RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Southern Utah University cross country teams found success out west, with the men's squads teams winning both the 8K invitational and the open races. The women also had a strong outing  battling through illness and minor injuries to secure fourth in the 6K invitational. 

Head Coach Isaac Wood said,

"Today was a great opportunity for us to celebrate the fitness that we've achieved so far this season and another data point of where we belong on the national scene. Despite some injuries and some illness, I thought both men's teams ran strong races. It was definitely exciting for the men to win both the invite and the open section."

"Significantly strong races today from Bella Evans, Aspen Hacker, and Audrey Hales on the women's side. Shout out to Dax Daley for winning the individual part of the men's open race. Really, really good races from the front five of our men's team in the invite race."

Men's 8K Invite Recap

The Thunderbirds claimed first place in the 8K invite with a team score of 49. They ran an average 4:50 mile time and a total team time of 1:59:46. 

SUU had four finishes inside the top 20, with senior Logan Peel leading the way for the second meet in a row with a eighth-place 23:41.9. Parker Barnes finished right behind Peel with a 23:52 for ninth place. Tyler Saunders crossed with a 23:58 for 12th, and sophomore Amit Cohen wrapped the top 20 finishes with a 24:04 for 18th. Jacob Russell finished just outside the top 20 with a 24:09.3 for 22nd. 

Team Results:

8th - Logan Peel - 23:41.9

9th - Parker Barnes - 23:52.0

12th - Tyler Saunders - 23:58.0

18th - Amit Cohen - 24:04.0

22nd - Jacob Russell - 24:09.3

67th - Joshua Hernandez - 24:49.1

80th - Kohl Sanders - 24:55.9 

Men's 8K Open Recap

The men's team also competed in the 8K open. It took another first-place finish with a team score of 27 and every runner finishing inside the top 50 out of a field of 256 runners. 

True freshman Dax Daley captured the 8K open title with a time of 24:14 to set a precedent for the Thunderbirds as five more runners finished inside the top 10. A runaway train of SUU runners crossed next, starting in fifth place to eighth place: Chase Evans (24:35.4), Daniel Martinez (24:50.2), Seth Sonerholm (24:55.9), and Oliver James (25:05.6).  Samuel Lanham rounded out the top 10 in 10th with a 25:13.  

Team Results:

1st - Dax Daley - 24:14.0

5th - Chase Evans - 24:35.4

6th - Daniel Martinez - 24:50.2

7th - Seth Sonerholm - 24:55.9

8th - Oliver James - 25:05.6

10th - Samuel Lanham - 25:13.0

19th - Todd Yeates - 25:26.7

23rd - Richard Crane - 25:30.6

35th - Ezra Nelson - 25:42.4

49th - Jonah Denison - 25:53.0

Women's Recap

The women's team finished fourth out of a field of 30 with a team score of 198. The Thunderbirds raced without star senior Angelina Lione. Only Biola University (161), California State Fullerton (152), and the University of California, Irvine (65) scored better than the Thunderbirds. 

Senior Bella Evans led the way for the Thunderbirds, crossing the line in sixth place with 20:31.4. Aspen Hacker finished next for SUU with a 20:51.1, which secured 29th place. Audrey Hales followed Hacker in 39th with a 21:04.8. Nixie Killpack and Tara Bouck rounded out the top five finishes for SUU by finishing 68th (21:23.4) and 69th (21:24.4), respectively. 

Team Result:

6th - Bella Evans - 20:31.4

29th - Aspen Hacker - 20:51.1

39th - Audrey Hales - 21:04.8

68th - Nixie Killpack - 21:23.4

69th - Tara Bouck - 21:24.4

90th - Leah Larsen - 21:31.3

94th - Kennedy Swain - 21:34.3

169th - Hannah Shaha - 22:10.2

199th - Brooklyn Tarr - 22:33.1

Up Next

SUU will race in its lone home invite, the SUU Color Country Invitational, Oct. 3 at the Cedar Ridge Golf Course in Cedar City. The men's race starts at 10:30 a.m., followed by the women at 11:00 a.m. and the Alumni race at 11:30 a.m. 

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