Complete women's results
       Complete men's results

YAKIMA – Along with plenty of accomplishments, Allison Cutting brought plenty of promise with her when she decided to run cross country for Seattle Pacific.

The Falcon freshman already has started to deliver.

Coming off a pair of top-5 performances in last week's two races in Alaska, Cutting ran to a 20-second victory on Saturday morning in the Apple Ridge Run Invitational.

Cutting (Sequim, Wash./Sequim HS) finished the abbreviated 4-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 45 seconds, well in front of runner-up Mary Rogers from Western Washington (16;05).

Her effort, along with the tight pack running of the next four SPU runners across the line, helped the Falcons place second in the team standing with 64 points. Western Washington won easily with 20 points.

In the men's race, senior Jacob Wahlenmaier (Everett, Wash./Cascade HS) set the pace for Seattle Pacific with a 24th-place finish in 21:02 for the 6-kilometer event. The Falcons wound up fifth as a team with 129 points. The University of Great Falls won with 19.

Cutting joined the SPU program after an outstanding career at Sequim High School. She won the Class 2A state cross country title in 2008 as a Wolves junior, then capped her senior year this past spring by winning 2A state crown in the 3,200 meters.

She led on Saturday almost from start to finish, starting to open the gap at about midway.

“She was in control of the race, and she wasn't scared to take it,” Falcons interim head coach Letiwe Patton said. “If she'd had someone to fight with (for the lead), she would have gone much better. About halfway through, she was all by herself, and she looked very good.”

Bunching up nicely behind Cutting on Saturday were three freshmen and one junior, all within 14 seconds of each other. Freshman Megan Knape (Rockland,Mich.) led that group in 16th place in 17:11; freshman Leah Swanson (Seattle/Blanchet) was 19th in 17:12; junior veteran Kayla Wilkins (Vancouver, Wash./Evergreen HS) was 19th in 17:15, and freshman Alexandra Dorsey (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake HS) took 23rd in 17:25.

“That's exactly what I mentioned to them. We always talk about (tight pack running), and they definitely did it today,” Patton said.

SPU junior Natty Plunkett (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS), who won the long-course race and took third in the short-course race in Fairbanks last week, had the day off, as did three of the other five runners who competed there. Cutting was the only one from the Alaska trip who competed so she could get her first trek around the course that will be the site of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Nov. 6.

Wahlenmaier was one of three Seattle Pacific men who stayed within visual range of each other during their race. Close behind him at the finish were junior Nate Sleight (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) placing 28th in 21:10 and freshman Josiah Sherwood (Renton, Wash./Liberty HS) taking 34th in 21:26.

The six Falcons who ran in Fairbanks last week and won the men's short-course team title after finishing third in the long-course race did not compete on Saturday.


NCAA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Apple Ridge Run Invitational
Saturday, September 11, 2010
4 kilometers at Apple Ridge Run/Yakima, Wash

Team scores – 1, Western Washington 20; 2, Seattle Pacific 64; 3, Central Washington 68; 4, Great Falls 77; 5, Olympic College 152.
Top 5 – 1, Allison Cutting (SPU) 15:45; 2, Mary Rogers (WWU) 16:05; 3, Rachael Johnson (WWU) 16:06; 4, Phoebe Hartnett (WWU) 16:15; 5, Kristi Fairbanks (WWU) 16:35. Other SPU placers – 16, Megan Knape 17:11; 18, Leah Swanson 17:12; 19, Kayla Wilkins 17:15; 23, Alexandra Dorsey 17:25; 31, Laura Moser 18:12; 40, Athena Alvarez 18:50.


NCAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Apple Ridge Run Invitational
Saturday, September 11, 2010
6 kilometers at Apple Ridge Run/Yakima, Wash.

Team scores – 1, Great Falls 19; 2, Western Washington 68; 3, Central Washington 76; 4, Green River CC 122; 5, Seattle Pacific 129; 6, Olympic College 165; 7, Skagit Valley CC 186.
Top 5 – 1, Rigoberto Jimenez (GF) 19:34; 2, Taylor Guske (GF) 20:01; 3, Joe Berger (GR) 20:08; 4, Shane Donaldson (GF) 20:12; 5, Tyler Nilsen (GF) 20:16. SPU placers – 24, Jacob Wahlenmaier 21:02; 28, Nate Sleight 21:10; 34, Josiah Sherwood 21:26; 45, Will Aufhammer 22:09; 50, Nate Seely 22:21; 52, Nick Schonewald 22:32; 57, Stephen York 23:04.