McPhetres leads Alaska Women to third place at SMU Invite
September 24, 2012
Jamie Foland
474-6807
Lacey, Wash. - Junior Alyson McPhetres led the way for the Alaska Nanooks women's cross country team, finishing the six-kilometer course in 23 minutes, 27 seconds, good for 11th on the day at the Saint Martin's University Cross Country Invitational on Saturday morning.
Alaska finished third in the team standings on the day (out of the five collegiate squads competing in the event) with 65 points. Western Washington had all five of its scoring runners land top-10 finishes to earn the team title with 27 points, and Seattle Pacific was second with five top-15 performances good for 48 points. Host Saint Martin's finished fourth with 95 points and Olympic College (Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges) was fifth with 134 points.
McPhetres was the third finisher among her Great Northewest Athletic Conference competitors, as WWU's Katelyn Steen took the top honor in 22:28 and SPU's Katie Thralls was second in 23:17. Ruth Perkins from Club Northwest was the overall winner in 22 minutes and seven seconds.
Alaska rookie Julia Ebner was next to cross for the Blue and Gold, finishing 15th in 23:58 and sixth among GNAC runners, while her classmate Sara Falconer was third for the Nanooks and 26th overall in 24:59 (13th for GNAC racers).
" got out pretty quick which is what I wanted her to do," interim head coach Matt Dunlap said. "Julia got out exceptionally well and she is known for being a slow starter, but with the way this course is designed, I encouraged her to get out a little quicker today. It was nice to see them up front early and finish the way they did."
Seniors Marit Rjabov and Megan Thompson crossed the finish line fourth and fifth for Alaska in 25:53 (37th overall, 20th GNAC) and 28:16 (45th overall, 23rd GNAC), respectively.
First-year runner Victoria Frehill rounded out Alaska's competitors in the field, taking 47th in 30 minutes and 20 seconds.
The Nanooks are off next weekend before traveling to Bellingham, Wash., on Oct. 6 for the 39th Annual Western Cross Country Classic.