WALLA WALLA, Wash. – There was a new leader of the pack – and another solid result – for the Puget Sound women's cross country team.
 
Freshman Samantha Palm raced to an 11th-place finish and was one four Loggers among the top 20 as the team took third at the Whitman Open cross country meet on Saturday morning.
 
Senior Cian Monaghan, just as he has all season, set the pace for the Puget Sound men, placing 19th and leading the Loggers to fifth place in the team standings.
 
Palm has moved up steadily for the Loggers through their first three meets. At the season-opening Puget Sound Invitational on Aug. 30, she was No. 4 for the team. Then two weeks ago at the PLU Open, she was the second Logger across the finish line.
 
On Saturday, she was at the front, completing her 6 kilometers at Veterans Memorial Golf Course in 23 minutes, 17.5 seconds. That was a drop of 49 seconds from her first collegiate 6K (24:06.5) two weeks ago at PLU.
 
Sophomore Emily Moore was second for UPS and 14th overall in 23:41.4. Also cracking the top 20 for the Loggers were senior Ella Courtnage-Dyke (16th in 23:52.8) and junior Lydia Cocciolone (20th in 24:07.4). Erin Schmidlin, a junior, completed the scoring by placing 22nd in 24:21.5.
 
Kayla Ingraham of Montana won in 22:17.4.
 
Puget Sound totaled 71 points for the No. 3 rung on the women's team ladder. Northwest Conference stablemate Whitworth was second with 66. Whitman took fifth with 109 and Pacific Lutheran was sixth with 154. Montana, a Division I school, won with 22.
 
In its three meets so far, UPS has been first (Puget Sound Invite), fourth (PLU) and now third.
 
Monaghan was well out in front of his teammates in the 8K men's race. He crossed the finish line in 25:22.0. For the senior, that was well below his PLU time of 26:13.1 on Sept. 20.
 
Freshman Noah Larsen was the second Logger across the line – the first time he has placed that high for the team – and was 34th overall in 26:19.2. Emerson Ingraham (39th in 26:45.3), Ian Cook (59th in 27:42.3) and Noah Brown (63rd on 27:52.4) completed the scoring. Cook, a freshman, was among the team's top 5 for the first time.
 
Dylan Weniger, competing unattached, won in 24:15.0.
 
UPS finished with 137 points. Gonzaga won with 28. Also from the NWC, Whitworth was third with 100, Whitman fourth with 120, and Pacific Lutheran eighth with 237.

Coach's Thoughts
Both teams ran well today, and improved on their team finishes from the previous meet," said Logger head coach Lisa Kushiyama. "We competed well against tough D1 competition, and saw improvement across the board from our athletes."
 
What Happens Next
The Loggers wind up the regular season on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Linfield George Oja Invite in McMinnville, Oregon. Race times are The women's 6K race at Oak Knoll Golf Course begins at 10:00 a.m., followed by the men's 8K at 11:00 a.m.