LACEY, Wash. – Luz Garcia collected All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference honors when she crossed in fifth to lead the Western Oregon University women's cross country team to a fourth-place team finish during the GNAC Championships on Saturday. It's the highest finish for the women since coming in third in 2010 and Garcia's finish comes on the heels of Grace Knapp coming in fifth during the GNAC Championships in 2019. By being the top newcomer in the field as well, Garcia earns GNAC Newcomer of the Year honors.
"When it all comes down to it, they came ready to perform. They established themselves early in the races and ready to compete. It's a good setup for us going into regionals," head coach Octavious Gillespie-Bennett said. "It will be a nice confidence booster for us over the next few weeks. I'm really proud of the way they performed and handled themselves. Coach Zach Holloway did an amazing job with them and preparing them."
As a team, WOU tallied 114 points and weren't far behind Alaska Fairbanks in third with 92 points. Simon Fraser took the title with 32 points, followed by Western Washington in second with 77 points. Simon Fraser's Olivia Willett won the individual title posting a time of 21:27.30. There were a total of 10 teams competing in the championships.
"Under the conditions, both the men's and women's team ran fantastic today. A few of us finally broke through that mental block that has been a struggle through the season. I was really happy to see them finally run free and powerful," Garcia said. "In regards to my own race, I was not satisfied with it. Being a rhythmic runner, this course was a change for me. I felt I did not handle the turns well, and there was a lot of technical things I needed to change. I went out with the intention to win, and it just did not happen and that's okay. We're going to get back to work and hit it again in two weeks when it counts."
Garcia led the way for the Wolves with a time of 21:48.50 to come in fifth overall. Caitlin Heldt wasn't far behind when she made a push for a top-10 finish before coming in 12th with a time of 22:27.40. Kaylin Cantu and Katie Chapman finished back-to-back with Cantu coming in 32nd with a time of 23:30.30 and Chapman in 33rd with a time of 23:33.30. Lindie Larson was the fifth one in for the Wolves when she placed 42nd with a time of 24:07.90. Emily Johnson led a pack of Wolves to come in between 58th and 70th when she crossed in 58th with a time of 25:02.20. Kaitlyn Kruse was just a few seconds back coming in 60th with a time of 25:08.20. Kaiya Leamy crossed in 63rd with a time of 25:24.60, Josie Ackerman posted a time of 25:46.20 to come in 66th and Emily Moore in 70th with a time of 26:06.50.
This was the second time since 2001 that the Wolves have come in fourth in the GNAC's also placing fourth in 2008.
The calendar will now turn to November and the NCAA Division II West Regionals will be approaching as the Wolves will host this year's regionals on Nov. 6 on Ash Creek Preserve with the women's race starting at 10 a.m. and the men's to follow around 11:15 a.m.
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October 24, 2021 at 06:57AM
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Garcia's All-GNAC Fifth-Place Finish Leads Wolves To Highest GNAC Team Result Since 2010 - WOU Athletics
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