Complete Results
Provo, Utah – The Lion men's and women's cross country teams finished sixth and fourth respectively at the WCC Championships at East Bay Golf Course in Provo, Utah this past weekend. The men scored 158 points while the women tallied 115 points in a championship that featured two nationally ranked opponents for both the men and women as well as six men's and three women's regionally ranked teams.
The top finisher for the men was senior
Koby Pederson who ran 24:22.7 for the 8K course. He finished 18th overall in the Championship, and improved by 20 spots from his performance from last year. Pederson is the highest individual male finisher in a WCC Championship since Weston Strum was 10th in 2013. Three points behind Pederson was senior
Jack Polerecky, 21st place overall with a time of 24:31.1. Polerecky also improved on his placement from last year by two spots.
Sophomore
Simeon Paul and senior
Solomon Demeku-Ousman had strong finishes to race their way up to 42nd and 43rd place. Paul ran the 8K distance in 25:39.1 while Demeku-Ousman was just three seconds behind Paul with a time of 25:42.7. The final scorer for the Lions was senior
Branden Estrada in 46th running 25:49.0. The sixth and seventh runners in for the Lions were sophomore
Joseph Garcia (26:06.4, 51st) and senior
Alex Sasser (26:27.5, 55th).
"Koby and Jack ran exceptionally well considering all the challenges at this meet," said LMU head coach
Scott Guerrero. "But the performances of the meet came from Simeon and Solomon. They were disciplined and stepped up helping us pick up some key spots late in the race."
The women's fourth-place finish was keyed by the performance of senior
Maddi Vorgitch who place 13th overall. Not only was this her highest finish in her career at the WCC Championship, but she also earned WCC All-Conference honors for her top-15 finish. She also improved by seven places from last year when she was 20th. Vorgitch ran the 6K distance in 21:28.4.
The second, third and fourth runners for the Lions occupied 21st, 22nd and 25
th places. Junior
Kyla Danforth was 21st in 22:09.4 while senior
Giselle Masedo was just two seconds behind Danforth running 22:11.4. Danforth finished two spots better than last year while Masedo was 29 places higher this year. Junior
Hannah Wohlenberg moved her way into the 25th spot with a strong finish and posting a time of 22:22.5. Wohlenberg was seven places better than last year. Rounding out the top-5 scorers for the Lions was freshman
Grace Catena who was 32nd with a time of 22:37.1. Freshman
Perri Bockrath (22:45.5, 42nd) and sophomore Danielle Rowlinson (24:05.5, 63rd) were the Lions sixth and seventh runners.
"Maddi ran an outstanding race and earning All-Conference," Guerrero said. "Any time you can be top-15 in this conference, know you have run well. Overall, the women ran a really smart race. Although we were fourth, we finished behind two current nationally ranked teams and the number two team in the nation from last year."
The Lions' next test will come at the hands of their most important meet of the year at the NCAA Division I West Region meet in two weeks on Friday, Nov. 9 in Sacramento, Calif. The Lions will look to improve on their 11th and 13th place finish at the West Regional the previous year.
