Central Washington Invite

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Western Washington University men's and women's cross country teams each earned team victories and junior Andrew Wise was the individual men's champion as the Vikings opened the season with strong performances at the Central Washington Invite on Saturday, hosted by Central Washington University at Rotary Park.

The WWU men took top team honors with 27 points, placing 4 of 5 scoring runners within the top 7. The Vikings edged Central Washington (29 points) for the victory while Olympic College placed 3rd.

The WWU women scored 23 points to top CWU (35 points) in the two-team women's field.

Wise (Denver, CO/East) led a 1-2 finish for the Vikings in the 6-kilometer men's race with a winning time of 20:19 and senior Matthew Lutz (Bremerton, WA/Olympic) was 2nd with a time of 20:23. Junior Isaac Derline (Kent, WA/Kentridge) and senior Cody McCranie (Auburn, WA) added top-7 finishes with Derline 6^th in 20:39 and McCranie 7^th in 20:59. Junior Max Romey (Anchorage, AK/Robert Service) placed 11^th with a time of 21:04 to round out the WWU scoring.

Sophomore Justin Irvine (Yakima, WA/East Valley) placed 13^th (21:22) and freshman Liam Cossette (Spokane, WA/Ferris) was 16^th in a time of 21:32 to give the Vikings 7 placers within the top 20 of 39-competitor field.

"It was a fast tempo for the men - we had some of our young ones race and they came in and did great," said 30^th-year head coach Pee Wee Halsell. "It was fun to watch."

Junior Lillianna Stelling (Langley, WA/South Whidbey) was the top finisher for the WWU women in the 4-kilometer women's race, placing 2^nd in a time of 15:34. Junior Shawna Troupe (Kelso, WA) finished in 15:43 to place 3^rd. Junior Sara Taferre (Vancouver, WA/Skyview) also placed among the top 5, finishing 5^th in a time of 15:59.

Junior Maddy Hutchison (Snoqualmie, WA/Mount Si) was 6^th in 16:01, freshman Peyton Shinnick (Maple Valley, WA/Tahoma) was 7^th in 16:03 and freshman Talia Dreicer (Los Alamos, NM) was 9^th in 16:06 to give the Vikings 6 racers among the top 10 in the field of 40 racers.

Four more Vikings finished within the top 15 of the women's race. Freshman Sophia Galvez (Los Alamos, NM) was 11^th (16:09) and freshman Aundrea Koger (Osage City, KS) followed in 12^th (16:14). Freshman Waverly Shreffler (Sequim, WA) was 14^th with a time of 16:22 and sophomore Mikhaela Woodward (Sandpoint, ID) crossed the line 15^th with a time of 16:28.

"The women ran great as a pack and it showed," Halsell added. "They scored pretty good."

Central Washington's Elena Gomez was the individual women's champion with a time of 15:11.

The Vikings return to action next Saturday, traveling to the Sundodger Invitational at the University of Washington (Lincoln Park). The meet is set to begin at 9 am.