BILLINGS, Mont. – The Seattle Pacific University cross country teams had a tremendous day at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday, as
Maya Ewing won her first GNAC cross country title, the SPU women finished second, and the SPU men took sixth-place.
FROM THE COACH
"Stoked for Maya getting her first GNAC cross country title," assistant coach
Eric Hansen said. "She's earned it. Our women ran amazingly today. They trusted themselves and competed so well. Happy for Anna getting her first All-Conference honors, too. I believe it's our highest team finish since 2009, and most of our runners had their highest place finish of their careers for this meet."
"The men stepped up and beat their preseason ranking as well," Hansen added. "They had to earn the respect of the rest of the conference, and I think they did that today. Avery earned the Newcomer of the Year award for the conference, and
Darian Penn had an incredible performance for a freshman at his first GNAC championship. All around, really happy with the team today. We get to enjoy it for today, but need to stay focused for regionals in two weeks."
FROM THE CHAMP
"I'm really excited, and really happy," Ewing Said. "Our team took second place, and it was an amazing day overall for me and the whole team. I'm really excited for us. Our team chemistry this year has been unbelievable. All of the women are running so well, and today was a huge showing of all of the work we've put in this year."
"I was planning on staying with the lead pack," Ewing added. "Once we hit the second lap, I was going to try to make a move. I made the move a little earlier than I expected, but I just kept going, hoping that no one would pass me."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The SPU women finished second with 92 points.
- Western Washington won the team title with 37 points, while Alaska Anchorage took third with 105.
- Maya Ewing claimed her first GNAC Championship with a time of 21:04.7.
- Ewing and Rachael Watkins of Simon Fraser were side-by-side for 2K, both at 6:58. By 4.6K, Ewing was 16 seconds in front of Watkins (9:10 to 9:26). By the finish, she was 22 seconds clear of second-place Alexia Parker of Western Washington (21:26.5). Watkins wound up 3rd in 21:28.3.
- Anna Prussian career-best 9th-place finish, earning All-GNAC Honors in the process.
- The SPU men's team finished sixth with 151 points.
- Avery Erickson 14th in 24:52.2. He was 26th at 4K, moved up to 15th at 6.6K.
BEYOND THE RESULTS
- SPU's women's team's finish was the best team finish since taking third in 2019.
- The last time the Falcons finished second at the GNAC Championships was in 2009.
- Ewing is the first GNAC Champion from SPU since Jessica Pixler in 2009.
- The SPU men had their highest finish since fifth in 2019.
- Erickson ran his first sub-25-minute race since a 25:03.9 at last year's PacWest Championships.
- He was the highest-placing Falcon since Elius Graf took 8th in 2019.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will return home to prepare for the NCAA West Regionals on Saturday, Nov. 8th, in Monmouth, Ore., on the Ash Creek Preserve, a course they've competed on once already this year.
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