The Fort Lewis College cross-country team opened the season with one of its strongest performances in recent history, as Rebecca Bramley won the women’s 5-kilometer race hosted by University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Bramley finished ahead of 56 other runners in the UCCS Rust Buster 5K in Colorado Springs. She finished in 18 minutes, 49.5 seconds. UC-Colorado-Springs’ Kayala Wooten was second in 18:54.9, and Molly Klotz of UC-Colorado Springs was third in 19:00.9.
As a team, the Skyhawks’ women finished second with a total time of 1:37:56. UC-Colorado Springs won with a total time of 1:36:00. Colorado Christian was third in 1:40:51, and Colorado College placed fourth in 1:42:15. Regis rounded out the team results in fifth in 1:45:53.
Erin Renner finished fifth for Fort Lewis in 19:02.6. Emily Bryant was 11th in 19:48.0. Emily White placed 16th in 20:03.3, Carly Wilborn was 21st in 20:13:13, and Amber Johnson of Bayfield was 34th in her first race with the Skyhawks, as she finished in 20:55.3. Anastasia George placed 38th (20:59.9), Shayla Tate was 45th (21:51.3) and Madison Obernesser was 47th (22:16.4).
“Becca had a great start to the season,” FLC head coach Joshua Coon said in a news release. “She put in the work this summer and is aiming for November. Erin also had an excellent summer and will be right behind her. Erin, Emily, Carly, and Amber Johnson all have the potential to run with top runners in this conference.”
The Fort Lewis men also placed second in Colorado Springs in the 8-kilometer race, with Hosava Kretzmann placing second in 26:19.7 and Shawvan Levi placing third in 27:00.0.
UC-Colorado Springs’ Tim Howley won the race in 25:56.6, leading the Mountain Lions to the team title, too. The winning team time was 2:15:00. Fort Lewis was second in 2:17:00, and Colorado Christian was third in 2:22:03.
FLC’s Sylas Schutt placed 10th (27:28.2), Preston Charlie took 14th (27:52.2) and Bismarck Kipkilach was 19th (28:20.3) to give the Skyhawks five runners in the top 20 in the 59-man race. Michael Walker placed 28th (29:15.3), and Andrew Rome was 31st (29:22.5).
“Hosava and Shawvan had a strong start and both know if they still have a lot more in the tank,” Coon said. “Again they’re aiming for November. This was a solid early season start for the men.
“Overall, this was a successful day and will look to build on in the coming weeks.”
FLC will run Sept. 16 at University of California-Riverside.
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