Cross-country men take 5th, women place 11th

Sophomore+Nathan+Tadesse+warms+up+at+cross-country+practice+at+the+Valley+Road+Playfields+on+Oct.+10.

Sophomore Nathan Tadesse warms up at cross-country practice at the Valley Road Playfields on Oct. 10.

The WSU men’s cross-country team took fifth place while the WSU women’s team took 11th place in the Pac-12 Cross-Country Championships at the Randolph North Golf Course in Tucson, Arizona, on Friday.

On the men’s side, the University of Colorado, ranked No. 7, took first place for the sixth year in a row. Stanford University came in second place, and UCLA took third to round out the top finishers.

In the women’s race, the No. 1 ranked UC won first place for the second consecutive year. WSU’s rival, the University of Washington, took second place and Stanford placed third.

WSU Junior Sam Levora finished in 15th place, the highest for the WSU men’s individuals. He finished the 8,000-meter course 9.8 seconds shy of 25 minutes.

“I felt like the training has finally came together for me and is reflective of what I am capable of this season,” Levora said via WSU Athletics Communications. “My placement today is definitely a good indicator for where I want to be at regionals and NCAAs these next couple of races. Bottom line though, I just wanted to race and compete as hard as I could today and bring down some big name guys.”

After Levora, the next best Coug to finish was junior Michael Williams, who took 24th place with 0.8 seconds over 25 minutes. Senior John Whelan finished the race in 26th place with a time of 25:02.1. Sophomore Nathan Wadhwani placed 27th with a time of 25:03.1, closing out the top Coug finishers.

The women’s team struggled to implement their plan of attack in their 6,000-meter race.

“This was a race where it was essential to execute our race plan correctly, which was to be aggressive at around 3,000 meters,” said junior Devon Bortfeld in an interview with WSU Athletic Communications. “I tried to really engage at the 4k, but it was tough out there. I’m beyond ready to show the West Region what I and, more importantly, our team is capable of achieving.”

Devon placed 37th in the 6,000-meter women’s race with a time of 21:37.4. Senior Morgan Willson, the next best Coug to finish, came in 63rd place with a time of 22:24.06. Freshman Morgan Lash finished the race with a time of 22:50, placing her in 77th place.

“Fifth is a great finish considering the top four teams are ranked in the top 10 in the nation,” said Wayne Phipps, WSU director of cross-country and track and field, via WSU Athletic Communications. “Having said that, we still hoped for more. Sam Levora and Nathan Wadhwani had great races, but we missed our normal low sticks as they struggled a little with the heat. Devon Bortfeld had a solid race for the women but our performance today was not an accurate reflection of our team’s ability. We are excited and ready to move on to the two most important races of the season.”

The race will broadcast today on the Pac-12 Network. The next meet for the WSU men’s and women’s cross-country teams will be the NCAA West Regional Cross Country Championships on Nov. 11 at the Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento, California.