Oct. 8, 2015
The Nevada Wolf Pack cross country team took third at the Capital Cross Challenge on Saturday, grabbing PRs for 75 percent of the team on the speedway known as the Haggin Oaks Golf Course. As at the Sundodger Invite two weeks prior, Nevada's depth again helped them to a third place finish as the team had a good 49 second spread from the first to fifth runner across the 5000 meters (and only 52 seconds from first to sixth).
Side by side from the gun until about 1000 meters to go, Emily Myers and Caitlin Devitt-Payne again led the Wolf Pack as they recorded the second- and sixth-best times in school history for 5000 meters on a cross country course in the 36 year history of the sport at Nevada. With Anna Preciado driving the pace after a brief mid-race lull, the threesome of Preciado, Erika Root, and Marissa Suan completed Nevada's scoring five with all recording personal records. The trio, who have raced lockstep each meet until the final kick, have given the Wolf Pack tremendous consistency in the positions that had been troublesome for the past few years.
Suan grabbed a whopping 91 second PR. Behind her, Helen Mino-Faukner (73 second PR), Meagan Wood (68 second PR), and Shannon Palladino (61 second PR) also notched PRs in excess of a minute.
The senior-laden top five has become Nevadas most consistent group of harriers in several years, winning at home to open the season, then taking third of nine at Sundodger before taking third of ten in Sacramento.
The top group will train for the next month in preparation for the Mountain West Conference Championships here in Reno at the Montreux Golf Course. The rest of the team will be racing at Santa Clara's Bronco Invite on October 17. My next report will likely be after the conference championship, which will be held Friday, October 30.
COURSE
1 Short Loop, 1 Long Loop on short clipped, fairway grass. Flat with one dip and rise about 200m before the finish of each loop-a fast course
CONDITIONS
Mid-Upper 60s, light breeze-Good conditions
TEAM
Loyola Marymount 39, California 51, NEVADA 81, Sacramento St 99, San Diego 139, Hawaii 158, Pepperdine 179, UC-Davis 231, Pacific 244, St Marys 246
INDIVIDUAL 89 finishers
Name/Year Place Time HS PR Notes
Emily EmKay Myers/Sr 9 17:09 18:27 27 sec PR, #2 All Time
Caitlin Devitt-Payne/Sr 13 17:21 18:54 37 sec PR, #6 All Time
Erika Root/Sr 20 17:46 20:03 8 sec PR, ties #20 All Time
Marissa Suan/So 21 17:47 19:18 91 sec PR, #22 All Time
Anna Preciado/Sr 24 17:58 20:55 55 sec PR, #25 All Time
Mckenna Evans/Fr 26 18:01 18:48 47 sec PR, #28 All Time, #5 Freshman All Time
Sidney Root/Jr 40 18:18 X Establishes PR, never run previously
Meagan Wood/So 42 18:22 19:30 68 sec PR. #40 All Time
Helen Mino-Faukner/Fr 47 18:30 19:43 73 sec PR, Ties for #49 All Time, #14 Freshman All Time
Shannon Palladino/Fr 57 18:47 19:48 61 sec PR, Ties for #66 All Time, #21 Freshman All Time
Jerriann Wells/Fr 64 18:56 18:34 #79 All Time, #23 Freshman All Time
Alaina Anderson/So 79 19:51 18:01 Ties #117 All Time
