The Puget Sound cross-country team opened their season with strong victories on both the men and women’s sides. On Sept. 1, they ran at the Puget Sound Invitational in Lakewood, Wash. where the women’s team took first overall, and senior Matt Klein (Portland, Ore.) took an individual title for the men’s team.
The Logger women’s team took second, third and fourth places, which helped secure their victory, along with seventh and 10th place. Klein led the Logger men’s team and placed first with a time of 26:45 in the 8k, which was 16 seconds ahead of his competitor who placed second.
Both of the women’s and men’s teams were able to carry the momentum from their first meet into their second meet—the Sundodger Invitational on Sept. 15 hosted by the University of Washington.
At Sundodger, Klein once again led the men’s team with an impressive individual finish. Klein raced another personal best with a time of 25:34.70 to place 20th, and he managed to stay in the top 10 until the last leg of the race. Sophomore Joshua Seekatz (Philomath, Ore.) came in at 26:09.69 which earned him 47th at the invitational. Freshman David Santillan (Milwaukie, Ore.) followed Seekatz and landed in 49th with a personal best of 26:10.62.
The final two Loggers, sophomore Justin Higa (Pearl City, Hawaii) and freshman Gabe Michaels (Los Angeles, Calif.) also had personal bests at the Sundodger Invitational.
Michaels placed 72nd with his time of 26:24.01 and Higa finished 95th with his time of 26:48.78 to end the Loggers score. The men’s team finished seventh overall at the invite, but when only comparing the NWC teams at the invite the Logger men’s team placed second.
On the women’s team senior Carrie Keith (Erie, Colo.) led the Loggers at the Invitational. She finished in 52nd with a time of 23:44.68. Sophomores Molly Bradbury (Boise, Idaho) and Laura Leach (Alamo, Calif.) also both contributed to the Loggers’ score.
Bradbury placed 57th with her finishing time of 23:50.14, and Leach finished 62nd when she crossed the finish line at 23:55.06. As an overall team, the Logger women finished 12th at the Sundodger Invitational. However, they placed fifth out of the seven NWC schools that participated at the invite.
“The women’s team has been doing a great job of running in a pack this season. We did well last season, but the gaps between each girl are a lot smaller this year. Because of the way that cross country meets are scored (the placing of each girl across the line are added, and then the team with the lowest number wins), being in a tight knit pack can actually be better than having one outstanding athlete,” Keith said.
The Logger men and women’s cross-country team will be racing again on Sept. 29 in Salem, Ore., where they will be participating in the Chuck Bowles Invitational.
