Results
SPOKANE, Wash. — Three Lutes finished inside the top 35 on a chilly Saturday, helping the Pacific Lutheran University men's cross country team to a sixth place showing at the 2022 NCAA Division III West Region Championships.
Ryan Stracke headlined the day for the Lutes, covering the 8,000-meter course at the Plantes Ferry Sports Complex in 25 minutes, 2.4 seconds to place 18th overall. The two-time Northwest Conference Champion was just 46th overall after the first kilometer of racing before methodically moving up the pack. Stracke sat in 41st at the 2K checkpoint and 25th at the 3K mark before moving into 19th at the 5K mark. The Puyallup, Washington native has a good chance to make the field for the NCAA Division III Championships when the individual qualifiers are announced tomorrow at noon (Pacific Time).
Logan Werner placed 30th overall, crossing the tape in 25:29.4 with
Owen Ladinig two spots back in 32nd with a time of 25:31.9. All three Lutes secured All-Region accolades by virtue of their finish at the race.
Trey Robak was 56th in 26:15.9 while
Stefans Lusis and
Samuel Zielke finished back-to-back in 64th and 65th places. Lusis clocked a time of 26:24 while Zielke was 1.1 seconds back.
Daniel Samson rounded out the Lute runners, placing 74th in 26:30.4.
"We had a really strong race from top to bottom. It was awesome to have three All-Region men," said Head Coach
Adam Frye.
"Our depth was definitely our strength, with Danny coming in as the fourth-best No. 7 runner at the meet. This is the strongest squad we've had in my years. I appreciate all the efforts of our seniors to make this program one of the best in the region."
Pacific Lutheran scored 195 points in the team tally, placing sixth among the 22-team field. Pomona-PItzer Colleges won the title with 36 points while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges was second with 65 points. University of California, Santa Cruz (103 points) and NWC rival George Fox University (144 points) round out the top four.
The NCAA announces the field for the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships tomorrow at 12 p.m. (Pacific Time). The race will be held next Saturday in East Lansing, Michigan.
