Evelyn Wool was named American East Female Performer of the Week after winning the Maine State Championships. Photo courtesy of Maine Athletics
There are approximately 17 Alaskans currently competing for NCAA Division 1 universities around the country.
And with the steepness of competition at the collegiate level, wins are even harder to come by.
That is until Fairbanks’ Evelyn Wool triumphed at the Maine State Championships, winning the 6-kilometer course in a personal-best 21 minutes, 17 seconds in Brunswick, while leading the University of Maine to the team title.
Wool, a sophomore, won by nine seconds over teammate Katelyn Macnamara while averaging a brisk pace of 5:42 per mile, as the Black Bears placed seven in the top-9 to score just 19 points. Bates College finished a distant second with 63 points.
The race is just the second for Wool this season, who was tabbed the American East Female Performer of the Week.
The sophomore is off to a sensational start and will be surely one to watch as the season progresses.
Wool competed for West Valley during her freshman year, before finishing up a decorated prep career at Bromfield High in Harvard, Mass.
Also in attendance at the Maine State Championships was Homer’s Seamus McDonough. The Bowdoin senior finished 13th in the 8-kilometer race in 25:50, helping the Polar Bears to a fourth-place finish out of a dozen teams.
UAA’s Ben Peck led the Seawolves to a runner-up showing at the Mike Johnson Classic. Photo courtesy of UAA Athletics
Across the country in Monmouth, Ore., UAA’s Ben Peck and Seattle Pacific’s Anna Prussian of Sitka headlined with show-stopping performances at the Mike Johnson Classic, previewing this year’s GNAC course.
Peck placed sixth in the 8-kilometer race to lead the Seawolves to a runner-up finish behind hosts Western Oregon. The junior from the UK by way of Florida Tech sped to a personal-best 24:35.
He was followed closely by teammates and fellow Brits Sam Griffin (24:52) and Ewen Wilkinson (24:57) in eighth and ninth. Juneau’s Edgar Vera notched a personal best (25:27) in his season-opener to take 18th, as Henry O’Neal (25:45) rounded out the scoring squad in 27th.
Prussian, a junior, led the Falcons with a 15th-place showing in a personal-best 21:30 for 6K. She finished as the second non-D1 athlete in a field that featured perennial powerhouses Oregon, Oregon State and Portland.
Five spots back was UAA’s Natalie Allen who finished 20th in 21:39, also notching a personal best and achieving her goal of going sub-22 for the first time. The Seawolves took 11th against a strong field, with Makendra McCarty (22:37, 54th), Gloria Kiprotich (23:12, 70th), Gracie Puit (23:53, 91st) and Haines’ Avery Williamson (23:57, 92nd) completing the scoring squad. Dimond’s Avrey Campbell (25:47, 111th), an established hurdler, made her cross country debut for the green and gold.
“This was a great first big race for us,” said head coach Ryan McWilliams in a statement. “Men ran fantastic and the women showed some grit, in a meet we have been training through. Looking forward to getting 100-percent healthy on both sides and head to Lewis (Crossover) to do some high-pressure competing out of region.”
Also competing at the meet were Portland State’s Addison Capozzi of Eagle River (Chugiak) and Seattle Pacific’s Silas Demmert of Sitka. Capozzi, a senior, clocked 23:12 to take 71st. Demmert, also in his senior year, finished 101st.
Seattle’s Anna Prussian of Sitka was phenomenal at the Mike Johnson Classic. Photo courtesy of GNAC Sports
About 300 miles north at the Bill Roe Classic in Ferndale, Wash., UAF’s teams both placed seventh.
Led by senior Tabitha Williams and freshman Iris Haas, the Nanooks put two runners in the top-20.
Williams, a senior, sped 22:28 for 6K to place 16th, while Haas, a freshman from Fort Greely (Delta Junction), clocked a personal-best 22:45 for 19th.
Mila Moseley took 51st in 24:05, followed by Anchorage’s Maddie Schuh (South) in 24:40 (60th) and Fairbanks’ Olivia Manley (West Valley) in 24:54 (68th).
Also in the race were Western Washington’s Petra Knox of Chugiak and Etta Eller of Juneau. Both made their debut for the Vikings, clocking 24:25 and 24:37 to finish 55th and 58th, respectively, as WWU dominated the team standings. Teammate Boomchain Loucks of Wrangell also made his collegiate debut in 26:26 for 8K to finish 47th.
UAF’s Nick Iverson of Juneau was the top Alaskan in the race, finishing 32nd in a personal-best 25:54. Ian Baker (26:12, 40th), Anchorage’s Blake Hanley (West) (26:36, 55th), Aidan Niedbalski (26:36, 56th) and Bethel’s Ned Peters (27:13, 71st) rounded out the scorers. Andrew Severs of Glennallen made his collegiate debut for the ‘Nooks, finishing 92nd.
The Nanooks and Seawolves will be back in action on Oct. 10 for the Lewis Crossover in Romeoville, Ill.
Other notable cross country performances from Alaskans:
- Haines’ Avari Getchell collected a 6K personal best at the Augustana XC Invite. The Augustana (S.D.) junior blazed to 22:08, as the Vikings took fifth out of 20 teams.
- Soldotna’s Annie Burns placed fourth at the SIUE XC Challenge. The UT-Martin sophomore covered the 5K course in a personal-best 19:42, helping the Skyhawks collect the team title.
- Anchorage’s Elizabeth Page (South) logged a 5K personal best at the Main Line Invitational. The Swarthmore junior clocked 18:53 to finish as the third runner for the Garnet.
- Soldotna’s Tania Boonstra made her collegiate debut for Northern Michigan at the Roy Griak Invitational. The freshman covered the 6K course in 23:05.
- Eagle River’s Emily Moore (Chugiak) placed eighth at the PLU Invitational in a 6K personal best. The Puget Sound junior clocked 22:25, leading the Loggers to place fourth out of 15 teams.
- Anchorage’s David Sliwinski (Grace Christian), a junior at the Air Force Academy, opened his season at the John McNichols Invitational, clocking 25:17 for 8K.
- Kenai’s Greg Fallon made his debut for Fort Lewis at the Texas Tech Open. The sophomore opened his season in 27:32 for 8K.
- Haines’ Luke Davis opened his season for Eastern Oregon at the NNU Cross Country Invitational. The senior clocked 26:29 for 8K, finishing as the Mountaineer’s fifth runner.
- Chugiak’s Hannah Shaha competed at the UCR XC Invite, clocking in 22:10 for Southern Utah. Also in the race was Anchorage’s Tagan Rinner (Grace Christian), who notched a personal-best 24:54 while representing The Master’s. Juneau’s Ferguson Wheeler competed over 8K, notching a personal-best 25:41 for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
- Anchorage’s Rosie Conway (East) led the Grizzlies at the Montana XC Invite. The Univ. of Montana freshman sped to 19:08 for 5K to place 19th. Five spots back was Soldotna’s Jayna Boonstra (Kenai), who ran 19:36 for Carroll (Mont.).
- Sitka’s Connor Hitchcock competed at the St. Olaf Invitational, placing 19th in 26:05 for 8K and helping the Oles to a runner-up finish behind South Dakota State.
- Anchorage’s Madi Gifford (South) competed at the Roadrunners Invitational, covering the 6K course in 25:12 for Regis (Colo).
