Chalk up a couple of All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference runners for Fort Lewis College.
The FLC cross country team competed in the RMAC Championships on Saturday at Western State Colorado University in Gunnison. The Skyhawks’ men’s team finished in eighth with 233 points, and the women earned a seventh-place finish with a 160.
FLC senior Maddie Kruger had the best day of the Skyhawks, finishing in 10th place and ahead of every Western State runner. She finished the 6-kilometer race in 23 minutes, 16 seconds to earn a spot on the All-RMAC first team.
Adams State finished 1-2-3, with Lauren Martin (22:16.20) winning the race ahead of teammates Rachel Kresl (22:19.10) and Jenna Thurman (22:30.30.).
The national No. 2 Grizzlies cruised to the women’s team title with 18 points. No. 4 Western State was a distant second with 69 points, and No. 11 UC-Colorado Springs was third with 122 points to edge Colorado Mesa (127). No. 17 Metro State finished sixth.
Katherine Judge, an FLC junior, finished 20th in 23:51.40 to earn a place on the All-RMAC second team, along with all the runners who finished between 15 and 28th place.
Christian Gering was the fastest FLC man to the line. He finished the 8-kilometer race in 14th place in 26:52.30 seconds. His 14th-place finish earned him a place on the All-RMAC first team along with the other top 14 runners.
Adams State’s Tabor Stevens won the men’s race in 25:20.70, finishing ahead of teammate Kevin Batt (25:37.30).
The national No. 1 Grizzlies won the men’s team competition with a team score of 33 points. No. 4 Colorado Mines was second with 38 points, and Western State, tied for fifth in the nation, was third with 97 points. No. 23 Colorado Mesa finished fourth.
The rest of the men’s team was rounded out by Garrett Sapakoff in 53rd (28:06.80), William Scoggins in 57th (28:11.60), Tate Lagasca in 60th (28:17.20) and Michael Walker in 61st (28:18.70).
Competing individually for the FLC men was Joey Brenner in 69th (28:38.90), Ryan Mott in 72nd (28:54.80), Derek Laue in 90th (29:37.90) and Zach Chenoweth in 98th (30:03.00).
Behind Judge and Kruger on the women’s team were Emily Bryant in 35th (24:21.00), Emily White in 46th (24:56.90) and Kelsi Lawrence in 52nd (25:08.00).
Finishing outside the top five on the FLC team was Kristen Ascencio in 61st (25:34.80), Madeigh Winsor in 70th (25:55.30), Erin Renner in 76th (26:18.00) and Julia Boyd-Helm in 85th (26:34.50).
FLC will run again Nov. 22 at the NCAA South Central Regional in Denver. The race will be hosted by Metro State University at Washington Park.
heraldsports@ durangoherald.com
All-RMAC
Cross Country Championships
Saturday at Gunnison
Men’s Team Champion: Adams State
Women’s Team Champion: Adams State
Men’s Runner of the Year: Tabor Stevens, Adams State
Women’s Runner of the Year: Lauren Martin, Adams State
Men’s Freshman of the Year: Jackson Sayler, Adams State
Women’s Freshman of the Year: Heather Bates, UC-Colorado Springs
Men’s Coach of the Year: Chris Siemers, Colorado Mines
Women’s Coach of the Year: Damon Martin, Adams State
Durango Herald
