WSU cross country competes in Sacramento

Evan Baron Evergreen Cross Country reporter

The WSU cross country team competed in the NCAA Division-I West Regional meet Friday in Sacramento, Calif.

The men finished in eighth place overall with 269 points, and the four teams that finished ahead of them were ranked opponents, according to wsucougars.com.

“We got what we needed to get. We would have liked to get below eight, but we beat Washington, which was one of our goals going into the race,” WSU cross country Coach Tim Riley said in an interview with wsucougars.com. “It’s also special when our seniors run as well as they did today.”

WSU senior Andrew Gonzales led the Cougar men in the race and finished in 21st place in the meet, which was the highest finish on the WSU men’s team. Gonzales ran a time of 30 minutes and 16 seconds in the 10,000-meter race.

WSU junior Todd Wakefield was the second WSU men’s runner to finish the race. Wakefield ran a time of 30:45, which resulted in a 44th place finish.

The Stanford University men’s team, which is ranked six in the country, won the overall race with 53 points.

Oregon freshman runner Edward Cheserek individually finished in first place in the race by running a time of 29:35.

The WSU women finished in 14th place overall with 401 points.

“I was happy with the day. Our women ran great,” Riley said. “Ruby ran great, and I’m really happy with how Abby Regan, Courtney Zalud and CharLee Linton ran.”

WSU senior Ruby Roberts finished in 15th place after running a time of 20:2. WSU junior Abby Regan finished in 52nd place and ran a time of 20:46, according to wsucougars.com.

The Arizona Wildcats women’s cross country team, ranked No. 1, won the meet with 84 points. Boise State redshirt junior runner Emma Bates individually won the women’s race with time of 19:11.