Muha and Knapp Pace Cross Country in Bellingham

Women's Results

Men's Results

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Andy Muha landed a top-15 finish, while Grace Knapp added a top-20 result to help pace the Western Oregon University cross country teams Saturday in the WWU Invitational. The women placed ninth in the 6k, while the men ended up seventh in the 10k.

On the women's side, the Wolves posted 201 points with Chico State leading the 11-team field with 51 points to win by 37 over host Western Washington. In the men's race, the Wolves collected 161 points to tie for sixth with Northwest Nazarene, but ended up seventh with the Nighthawks getting the tiebreaker. Chico State also won the men's race posting the top mark out of 14 teams with 24 points to win going away from the next closest team which was host Western Washington's 97 points.

"Grace Knapp and Andy Muha had really good races. We had some guys do really well and the women had four run really well. Olivia Jimenez probably ran her best race in a long time. As we get everyone healthy we can plug them in to make this work," Head Coach Mike Johnson said. "Obviously both teams are competitive from a conference standpoint and the groups we ran into today were among all the best teams. With the women we need to raise up a little bit, but the guys were right there and can still get a lot better. We came here to run 10,000 and they learned how and will grow from that. The women with the first four performed really well and we're excited about conference."

Muha ran a strong race for the men posting a time of 32:35.0 to come in 14^th overall. With the adjusted finish he placed 11^th out of the countable runners that weren't unattached.

"I felt smooth and progressive throughout the race and felt great!" Muha said. "It is a great improvement to the closing stages of the season, and I'm excited for what is to come."

Justin Crosswhite made a strong push to finish 28^th overall and 20^th in the adjusted standings coming in with a time of 32:56.2. Sawyer Heckard was the next one in for WOU when he crossed with a time of 33:22.8 to come in 42^nd overall and 27^th in the overall scoring. Hunter Mosman ran to a tie of 33:59.2 to come in 68^th overall (47^th in scoring). Zach Kanelis wasn't too far behind Mosman when he grabbed a time of 34:18.4 to place 79^th (56^th in scoring). Emmett Klus came in with a time of 34:58.6 to place 102^nd (72^nd in scoring), Adam Alnazer was a few spots back in 110^th (75^th scoring) with a time of 35:15.5. Bryce Mefford and Derek Holdsworth were just a few spots apart with Mefford crossing with a time of 35:27.1 (115^th overall) and Holdsworth in 121^st with a time of 35:47.6.

In the women's 6k race, Knapp paced the Wolves crossing with a time of 22:30.8 to come in 18^th overall and 14^th in the adjusted scoring finish.

"The course today was pretty similar to our home course with lots of rolling hills and uneven grass. It wasn't terribly fast and required a lot of mental toughness," Knapp said. "There were also several teams from our conference and region at the race, so I think it was a good measure of where we are and what we need to work on moving forward."

Olivia Jimenez was the next one in for the Wolves coming in with a solid time of 23:15.2 to place 42^nd overall (34^th in scoring).

"The race was good, I was able to stay positive throughout and it showed me what I'm capable of for conference," Jimenez said.

Cassie McKinney was close to finishing right with Jimenez before coming in 49^th overall (41^st scoring) with a time of 23:31.2. Kaylin Cantu ran to a time of 24:06.5 to place 68^th (52^nd scoring). Rachel Bayly and Faerynn Glasscock were just a few spots apart with Bayly crossing in 98^th overall (65^th scoring) with a time of 25:13.3, while Glasscock crossed with a time of 25:32.8 to place 104^th overall (69^th scoring). Danel Camacho added a time of 26:29.1 to cross in 114^th (71^st in scoring).

"The race was a learning experience for the team, and it showed us our strengths and where we need to focus our efforts in the weeks to come until our regional meet, which WOU hosts!" Knapp added.

WOU will return to the course next Saturday when they will compete in the Warner Pacific Classic (5k-women/8k men) in Portland.

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