YAKIMA, Wash. – Running against a tough field, the Evergreen Geoducks opened the 2013 cross country season on Saturday at the CWU Invitational in Yakima, Wash. Only the Evergreen men ran on Saturday, with the Geoduck women expected to open the season on Sep. 14 at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle, Wash.
The Geoducks were led by junior Les Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS), who finished the 6000m course in 22:05 to take 28th overall. Twin brother Wes Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) was the next Geoduck across the finish line, taking 40th exactly one minute later at 23:05.
Sean LaBelle (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge HS) took 45th with a time of 24:33, followed by freshman Rowan Chappell (Bellingham, Wash./Bellingham HS), taking 46th with a time of 24:41. Zephyr Forest (Fairfax, Calif./Sir Francis Drake HS), not normally a distance runner for the Geoducks, took 50th overall.
As a team, the Geoducks were sixth. Western Washington took the team title with four runners in the top-10. Alan DenAdel of Pacific Lutheran took the individual title, finishing the course in 20:07.
The Geoducks return to the trail next weekend when they head north for the Sundodger Invitational, hosted by University of Washington.