COLUMBIA, Mo. — Morgan Nokes posted a top-20 finish in the women's 6k and Sila Kiplagat paced the men's squad in the 8k as the Utah Valley cross country squads competed in the Gans Creek Classic on Friday morning in Missouri.
"With a dozen or so ranked teams on both sides, it's a great meet to be in," said head coach Scott Houle. "With our women's team, Morgan taking 18th is really good, and I'm proud of her."
Nokes (19:43.7) led the Wolverine women with an 18th place finish against a tough field featuring 11 of the top 30 teams in the most recent USTFCCCA poll, along with six other teams who were receiving votes. Nokes — along with the other top 22 finishers — shattered the previous 6k course record of 19:50.1.
Elisabeth Ferrell (21:16.4) was the next Wolverine across the finish line at 145th, followed closely by Paisley Taylor (21:18.5) in 149th. Ari Trimble (21:34.5) and Julie Moore (21:41.8) capped off the scoring at 174th and 189th respectively. As a team, Utah Valley finished 27th.
The men's team came out of the gates fast, holding 10th place as a team through the first kilometer, but were unable to maintain that pace as the race wore on against an even tougher field featuring 17 of the top 30 teams in the nation. Sila Kiplagat led the Wolverines in his first race at the collegiate level, posting a 59th place finish at 23:28.4.
"Sila did a great job getting out there and being competitive right away, and for his first race here in America, I think he did a great job leading us," said Houle. "Our packing was pretty good with our two through four runners. Really excited about the boys race, it's the first time they've been invited to an elite race like this for a while, so excited with how they raced and competed."
Porter Whitworth (23:53.0) and Wyatt Mortenson (23:55.0) were the next Wolverines across the line, finishing 108th and 112th respectively. Alex Hartshorn (24:36.5) and Trey Despain (24:44.5) rounded out the team scoring at 190th and 200th. The men finished 24th overall, ahead of four squads who are currently receiving votes in the USTFCCCA national poll.
Seth Smith ran unattached in the "B" race, finishing 63rd with an 8k time of 24:32.4.
Utah Valley will now head to Cedar City, Utah, on Oct. 4 for the Color Country Invitational hosted by Southern Utah. The races will be held at Cedar Ridge Golf Course, with the men running first at 10:30 a.m. MDT, followed by the women at 11. Results will be posted on DirectAthletics.com.
