Jacob Hansen Staff Writer
The men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to Billings, Mont. Saturday, Nov. 29, to close out their season. It was the NCAA West Regional’s held at Amend Park, where the Wolves women’s team finished 16th overall and the men’s 19th.
The men’s team had two finishers in the top 100: David Ribich and Zach Holloway. Ribich clocked in with a time of 32:34:34, coming in 52nd place, and Holloway at 58th with a time of 32:43:94 in the 10k. The next trio of runners was Sam Naffziger, Riley Anheluk and David McLeod. Their respective times were 22:48:79 at 101st, 34:41:12 at 120th and 34:57:35 at 126th. Joe Soik finished right behind McLeod at 34:58:16 in 127th place.
“The team as a majority was pretty disappointed with how the season ended at regionals,” Holloway said. “I feel that I as an individual underachieved at the regional meet and that our team had more potential this season to have been more competitive. Our team has still made great progress with our fitness and all the work we put in the fall will carry over to indoor and outdoor this year. I think the disappointment will motivate the entire team to be more focused and train harder than ever this winter.”
Chico State won the title with 30 points, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky. Saturday, Dec. 6. Alaska Anchorage, who finished with 53 points, didn’t go down without a fight as they took the top two spots in the race.
For the women’s side, Stephanie Stuckey finished 58th overall in the 6k with a time of 23:08:05. Close behind her was Rachel Crawford with a time of 23:25:29, finishing in 73rd place. Rounding it out for the Wolves women’s team was Annie Wade, Debora De Leon, Bailey Beeson, Nicole Anderson and Kolby Childers. The quintet came in 96th, 101th, 126th, and 135th overall to represent the Wolves. Their times were, 23:49:93, 23:55:27, 24:09:92, 24:41:96 and 25:08:36 respectively.
“The team didn’t finish where we could have,” Crawford said. “We are focused on what we can do next in indoor season. Regionals was tough because our bodies weren’t used to the climate or elevation. The competition was even stronger than in past years, but every race makes us stronger and helps us prepare for the future.”
Simon Fraser took home the team title for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) with a score of 103 points. Chico State came in a close second with 112 points and Alaska Anchorage took the third step on the podium with 144 points.
