Complete Charles Bowles results
Carrick leads SPU women at Emerald City
SALEM, Ore. -- Only two weeks have passed since the last time most of the Seattle Pacific men ran a cross country race.
But the way their peformances improved in Saturday's 35th annual Charles Bowles Invitational made it seem like so long ago.
Senior Chad Meis broke the 25-minute mark, and sophomore Nate Sleight set the pace for another solid pack performance behind Meis as the Falcons posted a 13th-place team finish in the 8-kilometer men's Cardinal race at Bush's Pasture Park.
Meis (Renton, Wash./Seattle Christian HS) stopped the clock in 24 minutes, 54.89 seconds, and was 22nd overall. Last year on the same course that winds around and through part of the Willamette University athletic complex, Meis crossed the line 45th with a time of 26:03.42.
“This felt great -- way better than two weeks ago,” said Meis, who had hoped to break that 25-minute barrier at the Sundodger Invitational in West Seattle's Lincoln Park on Sept. 19, but had to settle for a 25:10.95. “This time, I went out a little more conservative and my mile time was 15 seconds slower (than at Sundodger). “And the other mile splits were a little slower.
“But at the three-mile, I started to move up. And with the finish on the track, I just started going,” Meis added. “I think I passed a lot of guys.”
Meis wasn't the only Falcon cutting significant time off the watch. Sleight (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS), a sophomore, was nearly two full minutes faster than he ran as a freshman. Sleight finished 89th in 26:10.49 (he was 195th last year in 28:05.41).
A pair of SPU freshmen and junior veteran Jordan Lance rounded out the scoring group. Andrew Van Ness (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) was third for the Falcons and 101st overall in 26:23.84; Will Harrison (Tucson, Ariz.) was the fourth Seattle Pacific runner and 110th overall in 26:27.30; and Lance (Mill Creek, Wash./Jackson HS) checked in 115th in 26:32.44.
Along with No. 6 man, freshman Caleb Parker (Richland, Wash./Richland HS), the Falcon pack behind Meis was separated by just 26 seconds.
“The team improved a bunch,” Meis said. “The freshman guys are running really well. We came out and raced, and it was solid.”
Coach Erika Daligcon was happy on multiple fronts, with Meis getting below 25 minutes, and with the performance of the pack, as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships are looming just three weeks away.
“We came out here looking at this as an opportunity to try out some things in a safe environment, and sharpen our racing tools before conference,” Daligcon said. “I'm pleased, because we haven't had a pack like this in a while. And it was a perfect day for racing.”
Chico State, one of SPU's West Regional rivals, successfully its title, tallying the day's low total of 45 points. Northwest Nazarene, the only other full GNAC squad in the race, was 10th with 253.
Meis and Lance will travel along with the Seattle Pacific women's varsity to California for next Friday's San Francisco State Invite, which will be run on the same course as this year's regionals. The rest of the Falcons will head to Bellingham next Saturday for the Western Washington Invitational at Lake Padden Park.
EMERALD CITY INVITATIONAL
Freshman Gavin Brand was at the front of a small group of four Falcon men in Saturday morning's Emerald City Invitational at Lower Woodland Park.
Brand (Suwanee, Ga.) finished the 8-kilometer course in 28 minutes, 58 seconds, taking 22nd place overall.
Also racing for the Falcons were sophomore Daniel Hamilton (Missoula, Mont.), who took 27th in 30:34; freshman Nathan Seely (Lynden, Wash./Lynden HS), who was 30th in 31:30; and freshman Lyle Emery (Vancouver, Wash./Heritage HS), taking 33rd in 32:52.
NCAA Men's Cross Country
Charles Bowles Invitational
Saturday, October 3, 2009
8K at Bush's Pasture Park/Salem, Ore.
Team scores -- 1, Chico State 45; 2, Boise State 52; 3, Willamette 113; 4, Idaho 165; 5, Nebraska Wesleyan 170; 6, San Jose State 234; 7, Whitworth 237; 8, Portland 240; 9, Portland State 247; 10, Northwest Nazarene 253; 11, St. John's (Minn.) 261; 12, Linfield 308; 13, Seattle Pacific 374; 14, Lewis & Clark 389; 15, Whitman 395; 16, Puget Sound 430; 17, Notre Dame de Namur 473; 18, George Fox 487; 19, Pacific Lutheran 544.
Top 10 -- 1, Michael Wickman (Chico) 24:08.06; 2, Jimmy Elam (Chico) 24:12.46; 3, Sawyer Bosch (Boise) 24:13.72; 4, Jeff Howard (Boise) 24:15.86; 5, Markus Geiger (Idaho) 24:23.43; 6, Alfredo Coronado (SJS) 24:24.88; 7, Kevin Rosaaen (Boise) 24:25.02; 8, Barak Watson (NNU) 24:32.05; 9, Beau Gradone-Rogers (Chico) 24:33.72; 10, Scott Foley (Boise) 24:34.08.
SPU placers -- 22, Chad Meis 24:54.89; 89, Nate Sleight 26:10.43; 101, Andrew Van Ness 26:23.84; 115, Jordan Lance 26:32.44; 118, Caleb Parker 26:36.20; 136, Andrew Hamilton 26:59.45; 137, AJ Baker 27:00.06.
Emerald City Invitational
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009
8K at Lower Woodland Park/Seattle, Wash.
Team scores -- 1, Seattle University 25; 2, Seattle Running Club 36; no other complete teams.
Winner -- Rob Webster (UW) 25:59.
SPU placers -- 22, Gavin Brand 28:58; 27, Daniel Hamilton 30:34; 30, Nathan Seely 31:30; 33, Lyle Emery 32:52.
