With a runner named Alfred Kangogo on the squad, it's little wonder the UAA cross-country teams can go-go really fast.
The Seawolves cleaned up Saturday at the Great Northwest Conference championships in Yakima, Wash., with the men winning the team title in dominant fashion and the women placing a close second.
Marko Cheseto -- part of UAA's Kenyan Connection -- cruised to victory in the men's race and was one of eight UAA runners to earn all-conference honors by placing in the top 10.
Cheseto led a 1-2-3 finish for the men, easily winning the 8-kilometer race in 24 minutes, 30 seconds. Jake Parisien, a freshman from Palmer, was next in 25:07 and Kangogo -- another Kenyan -- was third in 25:09. David Kiplagat of Kenya joined them in the top 10, placing sixth in 25:20.
"We've got a special team this year," UAA coach Michael Friess said. "Jake is a talented kid. Alfred's a very strong runner, and so is Marko and so is David.
"We won a conference championship, and now we'll see if we can keep it going."
The Seawolves compete again in two weeks at the NCAA Western Regional championships, where both the men and women will try to qualify for the national championships.
The Seawolves came close to claiming both team titles Saturday.
It was no contest for the men, who scored 34 points to bury the competition; the next best score was Western Washington's 53 points.
The women put four runners in the top 10 to finish with 52 points, just four points away from champion Seattle Pacific, last year's No. 2 team at the national championships. The Falcons placed three in the top 10 and finished with 48 points.
Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific won the 6-kilometer race in 21:12. UAA's Laura Carr claimed fourth place in 22:10, Elizabeth Chepkosgei was fifth in 22:19, Hallidie Wilt was eighth in 22:56 and Ruth Jeptoo was 10th in 23:03.
"Four in the top 10, I'm pretty pleased with that," Friess said. "Hallidee had a great race. We kind of identified some iron deficiencies in her early in the season, and she started getting on iron and she's feeling a lot better now. It was nice to see her run where she's supposed to. And I'm happy for Ruth. It was a big transition for her coming from Kenya and not having a lot of running experience."
2008 GNAC Championships
Yakima, Wash.
Saturday's team results
Men -- 1) UAA 34, 2) Western Washington 53, 3) Western Oregon 78, 4) Saint Martin's 98, 5) Seattle Pacific 119, 6) (tie) Northwest Nazarene 183; UAF 183, 8) Central Washington 213, 9) Montana State Billings 276.
Women -- 1) Seattle Pacific University 48, 2) UAA 52, 3) Western Washington 75, 4) Western Oregon University 111, 5) Northwest Nazarene 123, 6) UAF 158, 7) Saint Martin's 179, 8) Central Washington 218, 9) Montana State Billings 253,
Individual results
Men (8-K)-- 1) Cheseto, Marko, UAA, 24:30. UAA and UAF results -- 2) Parisien, Jacob, UAA, 25:07; 3) Kangogo, Alfred, UAA, 25:09; 6) Kiplagat, David, UAA, 25:20; 22) Pena, Cory, UAA, 26:34; 25) Ellis, Auston, UAA, 26:48; 31) Eversman, Chris, UAF, 27:12; 32) Rottich, Paul, UAA, 27:14; 34) Boyle, Mick, UAA, 27:20; 38) Chandler, Mitch, UAF, 27:41; 42) Often, Einar, UAF, 27:58; 46) Pettigrew, James, UAA, 28:07; 47) Scerbak, Matt, UAF, 28:11; 48) Ryan, Orin, UAA, 28:15; 51) Sabo, Ray, UAF, 28:23; 59) Apperson, David, UAF, 29:12; 70) Soderstrom, Erik, UAF, 31:42.
Women (6-K) -- 1) Pixler, Jessica, Seattle Pacific, 21:12.00. UAA and UAF results -- 4) Carr, Laura, UAA, 22:10.86; 5) Chepkosgei, Elizabeth, UAA, 22:19.20; 8) Wilt, Hallidie, UAA, 22:56.24; 10) Jeptoo Keino, Ruth, UAA, 23:03.21; 13) Schnurr, Theresia, UAF, 23:16.27; 25) Bohman, Emma, UAA, 23:52.54; 26) Pierson, Julia, UAF, 23:56.36; 27) Rombach, Laura, UAA, 23:59.58; 28) Coulter, Anna, UAF, 24:02.62; 33) Keegan, Shoshana; UAA, 24:21.67; 43) Rolle, Ariel, UAA, 24:40.99; 44) Bailey, Mychaela, UAA, 24:41.06; 53) Benedix, Jana, UAF, 25:03.11; 55) Korthauer, Aurelia, UAF, 25:04.43; 60) Habermann, Elisabeth, UAF, 25:43.19; 64) Rink, Samantha, UAA, 26:16.57 66) Drumm, Amber, UAF, 26:19.69.
By BETH BRAGG
bbragg@adn.com