After 27 days away from competition, Susan Tanui, Micah Chelimo and the UAA cross country team returned to action in impressive fashion Saturday at the Western Washington Classic Invitational in Bellingham, Wash.
Tanui and Chelimo remained undefeated in three races this season for the nationally ranked Seawolves.
Tanui finished the women's 6-kilometer race in 21 minutes, 31 seconds for an 11-second win over Trinity Western's Allison Jackson. The victory helped the fifth-ranked women beat British Columbia by 16 points for their third straight win.
Chelimo won the men's 10-K in 31:12 to helped the seventh-ranked UAA men finished three points behind first-place University of Victoria.
UAA was the top team from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in both races. The closest GNAC competitors were the No. 11 Simon Fraser women and the No. 11 Western Washington men, who both placed third/
UAA's Miriam Kipng'eno (21:59) finished fifth in the women's race, Ivy O'Guinn (22:10) was eighth, Sarah Freiston (22:33) was 13th and Susan Bick (22:50) was 18th.
Top UAA finishers on the men's side were Dylan Anthony (31:33) in fifth place, Alfred Kangogo (31:36) in seventh, Isaac Kangogo (31:44) in 14th and Dominik Notz (32:03) in 16th.
The Seawolves return to action in two weeks when they will try to defend their title at the GNAC championships Oct. 20 in Monmouth, Ore.
Anchorage Daily News