RiverHawk Cross Country Competes in NWAC Preview

The Umpqua Community College Cross Country teams competed in the Ken Garland Classic hosted by Saint Martin's University in Lacey, WA. The meet also served as the NWAC conference preview meet. The UCC ladies took to the starting line of the 5k at 9:30am, followed by the men contesting the 8k at 10:20am.

The women finished in 7th place out of 13 schools and were 4th of 9 in the community college division. "Last year at this meet we had a total time of 2:03:17 with an average finish time of 24:39 compared to 1:46:22 and 21:16 in average," said Coach King. "That just shows how much we have improved in just one season and that really makes us excited for the next month of competitions and training." Leading the charge for the RiverHawks were Jasmine Lake (Fr. Nenana, AK),  Jaesa Ruchti (Fr. Pleasant Hill, OR) and Savanna Waters (Fr.  Cascade, OR). Lake finished in 30th place in a time of 19:42. Ruchti's time of 20:13 was good enough for 38th place with Waters completing the course in 20:29 for 43rd place. Rounding out the top five was Michel Bartlett (22:47) and Rylee Parsons (23:09). There were 101 women that completed the race.

Up next were the men. Paesen Timm (Fr. Cottage Grove) ran 27:48, good enough for 47th place. In the second position for the RiverHawks was Derek O'Connor (So. Cammas Valley, OR) in 64th with a time of 28:49, followed closely by Konrad Raum (Fr. Cottage Grove, OR) in 67th place in a time of 28:57. Completing the scoring five were Jaime Meija-German (Fr Springfield, OR) with a time of 30:09 and Tucker Clement (Fr. Sutherlin, OR) in 30:42. "The men also stepped up today," said Coach King. "We were over four minutes ahead of last year's team. The work ethic is awesome and they are just going to continue to improve."