If you're looking for bang for your buck, check out the UAA cross country teams.
Part of an athletic department facing severe budget cuts and the likely elimination of some sports, the men's and women's cross country are the two least expensive of the school's 11 teams. Saturday in Bellingham, Washington, those teams earned a bounty of prizes at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships.
The UAA men's team won its seventh straight team championship and, for the 10th time in 11 years, produced the meet's No. 1 runner.
The women's team won its second straight team title and its seventh in eight years. And a UAA woman won the individual title for the fifth time in the last six years.
UAA's Edwin Kangogo beat teammate Michel Ramirez by less than two seconds to win the men's 8-kilometer race at Lake Padden Park.
[As university budget shrinks, UAA athletics braces for grueling cuts]
Kangogo, whose brother Isaac was the GNAC champion in 2013, led seven Seawolves into the top 17. Two-time conference champion Henry Cheseto placed fourth to help the Seawolves cruise to the team championship with 31 points. Simon Fraser was a distant second with 60 points.
UAA's Caroline Kurgat ran away with the victory in the women's 6K race, winning in 21:17.1 to beat teammate and defending GNAC champion Joyce Chelimo by 33 seconds.
All nine UAA women placed in the top 22 in a race with 93 finishers. The Seawolves topped the team standings with 45 points to edge Simon Fraser by 11 points.
"I'm really happy about our depth," coach Michael Friess said by phone. "You have to have the big guns up front doing what big guns do, but you have to have that support from the No. 3-4-5-6-7 athletes.
"On both the men's side and the women's side, we got that today."
Among that supporting cast was freshman walk-on Jordyn Block from Palmer. She placed 21st overall and eighth among UAA runners to earn the GNAC Freshman of the Year award.
"I was actually really surprised when they said I had won the award," Block said in a press release from UAA. "I couldn't have done it without my teammates that pushed me in practice."
Three other women from Alaska cracked the top 20 — 15th-place Kaitlyn Maker of Eagle River, 16th-place Mariah Burroughs of Wasilla and 19th-place Danielle McCormick of Soldotna.
The top man from Alaska was Juneau's Jesse Miller, who placed 28th in a field of 92.
"It's kinda fun to see those Alaska kids run hard (and) really contribute to the team title," Friess said.
The newly acquired team trophies were part of the Seawolves' carry-on baggage on Saturday's flight home. Sometime this week the hardware will go on display with all of the other trophies the cross country teams have captured over the years.
According to figures provided by the university, the cross country teams have the lowest operating budgets among UAA's 11 NCAA sports. For the current fiscal year the men's team has a $134,610 budget and the women's team has a $134,880 budget. Each accounts for less than 1.5 percent of the total athletic budget of $10.36 million.
Friess argues that the teams have proven their worth over the years.
"I know we've gotta provide revenue," he said, "but I think we do that — we bring in $100,000 a year with our fundraising. And the Mayor's Marathon (organized by the athletic department) has an economic impact to the city of over $2 million.
"Getting people to understand that and be aware of that is a big deal."
Both cross country teams are nationally ranked — the men are ninth and the women 14th — and both will be among the favorites at the NCAA Division II West Region championships in two weeks.
Competing Saturday on course made muddy by rain the previous day, Kurgat ran solo for the second half of the women's race.
"Caroline was clearly the class today," Friess said. "To pull away like she did was really impressive."
In the men's race, Kangogo, Ramirez and Cheseto broke away from the pack midway through the race. The plan was for the top Seawolves to establish position in the first 2 kilometers and then decide whether to push the pace.
"We realized we have a strong tradition here and wanted to keep that streak going," Ramirez said in the UAA press release. "We ran assertively and tried to make it a hard race.
"The team is running at its best now, and we are really excited looking ahead to West Regions."
Saturday's UAA results
Men's 8K (92 finishers)
1) Edwin Kangogo, Kenya, 24:54.8
2) Michel Ramirez, Salinas, California, 24:56.5
4) Henry Cheseto, Kenya, 25:19.2
11) Victor Samoei, Kenya, 25:46.5
13) Michael Mendenhall, Kenmore, Washington, 25:48.9
15) Nathan Kipchumba, Kenya, 25:54.9
17) Justin Carrancho, Salinas, California, 25:58.5
21) Amos Kipchumba, Kenya, 26:08.5
28) Jesse Miller, Juneau, 26:24.6
42) Kaleb Korta, Galena, 26:44.9
Women's 6K (93 finishers)
1) Caroline Kurgat, Kenya, 21:17.1
2) Joyce Chelimo, Kenya, 21:50.2
10) Tamara Perez, France, 22:23.2
14) Zennah Jepchumba, Kenya, 22:35.2
15) Kaitlyn Maker, Anchorage, 22:36.5
16) Mariah Burroughs, Wasilla, 22:39.6
19) Danielle McCormick, Soldotna, 22:51.9
21) Jordyn Block, Palmer, 22:55.0
22) Kimberly Coscia, Torrance, California, 22:58.7
UAA's conference champions through the years
Men
2016 – Edwin Kangogo
2015 – Henry Cheseto
2014 – Henry Cheseto
2013 – Isaac Kangogo
2012 – Micah Chelimo
2011 – Micah Chelimo
2010 – Marko Cheseto
2009 – Marko Cheseto
2008 – Marko Cheseto
2006 – David Kiplagat
Women
2016 – Caroline Kurgat
2015 – Joyce Chelimo
2013 – Susan Tanui
2012 – Susan Tanui
2011 – Ruth Keino