Oct. 9, 2007

LUTES RECOVER FROM PLU INVITE WITH BYE WEEK

THIS WEEK: The Pacific Lutheran cross country team has their only bye week of the season this weekend. The following week the Lutes will travel to Corvallis to compete in the Beaver Classic.

PLU INVITE RECAP: The Second Annual Pacific Lutheran Cross Country Invitational took place last Saturday on the PLU campus golf course and it was all crimson and white as the Western Oregon Wolves swept the men’s and women’s team titles. On the men’s side the Wolves placed six runners in the top twelve to score 30 points. The Wolves were followed by Whitworth with 47 points. Puget Sound rounded out the top three with 69 points. Whitman was fourth with 94 points followed by Lewis & Clark with 129 and Pacific Lutheran with 172. Individually it was Whitworth’s Nick Gallagher, a freshman from Iowa, who took home the top spot in the men’s 8k, crossing the line in 25:08. Western Oregon's Braxton Jackson finished second in 25:15 and Puget Sound’s Francis Reynolds finished third in 25:23. Kenneth Chilcoat was the top finisher for the Lutes, taking 19th place with a time of 26:33. On the women’s side Western Oregon finished first in the team standings with 44 points, followed closely by Whitman's 54 points. Whitworth was third with 65, Pacific Lutheran fourth with 79 and Lewis & Clark and Puget Sound rounded out the field with 106 and 190, respectively. It was no surprise in the women's race as Amanda Phillips of Lewis & Clark crossed the line first in a blistering time of 21:27 for the 6k course. This was Phillips' fourth win in five meets so far this season. Bailey Schutte ran unattached and finished second in 22:13, and Yasmeen Colis rounded out the top three in 22:32. PLU’s top finisher for the women was freshman Corrine Gogert, who came in 4th with a time of 22:36.

GO GOGERT GO: Freshman Corrine Gogert established a new school record in the 6k this past weekend at the PLU Invite. Gogert, a native of Lakewood, Wash., ran 22:36, one second faster than the old record that was held by Ashley Jamieson in 2003. PLU has only raced 6,000 meter races for women since 2002. Prior to that year the Lutes only competed in 5,000 meter races.

THAT 70’S SHOW: Three former Lute harriers from the 1970s competed in the PLU Invite last weekend. Old teammates Bonnie (Coughlin) Blair, Beth (Coughlin) Zier, and Kathy (Groat) Batson, running for the ‘70s PLU Alumni’ team, all completed the 6k course. Their times may have gotten slower over the years, but their spirits were still high.

WOMEN RANKED IN WEST REGION: The Pacific Lutheran women’s cross country team found themselves ranked in the top ten in the recent Division III Women's Cross Country West Regional Rankings. The Lutes are in a tie for 10th on the list which is comprised of schools from the NWC, California, and Colorado. The NWC had a strong showing with five of the teams ahead of PLU hailing from the NWC, including the top four. Willamette was atop of the list, followed by Puget Sound, Whitman and Whitworth. Fifth and sixth were Colorado College and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Right ahead of PLU was Redlands, Occidental, and Lewis & Clark with UC Santa Cruz tied with PLU for 10th.

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