Gonzaga University
Northwest Scoring Clash (WAR 11)
Track Posts Winning Times in Wet Weather
4/7/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Gonzaga women's and men's track and field programs found bright spots in inclement weather at the 11th annual Northwest Scoring Clash (WAR XI) at Spokane Falls Community College Saturday.
The Zag men swept the top six spots of the 5,000 meters. Alex Heffelfinger led the GU pack at 14:41.67. Peter Hogan (14:46.31), Kellen Manley (14:53.26), Kyle Thompson (14:55.22) and Mason Villarma (14:57.96) rounded out the top-five. Phillip Fishburn was sixth with a time of 14:58.91.
"A long bi-polar weather day for the 11th edition of Washington State versus the combined states of Idaho, Montana and Oregon," Director of GU Track Pat Tyson said. "Gonzaga proved to be a major contributor to our state's team totals.
"The best race of the day on the men's side was the 5,000 meters, that had beautiful weather conditions late in the day! Our top-six sweep proved how deep our distance running program is! Alex Heffelfinger, Peter Hogan, Kellen Manley, Kyle Thompson, and Phillip Fishburn all took turns leading in the 12.5 lap race! Alex remains undefeated in the races he has competed in this spring. It was nice to see all six Zags stay connected and dominate the race. It was fun to watch the focus and deep connection these guys have for each other. They were really unselfish."
Brandon Pollard was second in the men's 800 meters with a time of 1:52.90. In the women's 800 meters, Claire Gillett placed first in her heat, and eighth overall, at 2:23.52.
Five Zags placed in the Top-10 of the men's 1,500 meters paced by Scott Kopczynski's 3:54.72 second place finish. Bennett Gagnon was fourth at 3:58.98, while Graham Wendle's time of 4:01.08 was sixth. Stefan Bradley (4:01.59) and Andrew Clusserath (4:02.01) were eighth and ninth.
Aimee Piercy's 11:34.16 finish in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase ranks third in program history. She won her heat and placed sixth overall. Ben Hogan was seventh in the men's race at 9:53.11.
Jordan Thurston led four Top-10 GU finishers in the women's 1,500 meters. She crossed the line at 4:51.16 in fifth place. Ally Legard (5:00.46), Claren Fraher (5:00.50) and Jenna Rogers (5:01.94) were seventh, eighth and ninth.
Felecia Bazie was second in her heat of the women's 100 meters and placed sixth overall at 13.20. The freshman also won her heat of the 200 meters with a time of 27.28. In the women's 400 meters, Brianna Vasquez (1:03.73) and Molly Foster (1:04.07) were eighth and ninth.
In the women's 5,000 meters, Caroline McCarthy and Elena Slavoski placed seventh and 10th. McCarthy crossed the line at 18:30.81, while Slavoski finished at 18:50.81.
"It was a long day finishing up with sun after a really wet morning," Gonzaga women's head coach Patty Ley said. "Despite rough conditions we had a number of very solid performances. Aimee kicked off the morning session with an excellent debut effort in the steeplechase winning the second heat in a solo effort."
In Friday's 10,000 meters, Will Thompson was third place and Hunter Simpson was fifth. Thompson's time was 31:28.53 and Simpson's was 31:39.65. Monica Ripple came in fourth in the women's race at 39:05.71.
Gonzaga makes the short trek to Cheney for the 46th annual Pelluer Invitational next Saturday. Running events are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. with the men's steeplechase.
