The Fort Lewis College men’s track and field program had its first meet as an NCAA sanctioned program at the Oxy Distance Carnival Spring Break Classic at Occidental College in Los Angeles on Saturday. It was the season-opening meet for both the men and the women.
The Skyhawks had solid performances out of both the men’s and women’s teams. Tyler Gibson and Hunter Byram both had top-50 finishes in the 800-meter event, as Gibson was the highest finisher for FLC, who crossed the finish line with a time of one minute, 59.88, and took 26th, while Byram had a time of 2:04.32, which was 49th.
In the 1,500, Byram took 59th (4:21.18), while Cody Spece was 63rd (4:23.35), Gibson was 78th (4:30.75), and Andrew Vanaman finished in 85th (4:34.85).
FLC also had eight athletes compete in the 5-kilometer event, many of whom represented the school for the cross-country team in the fall. In a jam-packed field with 192 participants, no Skyhawk finished lower than 100. Steven Nez was the highest finisher in 112th (15:38.80), while Bismarck Kipkilach was 152nd (15:57.88).
On the women’s side, there were also plenty of top-50 finishes, with Saylor Sargent had the highest finish for the Skyhawks, with an 18th-place finish in the 800 (2:23.50). She led two other Skyhawks, who also had a strong race, as Sarah Chacon took 23rd (2:25.54), while Krista Benze took 32nd (2:34.39), which followed a 34th-place finish in the 400.
Four women also competed in the 5k, as Angel Curley took 38th (5:07.60), and Dorothy Elder had a solid 45th-place finish (5:11.90).
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s LacrosseThe Fort Lewis women’s lacrosse team started its campaign on Saturday at CSU-Pueblo with a season-opening loss to Concordia University-St. Paul, 15-7.
The Skyhawks (0-1) got off to an early 1-0 lead when junior attacker Delaney Benson scored the opening goal of the game, but the Golden Bears responded in a big way.
Concordia-St. Paul (3-2) answered the call by scoring the final eight goals of the first half and took an 8-1 lead into the locker room.
In the second, Benson added two more, while Mia White scored two, and Abby Escandon and Allena Wolfblack each found the back of the net for Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks would cut it to six, but it would not closer than that. Alina Boyce scored four goals for the Golden Bears, while Maddie Hentges had six points, including two assists.
“All things considered, we did do well when we had the ball settled,” said FLC head coach Sean Claussen. “We struggled a little bit in transition from defense to offense, but it will come with time, and it improved throughout the game, and we’ll improve in other areas as well.”
This was the first time the Skyhawks were able to play outside, as Ray Dennison Memorial Field is still covered with snow.
“Going forward, we need to work more on controlling the controllables,” Claussen said. “It’s about emphasizing the little things, and passing or catching, making the correct decisions, getting to the right spots defensively, and just doing the little things right. When you throw in the possession factor with a smaller roster, if we can control the pace and flow, that’s going to be the key to our success.”
Fort Lewis will have three consecutive games played in Aztec, New Mexico. No NCAA men’s or women’s college lacrosse game has ever taken place in the state.
“When you think about it, it’s pretty cool, regardless of the circumstances,” Claussen said. “While we’d love to play at home, this is a nice facility, and we’ll be able to get more games under our belt.”
The Skyhawks will take on Rockhurst University of Kansas City, in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener at 2 p.m. Monday at the Aztec Tiger Sports complex.
Fort Lewis Softball
Fort Lewis SoftballThe Skyhawks lost both games in Saturday’s doubleheader in Colorado Springs, and finished the weekend winless.
In the first game, FLC threatened with runners in scoring position, but never were able to drive a run home. The Skyhawks finished with four hits and two errors. In the first inning, Taylor Hollestelle doubled with one out, but the Skyhawks stranded her at second with two pop outs. A similar situation happened in the sixth, when Angelique Elemen doubled with two outs. Emily Morris went 5.1 innings and picked up the loss (2-6), and struck out six.
In the second game, Fort Lewis got out to a quick 5-0 lead in the top of the second, but the Cougars (14-7, 8-2 RMAC) clawed back, and scored at least one run the rest of the way.
Stephanie Day had three hits and also had three RBIs for the Cougars.
FLC will play Black Hills State on Saturday and Sunday at the Aztec Tiger Sports Complex in Aztec.
bploen@durangoherald.com
