Complete women's results (PDF)
        Complete men's results (PDF)
 
TACOMA – It's not every day that Seattle Pacific sweeps the team titles at a cross country meet.
  
But the brooms were out on Saturday.
 
Kaylee Mitchell and Kate Lilly ran to a 1-2 finish in the women's meet, and Colby Otero crossed the line third on the men's side as the Falcons took both crowns at the season-opening PLU Invitational.
 
The No. 8-ranked SPU women had all five of their scorers among the top 10 in compiling the day's low score of 24 points. That was a 40-point margin on second-place Whiman's 64. No other team finished below 100.
 
Sophomore Otero and junior Colin Boutin were both in the men's top five, leading the Falcons to a winning total of 40 points. Host school Pacific Lutheran was second with 71.
 
This was the first time in 21 years the Falcons have swept the team titles at a multi-team meet. The last time it happened was in the 1998 Seattle Cup at Green Lake against Northwest College and Seattle University. Overall, the last team sweep was in a season-opening dual against Northwest University in 2017.
 
"One of our goals going in was to get two wins," SPU assistant / distance coach Chris Reed said. "There was a lot to learn, but that's what first meets are for. It's nice when you can go to a meet and have good results, and still come away knowing that there are a lot of ways to improve. It was a good springboard for us."
 
MITCHELL IN COMMAND
For the second year in a row, sophomore Mitchell opened the season with a win. She was in complete control of this one around the Pacific Lutheran cross country course, completing 6 kilometers in 21 minutes, 4.40 seconds. Senior Kate Lilly had a solid run as well, finishing second in 21:32.
 
Saturday was Mitchell's first competitive race since last spring's Great Northwest Athletic Conference outdoor track meet. She made it to the NCAAs in the 3000-meter steeplechase, but had to pull out in the early going because of an injury.
 
That clearly is now part of her past.
 
"Kaylee looked unstoppable. She never looked like she was in danger of losing her rhythm," Reed said. "I said, 'Kaylee, how does it feel to feel like yourself again?' And she said, 'I feel better than myself.' She looked poised and controlled and very confident. And Kate has never started as well as she did today, She looked great."
 
Junior Dania Holmberg (fifth), redshirt freshman Kelsey Washenberger (ninth) and senior Katherine Walter (10^th) all made the top 10 among the 85 competitors.
 
"Our front end looks really elite right now," Reed said.
 
MEN KEEP IT TIGHT
With sophomore Otero setting the team's pace in the 8K men's race, the Seattle Pacific scorers crossed the finish line within 52 seconds of each other.
 
Not only did the Falcons pick up the team win, they did so against three regionally-ranked D3 teams: Pacific Lutheran (No. 7), Whitworth (No. 9) and George Fox (No. 10).
 
"That gives us a lot of confidence," Reed said. "Our top five ran with such poise. It was a group that packed up at the front and just had a really nice race."
 
For a good chunk of the day, Otero ran alongside eventual winner Colin Monaghan of Puget Sound. Going into the last loop, Monaghan pulled away, eventually winning in 25:20.40. Lewis & Clark's Sean Richardson was next in 25:34.60, then Otero in 25:47.30.
 
Along with Boutin's fifth-place performance, SPU got a top-10 finish from redshirt freshman Jared Putney, who was seventh in 26:15.70. Putney ran track last spring, placing eighth in the 3000-meter steeplechase at GNAC, but this was his first cross country meet as a Falcon.
 
Junior Elius Graff (12^th) and freshman Sheamus Mahoney (13^th) completed the scoring for Seattle Pacific.
 
"It was nice to see Colby put himself in position to potentially win the race," Reed said. "Colin stepped up big-time – that's the best he has ever opened the season. Jared Putney did a wonderful job, stayed composed, and made moves when he needed to make moves. Everyone in our top five did a nice job."
 
UP NEXT
The SPU women head to Sacramento next Saturday for the Capital Cross Challenge at Arcade Creek. That course also will be the site of the NCAA Division II Championships on Nov. 23, so most of the West's top teams – including Alaska Anchorage, Simon Fraser, and Chico State – are expected to be there. Race time is 10:40 a.m. The men are off next week, but return to action on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 5, at the John Payne / Curtis Invitational in Tacoma. That one starts at 3:30 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
PLU Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019
PLU Cross Country Course / Tacoma, Wash.
 
Team scores – 1, Seattle Pacific 24; 2, Whitman 64; 3, Whitworth 103; 4, George Fox 127; 5, Lewis & Clark 130; 6, Puget Sound 147; 7, Pacific Lutheran 149; 8, Green River 218; 9, Everett CC 266.
 
Top 5 – 1, Kaylee Mitchell (SPU) 21:04.40; 2, Kate Lilly (SPU) 21:32.00; 3, Whitney Rich (Whitman) 21:38.40; 4, Nicole O'Loughlin (Tacoma City Running Club) 21:50.40; 5, Dania Holmberg 22:04.80.

Other SPU – 9, Kelsey Washenberger 23:04.60; 10, Katherine Walter 23:08.00; 14, Elizabeth Thompson 23:27.90; 17, Sedona McNerney 23:49.70.
 
 
 
NCAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
PLU Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019
PLU Cross Country Course / Tacoma, Wash.
 
Team scores – 1, Seattle Pacific 40, 2, Pacific Lutheran 71; 3, Lewis & Clark 87; 4, George Fox 90; 5, Whitman 112; 6, Whitworth 120; 7, Puget Sound 178; 8, Green River 221.
 
Top 5 – 1, Colin Monaghan (UPS) 25:20.40; 2, Sean Richardson (L&C) 25:34.60; 3, Colby Otero (SPU) 25:47.30; 4, Matthew White (L&C) 25:59.50; 5, Colin Boutin (SPU) 26:11.40.

Other SPU – 7, Jared Putney 26:15.70; 12, Elius Graff 26:36.30; 13, Sheamus Mahoney 26:39.50; 28, Shad Galloway 27:19.20; 41, Jacob Allmaras 28:00.10; 47, Brayden Schultz 28:17.20; 64, Bailey Rockholt 29:23.30