The top two runners at Puget Sound, senior Matt Klein (Portland, Ore.) and freshman Justin Bigelow (Highland Ranch, Colo.) each earned All-Region honors to lead the Puget Sound cross-country teams at the NCAA West Region Championships on Saturday. Klein finished in the top 10, sealing up 10th place to pace the men’s team while junior Kathryn Flyte (West Linn, Ore.) paced the women’s team.
Klein continued his outstanding senior season with a personal best of 24:51.22 in the men’s 8k. Bigelow took 24th for the Loggers to earn All-Region honors as well with a time of 25:42.35. Sophomore Justin Higa (Pearl City, Hawaii) also ran a personal best of 26:35.87 for the Loggers in 70th while freshman Sam Carilli (Palo Alto, Calif.) and sophomore Josh Seekatz (Philomath, Ore.) finished next to each other to round out the Loggers’ scorers.
The Loggers took 13th as a team, despite injuries forcing them to be down a couple of runners. The women’s team placed 16th.
Flyte’s 23:00.96 paced the women’s team as she finished 53rd in the 6k race. Freshman Taili Ni (Sacramento, Calif.) ran a personal best of 23:09.05 to take 59th for the Loggers. Sophomore Tori Sarris (Newport Beach, Calif.) was to cross the finish line with a 23:19.14 in 65th. Freshman Emma Barr (Edmonds, Wash.) and senior Carrie Keith (Erie, Colo.) rounded out the Loggers scoring in the meet.
Klein has a great chance to earn a bid to compete in the NCAA Division III Championships. The Cross-Country Championship is Saturday, Nov. 17, at Lavern Gibson Course in Terre Haute, Ind. While most will be unable to attend, keep tabs on this championship event.
