Monmouth, OR - The Saints XC teams return home from Oregon after a day of racing. SMU made their way through the meet placing overall 7th in the women's 6k and overall, 19th in the men's 10k.
SMU women's team made some remarkable strides in program history once again by scoring 220 points in this year's NCAA West Regional Championships. The women's team placed 7th out of 30 which is the highest they have placed in the Saint Martin's history. SMU men's team placed 19th out of 30 teams, they pushed themselves and did what they came there to do. The men's team came home with the intent to build up their strengths to do even better at the next race. The teams from the West Region are here to prove they are the most competitive region in Division II.
After the meet on Saturday, we were able to ask head coach Matt Lowe what he thought about the weekends results "It was an incredible day for our Lady Saints. It was nothing short of remarkable and will be remembered for a lifetime. They went out to prove that Saint Martin's can compete amongst the best in the West Region and continue the trajectory of success for future seasons. Scoring 220 points is the lowest score in our program history and moving up from 10th place last year to placing 7th is the highest team placing ever. I'm very proud of what these ladies accomplished. After the gun went off and the lead pack came through in the first 1k split at a burning hot pace of around 3:15 (about 5:15 per mile pace), I knew it would be the survival of the fittest and the most mentally prepared. We planned to get into position in the early stages of the race, and we anticipated that the race could go out quickly. Through most of the race, Cassidy was sitting at 15th, within striking distance of the top 10, and with 2k to go, it was invigorating to watch her rally and finish 7th. Elke made significant progress this season when compared to her previous seasons. After getting her iron levels checked and corrected last Spring and then paired with responding very well to the training, it's inspiring to see the amount of improvement that she's made.
SMU women's team placed 7th overall out of the 30 regional teams. The Saints top seven had an average time of 22:37 and a spread of 3:14. The first Saint to finish was Cassidy Walchak-Sloan placing 7th with a time of 21:00.9, Cassidy improved this year after placing 15th last year during Regionals. The following Saints to cross the finish line were Elke Wijkmans (21:40.2) and Alisha Saucedo (22:08.9). Elke placed 22nd improving from her previous 116th at last year's Regionals, Alisha placed 39th improving from her 71st placing the following year. The last three Saints in were Sara Sabra (22:27.4) placing 56th, Kya Ramirez (23:47.1) placing 107th improving her last year's placing from 145th, and lastly Naomi Hartley closing out her final collegiate career season by placing 137th with a time of 24:42.7.
SMU men's team placed overall 19th out of 23 teams in the 10k race. The Saints top seven had an average time of 34:04 with a spread of 3:34. The first finisher for SMU was Isaac Cortes with a time of 32:13.9 he placed 54th receiving. The next Saint in was Kainalu Pagente with a time of 32:57.8. The next three runners in for SMU were Michael Harwell (33:22.9), Eli Dale (33:45.1), Noe Ortega (35:04.5). The final two runners that brought SMU to a finish were Jaskaran Dhatt (35:22.2) and Timmy Higgins (35:48.3)
The Saints end the season on many accomplishments due to all their hard work this season. SMU set many new records in program history and showed that Saint Martin's can compete with the best in the West Region. Stay tuned for next season to see how SMU continues to make new strides in the program.
