Black Hills Sweeps Cross Country Dual, CSC’s Alahuhta 3rd

Topi Alahuhta – photo Noelle Meaghan/CSC Sports Info

Kaleb Center CSC Sports Information Director 

The Chadron State College cross country teams ran their annual home race on the CSC campus Friday morning. They each ran a dual meet against Black Hills State University, who took both the men’s and women’s team scores.
 
The BHSU men, who started at 9 a.m., won 20 to 37, with the lowest score prevailing in a six-kilometer race. The Yellow Jackets also won at five kilometers in the women’s race, by a score of 19 to 37. The latter race began at 9:40 a.m.
 
True freshman Topi Alahuhta, of Pine, Colorado, who ran the second-fastest season-best in a six-kilometer cross country race in school history last week, came in third in the race to finish as the first Eagles’ men’s runner in 19:28.70. For the second week in a row, he bested an outoor track and field All America runner in BHSU’s Keith Osowski.
 
Another true freshman, Charles Fossey, was next for CSC’s men in fifth place with a time of 19:40.17. He claimed the third-best spot for the CSC program at six kilometers, which was only three seconds faster, in last week’s race in Spearfish.
 
Kyle Shirley, a redshirt freshman who is now fourth all-time on the list, was eighth at the home meet as the third-fastest CSC men’s runner to cross the finish line.
 
CSC women were fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth in the women’s race. Josie Diffendaffer, a true freshman from Berthoud, Colorado, was the first CSC woman to finish, in 20:46.48. The fifth scoring runner, true freshman Jacie Lusseto, was 11th.
 
Black Hills State’s Timothy Brown and Xiomara Robinson won the individual races.
 
The BHSU men were ranked No. 8 in the region, in the latest USTFCCAA rankings this week.
 
CSC Individual Runners:
 
Men
3, Topi Alahuhta, 19:28.70; 5, Charles Fossey, 19:40.17; 8, Kyle Shirley, 19:49.33; 10, Noah Burtis, 20:04.23; 11, Garrett Avery, 20:07.54; 18, Nate Mann, 20:51.73; 19, Blaine Johnson, 21:41.38; 20, Trevor Eisenbraun, 22:04.64; 22, Jake Brugger, 22:32.86; 23, Miles Mitchell, 22:57.02; 24 Chantz Stuhmer, 23:52.37; 25, Daylon Weekly, 28:30.83.
 
Women
5, Josie Diffendaffer, 20:46.48; 6, Lydia Peters, 20:54.81; 7, Alissa Wieman, 20:59.17; 8, Lexi Rule, 21:04.03; 11, Jacie Lussetto, 22:57.08; 12 BreeAnna Meats, 23:05.58.
 
Team scores:
 
Men
1, Black Hills State, 20; 2, Chadron State, 37.
 
Women
1, Black Hills State 19; 2, Chadron State, 37.