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Bosch Earns All American Award At NAIA Championships
Kenosha Wisconsin, November 22— Four athletes represented the Eastern Oregon University Cross Country teams; Marcella Bosch and Christine Eckstein for the women, along with Zach Heath and Cameron Starner for the men’s team. The meet was the conclusion to a successful season for the Mountaineer squads that showed substantial improvement throughout the season. The course was in good condition, and Bosch turned in a strong performance; finishing 15th in a lifetime best of 17:49. With her finish the EOU standout earned her first All American award. Christine Eckstein finished 119th in 19:10. On the men’s side Zach Heath finished 121st in 26:16 and Cameron Starner finished 197th in 26:56.
Mounties Turn In Several Top Performances At Conference Championships
Seattle Washington, November 8— The Eastern Oregon University cross country teams had their best races of the season in the muddy conditions, the final meet for most of the runners. They held their rankings in the conference with the 4th place finish by the men and 5th place finish by the women, however it was the closest they have been to higher ranked teams this season. Marcella Bosch and Christine Eckstein lead the women’s team with their second in fourth place finishes respectively. Bosch’s finishing time of 18:04 was a lifetime best, while Eckstein battled through a quad injury to turn in her best performance of the season. Both athletes qualified for the NAIA championship meet on November 22nd in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Katie Clapp, Alma Garcilazo, Shakira Badolin rounded out the scoring for the Mounties. For Bandolin this was her first ever cross country race, while Clapp and Garcilazo were just off their season bests. Rachael O’Rielly, Kai Wasson, and Ariel O’Rielly also competed for the Mountaineers. Similar to the women’s team, Cameron Starner and Zach Heath provided a strong one –two punch for the Mounties. Starner finished 7th in a life time best of 25:35 to finish 7th, while Heath ran a season best of 26:14 to finish 15th. Starner qualified for the upcoming NAIA championship meet, and Heath could earn a spot when the qualifiers are announced on Monday. Terry Johnsen wasn’t far behind, finishing 23rd in a lifetime best of 26:34, and the Mounties 4th runner Fernando Morales also ran a lifetime best of 26:58. Carlos Quintana rounded out the scoring finishing 46th, with Jeff Roy and Michael Wanta both within 4 seconds. Josh Cobb was the final Mountaineer competitor. The conference championships marked the end of the season for most of the Mounties, Next up Marcella Bosch, Christine Eckstein, Cameron Starner, and possible Zach Heach will compete at the NAIA National Championships in two weeks.
Mounties Run Well In Lewiston
Lewiston Idaho, October 25— The Eastern Oregon University Cross Country teams took full advantage of their final race before the Cascade Conference Championships, with many athletes turning in their best performance of the season despite the loose footing and sometimes narrow course. On the women’s side Marcella Bosch and Christine Eckstein lead the way finishing 4th and 5th respectively as three Mounties set big lifetime bests. Bosch was just 4 seconds off her lifetime best cross country time, while Eckstein set a new personal best by over 30 seconds. Katie Clapp, who just missed her lifetime best, was the Mounties third runner, while Alma Garcilazo, the fourth runner, set a new lifetime best by 42 seconds and dipped under twenty minutes. Rounding out the team was Rachel O’Rielly, Kei Wasson, and Ariel O’Reilly, with the latter O’Rielly running a 29 second lifetime best. The women’s team finished 4th out of 9 teams behind two NAIA top 15 teams, which was their best team performance of the year. Similar to the women, the men’s team continues to improve as the year progresses. Cameron Starner took charge of the race early, leading the first two miles before slipping to 5th at the finish, just 8 seconds off his season best. The Mounties second and third runners, Zach Heath and Carlos Quintana, both turned in their best performances of the season with Quintana just off his lifetime best. Fernando Morales and Terry Johnsen rounded our the scoring, with Michael Wanta and Jeff Roy also competing in the race. The men’s team also finished 4th out of 9 teams behind two NAIA top 15 teams, and showed signs of promise for the upcoming conference meet. The Mounties will be off next weekend as they prepare for Cascade Conference Championships on November 8th at Lincoln Park in Seattle Washington where they will look to qualify teams or athletes for the NAIA Championship.
