ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University cross country teams opened the 2018 season with solid finishes at the Central Washington University Invitational raced Saturday afternoon at Rotary Park.
 
The men's squad finished 1^st of three teams in the 7K race, while the women were 2^nd in the 5K.
 
In the men's race, WWU scored 20 points to finish ahead of Central Washington (52) and Seattle Pacific (65).
 
WWU locked down five of the top six spots in the race, with sophomore Eric Hamel (Enumclaw, WA) finishing 2^nd in 22:49 and redshirt freshman Bentley Wilson (Newport Beach, CA/Newport Harbor) 3^rd in 22:55. CWU freshman Turlan Morlan won the race in a time of 22:37.
 

WWU Men's Individual Results (7k)
2.	Eric Hamel	22:49
3.	Bentley Wilson	22:55
4.	Ian Fay	22:59
5.	Ed Kiolbasa	23:01
6.	Kyler Sager	23;08
8.	Jadon Olson	23:23
12.	Colton Hoggarth	23:49
27.	Jesse Wiley	24:27
28.	Macauley Franks	24:29
33.	Dario Cirlincione	25:14

 

The women finished 2^nd with 47 points, trailing SPU (24 points) and ahead of Central Washington (51).
 
WWU was led by the Los Alamos, New Mexico combination of juniors Talia Dreicer (19:02) and Sophia Galvez (19:07), who finished 6^th and 7^th respectively. Sophomore Jane Barr (Seattle, WA/Roosevelt) also notched a top-10 placing in 9^th with a time of 19:26.
 

WWU Women's Individual Results (5k)
6.	Talia Dreicer	19:02
7.	Sophia Galvez	19:07
9.	Jane Barr	19:26
12.	Tracy Melville	19:32
13.	Peyton Shinnick	19:35
15.	Aundrea Koger	19:41
26.	Maria Rivera Valles	21:20
29.	Annika Taylor	22:07

 The Vikings return to action next Saturday at the Saint Martin's Open in Lacey, Washington.
 
Here is a look at the complete 2018 WWU Cross Country schedule. Times and more detail on each event can be found online at WWUVikings.com/XC:  

DATE	MEET	PLACE
Sept. 15 (Sat.)	Central Washington Invitational	Ellensburg, WA (Rotary Park)
Men: 1st, Women: 2nd
Sept. 22 (Sat.)	Saint Martin's Open	Lacey, WA (SMU Campus)
Oct. 6 (Sat.)	Division II Conference Crossover	Romeoville, IL (Lewis Cross Country Course)
Oct. 6 (Sat.)	Emerald City Open	Seattle, WA (Lower Woodland Park)
Oct. 20 (Sat.)	45th Annual WWU Classic	Bellingham, WA (Sudden Valley Golf Course)
Nov. 3 (Sat.)	GNAC Championships	Monmouth, OR (Ash Creek Preserve)
Nov. 17 (Sat.)	NCAA Division II West Regional	Billings, MT (Amend Park)
Dec. 1 (Sat.)	NCAA DII Championships	Pittsburgh, PA (Cooper's Lake Campground)

 
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