By Aritra Das
The Dinos cross-country squad competed in the Eastern Washington University Invitational meet against NCAA Division I teams on Sat., Oct. 14. While the women took first place, the men’s team finished in fourth on a very windy day in Cheney, Washington.
Our very own Shannon Slater won the women’s five-kilometer run, finishing the race in a blistering 18:31.7. Other Dinos women who placed in the top ten include Renee Kaylor, Jackie Jones and Sabrina Harper, who placed sixth, seventh and ninth respectively. The women’s squad easily won the meet based on the points they earned.
Scoring at a cross-country meet is based on a points system where the lowest scoring team is the winner. The total and average times of the runners are also taken, and usually correlate quite well to the points that a team scores.
Among the boys, Dinos Track and Field team manager Nathan Kendrick finished in first place over the men’s eight-kilometer cross-country event, completing the race in 25:30.7. Other Dinos men to place in the top ten included Geoff Kerr and Andrew Carruthers, who finished in fifth and ninth place respectively. The Dinos men’s cross-country squad finished in fourth place behind Washington’s Gonzaga University.
Next up for the Dinos cross-country team are the Alberta Provincial Cross-Country Championships to be held in Calgary Oct. 23. Heading into the competition, the Dinos ladies are ranked second in the country while the men lay down in ninth.