UA cross country earns first place all-around in Twilight Invitational

October 11, 2015

Zi Yang Lai

Arizona cross country athlete Sam Willis (23) runs in the 2015 Dave Murray Invitational on Friday, Sept. 18. Both the men and women’s cross country teams swept the Twilight Invitational on Friday against competitors from around the state of Arizona.

Arizona men’s and women’s cross country teams both competed in the UA Cross Country Twilight on Friday afternoon. The Wildcats’ squad swept the competition, with both the men’s and women’s teams taking first place.

The men’s team ran in the four-mile race and the women ran in the three-mile race.

The Wildcats were led by junior Collins Kibet, who placed second overall with a time of 20:52 as the men put together a total of 24 points.

Placing behind Kibet were Seamus White and Jonas Legernes. White, who is only a freshman, finished fifth overall with a time of 21:16. Legernes placed right behind, clocking in at 21:24 and finishing in sixth place.

Rounding out the men’s runners for the Wildcats were Patrick Leary, who took 10th with a time of 21:50, Jeffrey Gautreau with a time of 22:02, good for 12th, Matthew Beer in 15th with a time of 22:23 and Alex Hart finishing in 19th, clocking in with a time of 23:48.

Running unattached for the men’s team were Bailey Roth and Carlos Villarreal. Roth finished third, running a time of 21:05, and Villarreal had a time of 22:17, finishing in 14th.

On the women’s side, the Wildcats took the top four spots and finished with 16 total points as Molly Callahan led the way.

Callahan finished first overall with a time of 17:52, Addi Zerrenner finished second and Claire Green finished third, both with a time of 17:53. Kate Penney had a time of 18:19 to round out the top four.

Other finishers for the women’s side were McKenna Gaffney, who clocked in at 18:38 to take sixth place, and Kirsten Vergara in eighth, finishing the three miles in 19:02. Taryn Estavillo, Margie Moyer and Tiffany Riley finished in 17th, 18th and 19th with the times of 20:58, 21:11 and 21:41, respectively.

Rebecca Rogers ran unattached for the women and finished in ninth with a time of 19:23.

Central Arizona, ASU, NAU and Dine College competed in the event.

The UA men’s and women’s cross country teams’ next meet will be at the Pre-Nationals event on Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky, starting at 8 a.m.

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