Complete results (HTML)
 
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – When the championship part of the cross country season begins later this month, the Seattle Pacific men are hoping to climb a notch or two on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference ladder.
 
On Saturday afternoon, they had the upper hand on two of those GNAC stablemates.
 
Elius Graff, Colin Boutin, and Jared Putney finished 19-20-21, and all five scorers were across the finish line within one minute of each other as the Falcons took third place in the Sundodger Collegiate race at the John Payne / Curtis Invitational.
 
SPU finished with 90 points in the six-team meet at Chambers Creek Regional Park. The University of Washington won with a perfect score of 15, and Seattle University was second with 56.
 
Seattle Pacific beat out Central Washington (fourth with 99) and Saint Martin's (fifth with 132). All three of those teams, plus five others from the GNAC, will be on the same course at next week's Western Washington Classic in Bellingham.
 
While SPU was ahead of the Saints all four times they met in 2018, it had not beaten Central since the 2017 WWU Classic. The Wildcats topped the Falcons in seven straight meets since then, including all six times they raced last season.
 
"Some of the guys were really intent on finding a way to beat Central – nor because it's any particular school, but because it's a conference rival that beat us repeatedly last year," SPU assistant / distance coach Chris Reed said. "We were able to achieve that goal. But we'll have our work cut out for us next week, and hope they have the same sense of purpose."
 
Graff, a junior finished his 8 kilometers in 26 minutes, 10.6 seconds. Fellow junior Boutin was close behind in 26:14,7, and redshirt freshman Putney was at 26:23.7.
 
"Elius, Colin, and Jared did a nice job," Reed said. "Elius ran strong from the gun and never lost his position. Colin and Jared were both progressing through the field in the second half of the race. They just kept moving up and moving up and put themselves in a good spot by the time the finish line came around."
 
Sophomore Colby Otero (26^th in 26:35.1) and freshman Sheamus Mahoney (36^th in 27:08.1) completed the scoring.
 
This is the first time the Falcons have run in the Payne / Curtis Invite. It traditionally has been one of the top high school invitationals in Washington. This year, it included the collegiate division.
 
The Seattle Pacific women were off Saturday. The men and women both will compete in the WWU meet next Saturday. The races at Sudden Valley Golf Course east of Bellingham begin at 10 a.m. with the women's 6K, followed by the men's 10K at 11:00 a.m. It is one of a very limited number of regular-season men's 10K anywhere in the country.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
John Payne / Curtis Invitational
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019
8 kilometers at Chamber Creek Regional Park / University Place, Wash.
 
Team scores – 1, Washington 15; 2, Seattle University 56; 3, Seattle Pacific 90; 4, Central Washington 99; 5, Saint Martin's 132; 6, Seattle Running Club 161.
 
Top 5 – 1, Mark Stanovsek (UW) 24:31.0; 2, Tibebu Proctor (Unattached) 24:34.0; 3, Alex Sienning (UW) 24:49.5; 4, Gavin Parpart (UW) 24:55.3; 5, Samuel Tanner (Unattached) 24:59.3.
 
SPU placers – 19, Elius Graff 26:10.6; 20, Colin Boutin 26:14.7; 21, Jared Putney 26:23.7; 26, Colby Otero 26:35.1; 36, Sheamus Mahoney 27:08.1; 40, Shad Galloway 27:35.4; 42, Brayden Schultz 27:46.6; 44, Jacob Allmaras 27:51.0; 53, Bailey Rockholt 28:21.2;