Mounties Continue To Show Improvement At Home Meet
La Grande Oregon, October 18— The Eastern Oregon University kicked off a busy homecoming weekend by hosting the EOU Open which included Northwest Nazarene, Treasure Valley Community College, and Team Greyhound. The women got Christine Eckstein back from and injury and ran their best race of the year on the 3,000m course. Lead by Marcella Bosch in 2nd place and Eckstein and 4th they competed well against NNU; taking second by 12 points. Katie Clapp, Alma Garcilazo, Kailani Wasson, and Ariel O’Reilly in 8th, 11th, 17th and 22nd place respectively rounded out the team. The men’s team used a good pack to finish in second place and nearly knock of Team Greyhound; an alumni team named for recent EOU Hall Of Fame inductee Jason Werst. Cameron Starner ran strong and pushed the pace early, and lead the way with a 5th place finish. Close behind was a tight pack that included Fernando Morales, Terry Johnsen, and Zach Heath in 7th, 9th, and 10th respectively. Carlos Quintana was close behind in 13th. The Mounties top 5 runners all finished within 26 seconds of each other over the 5000m course. Next weekend the Mounties head to Lewiston for the LCSC Invitational as a final up for the Cascade Conference Championship on November 8th.
Bosch, Starner Lead Mounties At Willamette Invitational
Salem Oregon, October 4— The EOU cross country teams ran well in the mud at the 34th annual Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette University, as several athletes ran lifetime bests. Marcella Bosch lead the women’s team for the second consecutive meet. Bosch had a rough start, but moved up well over the final two miles to finish 19th in 18:40. Katie Clapp was the second Mountaineer across the line with freshman Alma Garcilazo close behind running a lifetime best of 20:31, an improvement of more than a minute. According to coach Welch, Alma’s race was the top performance for the women’s squad. Kai Wasson, Kyle Janssen, Rachel O’Reilly, and Ariel O’Reilly rounded out the squad for the Mounties. Ariel O’Reilly also ran a lifetime best. On the men’s side Cameron Starner lead the way finishing 39th, running his best time on this course and just missed his lifetime best. Five of the final seven Mounties across the line all ran lifetime best. Terry Johnsen was the Mounties second finisher in 26:36, Carlos Quintana was third in 27:01, and Fernando Morales was 4th in 27:25. Jeff Roy and Michael Wanta also ran lifetime bests for the Mounties. The Mounties will be off next weekend as they prepare for their one home meet of the season on October 18th.
Stormy Conditions Don’t Slow Mounties
Eagle Idaho, September 20— Lightning delayed the meet nearly an hour, but the Mounties were still able to show substantial improvements compared to the previous meet. The women’s team was without their top runner from the first meet, and faced tough competition. However, they were not intimidated and were able to reap the benefits from their recent training. Marcella Bosch moved up well over the second half of the race to finish 20th. After Bosch the Mounties had a good pack with the next four runners, lead by Kyle Janssen, were all within 35 seconds of each other. The men’s team also ran much better than their previous race, as many athletes were faster through 6k than at the NNU invite and were still able to close well. Cam Starner lead the way with a 14th place finish and teammate Terry Johnsen was close behind in 17th. In the team race the men were 4th out of eight teams.
Mounties Open Season At Northwest Nazarene Invitational
Nampa Idaho, September 6— The Eastern Oregon University Cross Country teams kicked off the 2008 at the Northwest Nazarene Invitational. Coach Welch commented that it was a “ rough start with some bright spots” for the young teams, as the women’s team finished 4th and the men’s team finished 3rd. On the women’s side newcomer Christine Eckstein lead the way finishing 2nd in 14:58, which is one of the fastest times run by an EOU athlete on this course. In addition to Eckstein three other newcomers also ran well, all freshmen; Kae Wasson, Alma Garcilazo, and Ariel O’Rielly. Freshman Terry Johnsen lead the way for the men’s team finishing 12th in 19:59, with Cam Starner close behind in 15th place. Zach Heath, Josh Cobb, and Jeff Roy rounded out the scoring in 25th, 26th, and 33rd places respectively. The Mounties will be off next weekend before traveling to Eagle, Idaho for the Bob Firman Invitatonal on September 20th.
Mounties Recognized In Pre Season Rankings
Following closely on the heels of the Mountaineer Cross Country Teams high Pre-season Conference Rankings (Men #1, Women #2- that poll was released on Monday, August 18th), the EOU Harriers have received even more respect in the NAIA Pre-Season National Poll. The Mountie Men come in at # 8 and the women at # 13. EOU Head CC Coach Ben Welch was pleasantly surprised, as both squads graduated several key runners and was expecting rankings more along the 15-20 range for the Men and in the 25 range for the Women. At the 2007 NAIA Cross Country Championships, the Men finished 19th and the Women 22nd- both positions they hope to improve upon in this falls Championships back in Kenosha, WI. |