Complete men's and women's results, team scores (PDF) 

TRINIDAD, Calif. – Mary Charleson knew she wouldn't be able to see the finish line until it was almost right in front of her.
 
So she made sure that by the time she got to that point, she was in front of everyone else.
 
The Seattle Pacific junior made a decisive surge in the final 100 meters on Saturday morning and won the season-opening Humboldt State Invitational cross country meet.

 

Charleson completed the 6-kilometer looping, fog-shrouded course through the oceanside Patrick's Point State Park in 21 minutes, 8.21 seconds. She and senior teammate Sarah Macdonald, who came through in 21:14.88, put together a 1-3 finish that gave the Falcons second place in the standings behind perennial West Region powerhouse Chico State.
 
"It was really good that we previewed the course," said Charleson, who arrived with the rest of the Falcons on Thursday after a two-day van trip down from Seattle. "The last 400 meter, I felt good and felt some feet under me, and I was able to adapt.
 
The win was the first for Charleson (Mill Creek, Wash. / Henry M. Jackson HS) in a college race. It also was her personal-best time on a 6-kilometer course, easily beating the 21:48 she posted in last year's NCAA Division II West Regionals in Monmouth, Ore.
 
"It definitely was on my mind," she said of crossing the line first. "(Assistant coach) Chris (Reed) and I talked about it on Friday, and he said there are lots of really good runners in this race from our region. He knew Chico was going to race all of their girls, but he told me never to count myself out of the win."
 
The Wildcats, who finished fourth at last year's NCAA Division II Championships, finished with 40 points. SPU was next with 57, and Humboldt State checked in third with 68.
 
Charleson and Macdonald – both of whom beat every Chico State runner -- went out with the lead pack. They stayed near the front as some other runners gradually dropped back. With 1200 meters to go, Sonoma State's Analicia Garcia was about 6 meters in front of Charleson, with Macdonald just another 6 meters back.
 
Approaching the 100-meter mark, Charleson made her move, and beat Garcia (21:11.46) to the line by three seconds.
 
"I definitely thought Mary was capable of winning, and Sarah was capable of being in that front pack," Reed said.
 
Just as impressive as what Charleson and Macdonald did up front was the performance of the other SPU runners behind them.

 

Senior Hannah Calvert (Enumclaw, Wash. / Enumclaw HS) also broke the 22-minute mark, finishing 11th in 21:42. Then, the Nos. 4 through 7 runners were bunched within nine places and 10 seconds of each other: junior Chynna Phan 20th, freshman Kate Lilly 22nd, junior Hailey Kettel 27th, and junior Sophie Carroll 29th.
 
From No. 1 (Charleson's 21:08) to No. 7 (Carroll's 22:20), the entire gap was a very competitive 72 seconds
 
"With the team as a whole, we've probably never started a season this strong before," Reed said. "All the way through, the exciting thing is there's a lot of potential changeability with this team. Every single person has a chance to contribute.
 
"The other thing to realize is the other teams have been practicing for three weeks – we've only been practicing for a week," Reed added. "We practiced four days, then got into the vans."
 
BIG DAY FOR HALLADAY
Ben Halladay knew he's had a solid summer of training. On Saturday, it definitely showed.
 
Halladay ran his fastest-ever 8-kilomter race, clocking 25 minutes, 34.74 seconds to finish 19th among 83 runners in the men's race and lead the Falcons to sixth place with 197 points.

 

A junior, Halladay (Mukilteo, Wash. / Kamiak HS) had never broken 26 minutes for 8K. The closest he had come was 26:12 at last year's Sundodger in West Seattle.
 
"Way more impressive than the time he ran was the way he ran the race," Reed said. "From the gun, Ben decided that he belonged with the Chico State guys. After a while, a couple guys made their move, but he managed his race really well from that point. That's the kind of mindset he needs to have if he's going to achieve his goals in this sport."
 
Freshman Danny Provo (Missoula, Mont.) made an impressive college debut, running No. 2 for SPU and 46th overall in 26:38.77. Senior Joey Walker (Auburn, Wash. / Jefferson HS) broke 27 minutes for the first time at the 8K distance, clocking 26:41.12 for 48th.
 
Chico State, taking the top six places and 11 of the top 12, won with a perfect score of 15.
 
Seattle Pacific will train for the next two weeks, then return to competition on Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Saint Martin's Invitational. Racing on that school's Lacey campus begins at 9:30 a.m. with the men's 8K, followed by the women's 5K at 10:20 a.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Humboldt State Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016
6 kilometers at Patrick's Pointe State Park / Trinidad, Calif.
 
Team scores – 1, Chico State 40; 2, Seattle Pacific 57; 3, Humboldt State 68; 4, Cal State Monterey Bay 167; 5, Oregon Tech 170; 6, Sonoma State 180; 7, Pacific (Calif.) 216; 8, Dominican 316; 9, Notre Dame de Namur 346; 10, Mills 430.
Top 5 – 1, Mary Charleson (SPU) 21:08.21; 2, Analicia Garcia 21:11.46; 3, Sarah Macdonald 21:14.88; 4, Carlie Garcia (Chico) 21:21.02; 5, Alex Burkhart (Chico) 21:22.00.
Other SPU placers – 11, Hannah Calvert 21:42.54; 20, Chynna Phan 22:09.82; 22, Kate Lilly 22:11.49; 27, Hailey Kettel 22:18.78; 29, Sophie Carroll 22:20.45; 32, Alyssa Foote 22:26.36; 35, Sedona McNerney 22:29.83; 40, Katherine Walter 22:41.62.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Humboldt State Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016
8 kilometers at Patrick's Point State Park / Trinidad, Calif.
 
Team scores – 1, Chico State 15; Cal State Monterey Bay 119; 3, Oregon Tech 120; 4, Humboldt State 163; 5, Rogue CC 180; 6, Seattle Pacific 197; 7, Notre Dame de Namur 285.
Top 5 – 1, William Reyes (Chico) 24:18.69; 2, Connor Fisher (Chico) 24:39.32; 3, Falco DiGiallonardo (Chico) 24:41.55; 4, Aaron Mora (Chico) 24:43.63; 5, Kyle Medina (Chico) 24:43.84.
SPU placers – 19, Ben Halladay 25:34.74; 46, Danny Provo 26:38.77; 48, Joey Walker 26:41.12; 58, David McLeod 27:13.49; 64, Jesse Phan 27:44.92; 68, Brysten James 28:14.02.