Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Saturday, Sep. 26, 2009

PREP CROSS COUNTRY: Sehome shines at Stanford Invite

Eric Schneider led the Sehome boys' cross country team to a second-place finish at the Stanford Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Schneider was 13th overall in Division 4 category with a time of 16 minutes, 22 seconds. Schneider's teammates Galen O'Moore, Nate Wilson and Calvin Collander weren't far behind on the 5,000-meter course at the Stanford University Golf Course. O'Moore finished 16th with a time of 16:38 and Wilson rounded out the top 20 with a run clocked at 16:42. Collander took 23rd with a time of 16:44. The Mariners' Kyle Szegedi finished the course in 16:50, good enough for 30th and Ben Kurtis crossed the finish line in 17:52 to take 78th.

"The boys ran really well," Sehome coach Kevin Ryan said in a phone interview. "They all really ran a solid race with good times."

The fast time for the boys' 5,000 meters was 14:53, posted by Erik Olson, a senior from Novato High School (Calif.).

The Mariner girls didn't fare as well as the 95-degree temperature caused two of the seven runners to collapse and be taken to the first aid tent. Two others collapsed twice before finishing the race.

Mimi Krieger turned in the best time for the Mariners, finishing 70th out of more than 160 runners with a time of 20:27. She was a few minutes behind the fastest finisher, Molly Grabill, who finished with a time of 17:22. The junior from Rancho Bernardo High School won the event last year, too.

Krieger was joined in the top 100 by teammate Katie Delahunt, who crossed the finish line in 20:50, good enough for 89th overall. Other Sehome finishes included Dayna Van Dooren, who placed 118th with a time of 21:31. Just behind her was teammate Natalie Anderson, whose 21:55 was the 132nd best time for the event. Meagan McIntyre rounded out the Sehome finishers, running the course in 24:52 and placing 162nd.

"It was a rough day," Ryan said of the girls' situation, "but a good experience."

A handful of Burlington-Edison boys made the trip too and fared pretty well, placing four runners in the top 100.

Connor Whan turned in an impressive performance, taking 28th overall with a time of 16:16. Whan's teammate, Tyler Williams, finished just seconds behind, landing a 34th-place finish with a time of 16:23. Burlington's Nathan power took 52nd with a 16:42 and Alan DenAdel crossed the finish line in 17:06, good enough for 88th.