Western State cross-country team crushes it at RMAC championships

Women take first, men second place

The sixth- ranked Western State women’s cross country team placed all five scoring runners in the top 10. Six of the seven runners earned all-conference honors as the Mountaineers upset top-ranked Adams State to win the 2010 RMAC Cross Country Championship at Gene Torres Golf Course.
The Mountaineer men placed second without their top two runners and were led by freshman Ryan Haebe, who earned conference freshman of the year honors.
Sophie McNeely led the Mountaineers and finished the six-kilometer course in third overall in 21 minutes and 11 seconds. She was followed closely by Hillory Davis and Sarah Lyle as the trio earned First Team All-RMAC honors with top seven finishes. Anna Marshall placed ninth overall and fourth on the team and Tara Richardson rounded out the scoring runners with her 10th-place finish.
Western State won by an 11-point margin against Adams State for the sixth conference championship in program history and the first since 2001. Furthermore, coach Jen Michel was named RMAC coach of the year.
The Grizzlies placed only four runners in the top 10 of the overall standings, with their fifth scoring runner coming further down the results in 19th.
Marshall and Richardson each earned second team honors while Annika Haughwourt earned third-team accolades with her 21st-place finish. Western State’s seventh runner, Rachel Webb, placed 24th in 23:17.
Haebe finished fifth overall in his freshman-of-the-year performance in 24:03, and rounded out a group of three runners from Colorado Mines and New Mexico Highlands, who each finished a second apart. Gabe Proctor finished six seconds later in seventh overall to earn first team honors.
Sean Brown, David Flynn and Tyler Rasmussen each ran their way onto the RMAC second team and finished ninth, 12th and 13th, respectively. The trio also closed out the scoring for the Mountaineers, who finished with 47 team points and 17 points behind rival Adams State.
David Goodman and Trevor Blackman finished sixth and seventh, respectively, for the Mountaineers, and earned a spot on the all-conference third team with their 18th- and 19th-place finishes. Garrett Wilson also picked up third team honors coming in 21st place.
The Mountaineers will enjoy next weekend off before competing in the NCAA Division II Central Region meet November 20 at Wayne, Nebraska.