By: Burke De Boer Sports Editor
The GNAC cross country championships were held in Bellingham, Washington on Oct. 22. The Western Oregon men’s team finished with enough points to place fourth and the women’s team placed ninth. The 8k men’s course saw David Ribich finish fifth place while Kennedy Rufener was the first Wolf to complete the 6k women’s course, coming in 17th place.
Depth helped the Wolves teams score their finishing positions, as Ribich was later followed across the finish line by tenth-place Dustin Nading. Justin Crosswhite came in 25th, while Tyler Jones and Josh Dempsey came in 34th and 36th, respectively.
The points scorers for the women’s team included 20th place Grace Knapp, 36th place Suzanne Van De Grift, and Virginia Link and Amanda Dirzhazy finished within a second of one another to rank 72nd and 74th.
Ribich crossed the line with a time of 25:23. Rufener completed her race with a time of 22:41. This is the third meet of the season that Rufener finished pole position among Western runners, and her third in a row. It is the fourth such meet for Ribich, who also won the John Frank and Ash Creek Invitationals.
The Wolves will go to Montana State Billings on Nov. 5 to compete for the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
