Saints run the NWAC Championship

Mt. Hood capped the 2015 Cross Country season, along with 11 other schools, last weekend at the NWAC Championship outside Battle Ground, Wash. Both the men’s and women’s teams fielded complete rosters and officially placed their runners – the Saints women earning sixth place overall, the men 10th.

Highlighting the race for the Saints, as usual, was Leah Norquist. She placed 13th out of 64 women runners with a 5k finish time of 19:42, good for a pace of 6:21 per mile. Kayla Watkins finished second for the team, 33rd overall with a 21:51 time, trailed by Lindsey York, just one spot back with a 22:05, then Hailey Valitski at 23:46, placing 43rd, and Reeghan Lehnert at 49th, running a 24:33.

The top men’s finisher was Jonathon Zacarius, who paced at an impressive 5:30 per mile to close out the race in 42nd place, running the 8k course in 27:30. Luke Lowe was not far behind at No. 47, with a time of 27.55.  At a pace only five seconds per mile slower, Lowe showed just how thin the margin of success is in this sport. Dean Nizer was third for the Saints men with a 28:58, good for 62nd overall, then Troy Ryals finished one spot and three seconds behind, ahead of Jacob Barnett, who rounded out Mt. Hood’s finishers in 69th place with a 29:52 time.

Next season will bring some more challenges for head coach Jim Satterfield. His most polished runners and team leaders this year were sophomores, leaving the fate of next season up to extended recruiting efforts. The program is on constant lookout for dedicated runners either looking to transfer or to compete out of high school.

Satterfield remains dedicated to building out his team, and squeezing the most out of his runners’ potential.

Advocate Staff