam Starner, and Justin Dean all crossed the line between 19:52 and 19:57. Next up the Mounties will be at the Bob Firman Invite in Eagle Idaho on September 22, which will also serve as the Cascade Conference Preview.
2007 Cross Country Season Preview - Written by Coach Welch |