The Washington University men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational on Sept. 27 in Illinois. For the women, this competition proved truly successful. With the debut of many of the Bears’ top runners this season, the women ran to victory, while the men finished sixth.
The women’s team faced steep competition as they ran against notable Division I and Division II teams. Sophomore Taryn Surtees finished with a time of 22:09.7 in her season debut. Surtees was named Rookie of the Year in 2007 by the University Athletic Association and had missed the beginning of the season due to injury.
“Surtees was huge in her first race back, and she was trying to hold something back in her first race,” senior Hillary Superak said.
Junior Hope Rathnam and Superak also gave noteworthy performances, placing 19th and 23rd with finishes of 23:26.2 and 23:32.2, respectively. Sophomores Kellie Blake and Angela Hartman, freshman Erica Jackey and junior Alison Bickel all placed within the top 50 runners. Truman State University, Saint Xavier University, University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Illinois State University (a Division I team) rounded out the top five behind the Red and Green.
“We ran great this weekend. Coach Stiles was really excited since everybody ran as a team…It makes a really big difference [running with teammates] since the instant you feel tired, you have someone to prop you up,” Superak said.
The 25th-ranked men’s team, led by sophomore Kwin Keuter, placed sixth out of 28 teams. Keuter finished with a time of 26:28.9 in the 8K race, good for a 19th-place finish. Freshmen Tucker Hartley and Tyler Cooper rounded out the Bears’ top runners and placed 41st and 43rd, respectively. All men who scored for Wash. U. finished within one minute of each other.
“We didn’t run a lot of our top guys just to rest them. With the team we brought, I’d say we ran really well,” Hartley said. Since all races leading up to the UAA Championships have no effect on the team’s overall position, the men used this race to give underclassmen experience.
“Obviously, we’d like to do well on the way there [to the UAA Championships and Regionals], but the goal is to get to November healthy,” Hartley added.
The men placed behind Olivet Nazarene University, Augustana College, Iowa Central Community College, Truman State University and North Iowa Area Community College.
The cross country team will next travel to Edwardsville, Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 11 for the Border Wars meet.
With additional reporting by Josh Goldman
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