LAKEWOOD, Wash. (Saturday, Aug. 31) - The Loggers' cross country program started the 2024 season strong at the Puget Sound Invitational with the women's team taking first place honors and the men finishing in second, just off the pace of Northwest University.    

In the first race on the day, senior Ben Kerr led all racers on the 5k course at Fort Steilacoom Park crossing the finish line with a time of 15.33.5.  Teammate Cian Monaghan earned a top 10 finish in seventh place, with Jason Cerda taking 11th and freshman Emerson Ingraham at 17th place to round out the top 20 spots for the Loggers.  

On the women's side, Puget Sound had a dominating performance with six Loggers finishing in the top ten of the field. Leading the way was sophomore Erin Schmidlin in third place with a time of 20:47.0 followed by Brooklyn Gildersleeve-Stiles (4), Lydia Cocciolone (6), Ella Courtnage-Dyke (7),Emily Moore (9), and Alana Lim (10). Freshman Maila Healing garnered a top-20 finish as well as placing 15th overall.  

Head Coach Lisa Kushiyama stressed her pleasure in the team's performance, drawing on their focus on running as pack, and she says that "both teams were able to execute that strategy very well." Kushiyama sung some additional praises, stating that "We have a lot of strength in our top returners like Ben Kerr, Cian Monaghan and Erin Schmidlin. We also have a great group of freshmen that will provide talent and depth." Kushiyama finished by vocalizing her excitement for the rest of the season.

The Loggers next compete on September 21st at the Pacific Lutheran Invitational. On the 21st, the men will run at 11:00, and the women will race at 11:30.

Images from the Puget Sound Invitational can be found here.