Kyle Blakeslee placed 11th and
Ryan Evans 35th in the Juniors portion of the USA Cross Country Championships Saturday in Spokane, Wash.
Blakeslee covered the 6K course in a personal-best time of 21:37. By finishing in the top 12, she will be considered to represent the U.S. at the 2010 World Cross Country Championships in Poland in March. The top 6 finishers are selected to the team with the next 6 finishers considered alternates in case of injury or illness to anyone in the top 6. Blakeslee's performance is the highest finish ever by an Augustana runner at the USA Championships.
“To place 11th in a field like this is very, very impressive,” head coach
Tracy Hellman said. “The top 10 was comprised mostly of Division I standouts, so she ran extremely well. She was running with the leaders through 3K and then faded a little bit.”
Evans meanwhile finished 35th in a time of 26:53 for the 8K course. Running against predominantly Division I runners, he finished in the middle of the field.
“His time is OK,” Hellman said. “It's not too bad, but not his best either. It was a great experience for him all things considered. Again, this is great experience for him to run at the national championships.”
