Freshmen Runners Leading Knights

REDDING, Calif. – Shasta College's men's cross-country teams finished in 12th place at the Ash Creek Invitational at Western Oregon University in Monmouth on Friday.

The Knights were competitive with several junior colleges and NCAA Division II university teams, having the 11th–best total time and average time for their top five finishers.

Shasta scored 312 points with all five finishers in the top 100. Freshman Chris Meeder led the Knights with a 61st overall finish (53rd in points), running the 6.2K course in 21 minutes, 10.6 seconds for a 5:29 average mile.

Sophomores Donald Leedy (75th, 21:45.1) and Samuel Grafe (82nd, 22:14.7) were next, followed by freshmen Benjamin Mueller (94th, 23:23.9) and Blaine Harris was (98th, 24:07.7). Andrew Fuentes competed and finished in 100th (24:15.0).

Despite only two sophomores on the team with Leedy and Grafe, Knights head coach Katy Cottrell was impressed with where her runners are starting the season.

"I was surprised at how strong our men were able to run so early in the season," Cottrell said. "We attacked the hills and even "the wall" and I'm really proud of everyone's strong finish. Everyone raced until the very last minute, whether they were a top finisher or battling for our last point."

Youngsters showing promise

Shasta College's women's cross-country team also placed 12th at the Ash Creek Invitational at Western Oregon University in Monmouth Friday.

The Knights ran the 4.6K course in a total of 2:24:51 with an average time of 28:58. Shasta collected 380 points.

Elisa Paredes paced the Knights with a time of 24:11.2, an average mile time of 8:27.6. She was followed by teammates Julie Bradley (24:46.2), Deonna Ferreira (29:11.5), Hannah Josang (30:57.1) and Carsey Martin (35:45.1), respectively.

Shasta College is competing at the Lou Vasquez Invitational hosted by San Francisco City College at Golden Gate Park Polo Fields on Sept. 21.