Boisseau shines at Fort Hays State Tiger Open
Cowley College sophomore Esteban Boisseau continued his tremendous cross country season by placing seventh out of 144 runners at the Fort Hays State University Tiger Open on Saturday. The Tiger men placed eighth out of 14 teams with 229 points, and the Lady Tigers did not figure in the team scoring
"Esteban had probably the best 8K he has put together so far," Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said.
The Colorado School of Mines placed first with a team score of 59 points.
The Tiger men entered the race ranked No. 7 in the latest NJCAA Division II poll.
Other Cowley runners at the meet were Wilson Navarette (26:48.2) placed 53rd, Alexis Realland (26:33.1) finished 67th, Conner Walker (27:02.5) placed 85th, Samuel Lovell (27:44.1) finished 102nd, and Herson Rodriguez (28:21.3) placed 109th.
"Wilson was exceptionally better than he was a couple of weeks ago, and Alexis was likely the performer of the weekend, running about 50 seconds faster than he did in his last race," Rieth said. "We need to continue to close the gap between our No. 4 and No. 5 runners, and I think we have the potential to do that," Rieth said.
Iowa Western finished second at the meet and was led by the top finisher in the men's race, as Geofrey Ronoh finished with a time of 23:32.7.
Once again, Colorado School of Mines was the top team on the women's side, finishing with 40 team points.
Iowa Western finished fourth in the women's team standings despite having the top finisher in Juliana Sakat (16:40.0).
Cowley freshman Linda Filipova was the No. 16-ranked Lady Tigers' top finisher, placing 40th with a time of 18:29.0. Other Lady Tiger runners were Paulina Althoff (20:54.0), who placed 73rd, and Daynel Calvo (25:19.4), who placed 97th.
"We are nursing some injuries and hoping to duct tape it to finish the season," Rieth said. "Linda had a good race and was just off her personal best."
The Tiger men's and women's cross country teams will now prepare for the Region VI/Jayhawk Conference Championships on Friday, October 24, at 8 a.m. in Colby, KS.
"I am excited about the direction we are headed," Rieth said. "We just need to keep doing things right."