Cross Country Teams Improve At Regional Meet

The Chadron State College cross country teams finished 17th on the men’s side, out of 25 teams, and 22nd out of 26 teams on the women’s side, in a slight improvement from 2021 on Saturday in Denver.

In 2021, the men’s side was 22nd, while CSC’s women were 24th.

True freshman Topi Alahuhta was less than 30 seconds from cracking the top 10 seasonal performances all-time for CSC, at the 10-kilometer distance, clocking 33:29.1 in Denver to finish 69th.

The CSC women were led by true freshman Lexi Rule, who crossed the finish line in the six-kilometer final in 25:19.3.

Colorado School of Mines’ Dillon Powell won the men’s overall individual race, at 29:43.10. His team took the regional title by winning five of the top eight spots.

For the women, Adams State took top honors as a team. In a hotly contested race, the Grizzlies earned the top team score despite West Texas A&M taking the top two individual places at the regional.

Colorado School of Mines, Colorado Christian, and Western Colorado are the top three finishers, in order, in the men’s races, to get auto-qualification for the NCAA Championships.

The Adams State women won the regional title. Colorado School of Mines and University of Colorado Colorado Springs rounded out the top three to finish auto-qualification.

The Eagles have concluded their season in Denver, with the regional challenge.

CSC Individual Results:

Men
69, Topi Alahuhta, 33:29.1; 88, Kyle Shirley, 34:10.3; 91, Charles Fossey, 34:14.9; 103, Blaine Johnson, 34:31.8; 110, Garrett Avery, 34:53.8; 124, Noah Burtis, 35:42.5; 138, Nate Mann, 36:23.9.

Women
107, Lexi Rule, 25:19.3; 111, Alissa Wieman, 25:27.9; 112, Josie Diffendaffer, 25:30.5; 123, Lydia Peters, 25:45.2; 149, Tukker Romey, 27:14.8; 156, Breanna Meats, 28:05.8; 159, Jacie Lossetto, 28:34.3.

Team Results:

Men
1, Colorado School of Mines, 25; 2, Colorado Christian, 59; 3, Western Colorado, 103; 4, UCCS, 126; 5, West Texas A&M, 170; 6, CSU-Pueblo, 199; 7, Adams State, 213; 8, Colorado Mesa, 255; 9, New Mexico Highlands, 261; 10, Dallas Baptist, 292; 11, Fort Lewis, 320; 12, Black Hills State, 322; 13, MSU Denver, 345; 14, South Dakota Mines, 387; 15, St. Edward’s, 428; 16, Western New Mexico, 435; 17, Chadron State, 461; 18, Oklahoma Christian, 474; 19, Texas A&M-International, 583; 20, UT-Tyler, 587; 21, Cameron, 606; 22, Lubbock Christian, 620; 23, Westminster, 624; 24, Arkansas-Fort Smith, 709; 25, Regis, 777.

Women
1, Adams State, 67; 2, Colorado School of Mines, 72; 3, UCCS, 84; 4, CSU-Pueblo, 106; 5, Western Colorado, 127; 6, West Texas A&M, 175; 7, Colorado Christian, 198; 8, Dallas Baptist, 221; 9, Westminster, 236; 10, Fort Lewis, 262; 11, Colorado Mesa, 317; 12, Black Hills State, 378; 13, MSU Denver, 381; 14, Oklahoma Christian, 416; 15, Midwestern State, 475; 16, St. Edward’s, 492; 17, Arkansas-Fort Smith, 530; 18, Texas A&M-International, 534; 19, South Dakota Mines, 543; 20, Lubbock Christian, 552; 21, New Mexico Highlands, 577; 22, Chadron State, 602; 23, Cameron, 610; 24, Western New Mexico, 656; 25, Regis, 755.