College notebook: Saint Martin’s cross country takes second in men’s and women’s divisions at SMU Open
Larissa Kolasinski broke up a pack of six Western Washington University runners Saturday to place fifth at the Saint Martin’s University Open.
Kolasinski, a freshman, led the Saints with a personal-best time of 18 minutes, 40.19 seconds in the 5-kilometer race.
An Issaquah High School graduate, she has been the top runner on the women’s team this season for each of its three meets — including a first-place finish at the Puget Sound Invitational on Sept. 5.
“She’s willing to put in the work that it’s going to take to be competitive,” SMU coach Jim Brewer said. “That’s what we’re trying to be about more and more.”
WWU swept Saturday’s meet. The 18th-ranked men’s team ran a perfect-score 15, and the first 10 runners to cross the finish line were Vikings. SMU placed second with 50 points.
Jasper Heckman finished 15th for the Saints in the 8-kilometer race at 27:00.96. WWU’s Isaac Derline broke the course record at 25:41.83.
“It was a little bit faster race this year than last year,” Brewer said. “People ran faster, the weather was a little bit drier.”
Brittany Grant broke the course record in the women’s race for No. 10 WWU, posting a 17:48.94. The Vikings scored a 16 — Kolasinski’s fifth-place finish negated the chance at a perfect score.
SMU scored 57 points to place second. Karen Horvath was the only other SMU runner to place in the top 10. She ran a 18:43.96 to take 8th — two hundredths of a second behind the seventh-place finisher.
“Saint Martin’s is a very young program compared to Western … we have some catching up to do,” Brewer said.
The Saints will meet the Vikings again Oct. 10, when they travel to Bellingham for the 42nd annual Western Washington University Classic.
EAGLES HAND GEODUCKS FIRST LOSS
The Northwest University men’s soccer team snapped The Evergreen State College’s five-game winning streak Saturday, edging the Geoducks, 2-1.
Evergreen’s 5-0 start was the best in the history of the program.
The two goals the Geoducks allowed in their Cascade Collegiate Conference home opener were the most they’ve allowed in a single game this season.
Jacob Weaver broke away for the Eagles (3-5-0) in the 17th minute to net the first goal. Kyle Zimmerman added another in the 74th minute from 25 yards out.
With short time, the Geoducks (5-1-0) did get one back. In the 79th minute, Tanner Williams lofted a pass to Ryan Porch, which Porch flicked past the keeper to make it 2-1.
The goal was Porch’s third of the season.
This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 7:02 PM with the headline "College notebook: Saint Martin’s cross country takes second in men’s and women’s divisions at SMU Open."