Saint Martin’s cross country teams compete in championships

At the start of the culmination of this year’s cross-country season, the men’s and women’s teams of Saint Martin’s University traveled up north to the Sudden Valley Golf Course in Bellingham, WA, to participate in the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships last October 26.  

Elijah Dale would lead the Saints men’s team in the 8k competition, finishing the track at 26:14.00, or an average mile of 5:16.6, to place 44th out of 80 participants. Noe Ortega, Timmy Higgins, and Ethan Coon all clocked in times under 27 minutes, while Matthus Anderson and Jordan Pacheco-Mendez all finished under 28 minutes, along with Aric Jacklin. 

On the women’s 6k run, it was Kya Ramirez who led the Saints, finishing 52nd out of 93 participants after clocking a time of 23:55.7 or an average mile of 6:25.1. Olivia Mitchell, Mira Jayarama, and Ruby Bryntesen all finished under 26 minutes while Charis Deitemeyer and Taylor Ames both finished the race under 28 minutes. 

The Western Washington University Vikings won both men’s and women’s team races after two dominant performances by their cross-country teams.

Jeret Gillingham of the Vikings won the men’s trophy after finishing the race at 24:18.3, or an average mile of 4:53.4, while Kendall Kramer of the Alaska Fairbanks won the women’s race after clocking at 20:32.3 or an average mile of 5:30.5. 

“I encouraged these runners to reflect on two things that went well for them in their individual races and then think about one thing they'd like to improve on as we head into our final competition of the season and look to indoor and outdoor track. They have a lot to be proud of this year and we're all excited to build on the foundation we've set together,” said Saints XC Head Coach Gabriel Trimbur reflecting on his first year in the coaching role. 

The men's team is expected to compete in the NCAA DII West Regional meet in Billings, Montana, while the women's team is still waiting for the decision as of this writing.