'Wolves sweep Hawaii Pacific Invite

HONOLULU - Led by the All-American duo of senior Marko Cheseto and junior Ruth Keino, the Alaska Anchorage cross country teams opened up the 2010 slate by sweeping the Hawaii Pacific Invite on Saturday at Sand Island Beach Park.

Both UAA teams came away victorious, with each posting eight runners in the top 10. The 16th-ranked Seawolf men registered 15 points, downing host Hawaii Pacific (58) and Chaminade (88), while the 3rd-ranked UAA women (18) defeated Chaminade (80) and HPU, which didn't field a full team.

“It was a solid performance,” said head coach Michael Friess. “Overall, it was a good first race for us as both teams demonstrated depth.”

On the heels of Cheseto, the men's team claimed the top five positions. Cheseto recorded a winning time of 14 minutes and 26 seconds, seven seconds ahead of sophomore All-American Micah Chelimo (14:33).

After taking a season off, sophomore All-American Jake Parisien (14:44) returned to the Green & Gold with a third-place finish, followed by senior Paul Rottich (14:45) and freshman William Ritekwiang (15:06) in fourth and fifth, respectively.

The women's team placed four runners in the top 5. Keino and sophomore All-American Miriam Kipng'eno battled for first, with Keino (17:17) edging out Kipng'eno (17:19) by two seconds.

Junior Shoshana Keegan (17:44) crossed the finish line in fourth, while freshman Susan Bick (18:08) made her collegiate debut in fifth place.

“It's still early and we'll see how the teams develop,” said Friess.

The Seawolves will continue to train in Hawaii throughout the next week as they prepare for the BYU-Hawaii Invitational on Sept. 11.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Paul Rottich: DIS; 5' 9"; Sophomore

Marko Cheseto: DIS; Sophomore

Shoshana Keegan: DIS; Freshman

Micah Chelimo: DIS; Freshman

Ruth Keino: DIS; Freshman

Jake Parisien: DIS; Freshman

William Ritekwiang: DIS; Freshman

Susan Bick: MDIS; Freshman

Miriam Kipng'eno: W; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Paul Rottich
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: DIS

Marko Cheseto
: Sophomore
: DIS

Shoshana Keegan
: Freshman
: DIS

Micah Chelimo
: Freshman
: DIS

Ruth Keino
: Freshman
: DIS

Jake Parisien
: Freshman
: DIS

William Ritekwiang
: Freshman
: DIS

Susan Bick
: Freshman
: MDIS

Miriam Kipng'eno
: Freshman
: W