Cougars XC Heads North for WCC Championships
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 months, 4 weeks AGO
The WSU Cougars will be heading to Spokane on Saturday to compete in the WCC Cross Country Championships on Saturday. There Evans Kurui, Zenah Cheptoo, Solomon Kipchoge and Rosemary Longisa will look to run new personal bests.
COURTESY PHOTO/WSU ATHLETICS, ZACH DANIELS
SPOKANE — Cougar Cross Country heads 90 minutes north to Spokane for the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Evans Kurui will look to defend his crown in the men's 8K while Zenah Cheptoo will look to replicate her podium finish from last year in the women's 6K. Solomon Kipchoge, the two-time WCC Runner of the Week and freshman Rosemary Longisa, will look to spoil the party for the reigning champions.
The women's race begins at 10 a.m. PT and the men's race starts at 11 a.m. PT.
WSU will compete against Gonzaga, LMU, Oregon State, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Seattle U.
Parking will be available free of charge at Spokane Valley Commons. Shuttles between this lot and the course will be available from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on race day.
The men were ranked 11th in the nation and first in the West Region last Tuesday, USTFCCA announced. The women were ranked 22nd in the nation and fourth in the West Region.
In the previous meet at the Nuttycombe Invitational, Solomon Kipchoge finished second with a time of 23:05.6 and Evans Kurui took fifth place with a time of 23:26.5.
Rosemary Longisa finished third with a time of 19:39.2, only nine seconds behind the first-place finisher. Zenah Cheptoo finished 21st with a time of 20:17.8 and Josphat Meli finished 28th with a time of 23:44.3.
ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Knights win in overtime shootout against Naches
ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights girls soccer team (6-0-1) had a tight game against Naches Valley (5-1-1) Tuesday evening that came down to a penalty kick shootout that the Knights won 6-5. Though the game was ruled as a tie in official standings, winning the PKs brought excitement for the team. "We played hard and we never gave up," said Knights junior Sarah Bergeson who shot the final PK. "We're proud of us." The game was a defensive battle from the beginning with Naches making an early shot on goal that was stopped by Knights freshman goalkeeper Areli Romero. Following this, Royal gained possession of the ball and proceeded to apply pressure on the opposing goal for a majority of the half.
Knights fall in five-set match against Naches Valley
ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights volleyball team (0-6) had a tough battle at home against Naches Valley Tuesday night as they fell 3-2 in the five-set game. "The first two sets were definitely rough," said Knights senior Graycie Kast. "We didn't have a lot of energy starting off, but that third set, we got our energy back and just started having fun and the game just came to us." The Knights fell behind early in the first set as they struggled to score, giving Naches Valley an advantage. Royal began to find momentum as the set went on to cut into the deficit, but Naches Valley remained dominant on the court to win 25-12.
Tigers girls XC takes first at Apple Ridge
EPHRATA— The Ephrata Tigers had a successful day at the Apple Ridge Run Invite Saturday as the boys took third overall, while the girls took first out of 20 schools that competed. Tigers Head Coach Lyndsy Roberts said he was very proud of the way his athletes performed in the early season meet. "Our girls showed up and competed," said Roberts. "They didn't back down from the competition and proved they are going to be a team to watch this year. Winning this meet was a big step for the program." The Apple Ridge meet had a unique scoring format with three different race courses with two athletes scoring on each course, Roberts said. This gives a total of six scoring athletes rather than the traditional five.