(Lewiston, ID) With the regular season in the books, Warrior Cross Country has its eyes set on postseason action in the month of November. Both teams earned spots in the NAIA Top 25 heading into the Cascade Conference Championships on Nov. 8. The men checked in at No. 11 while the women sit at No. 18.
NO. 11 LC STATE MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
The Warrior men are coming off a fifth-place finish at the LC State Invitational as the top non-NCAA Division I team in the race. Carter Gordon led the Warriors with a top-20 finish and the LC State top five all placed in the top 35 of the 85-person field. Kobe Wessels and Griffen Parsells both were in the top 30, and Conner May and Alexander Fry wrapped up the top five for LC State in the top 35.
LC State finished ahead of DI programs Washington State and Montana at the meet, as well as NAIA team Montana Western.
College of Idaho jumped to No. 1 in the latest poll and the Warriors are the second-highest ranked team from the Cascade Conference. Eastern Oregon dropped three spots to No. 13 and Corban (Ore.) is receiving votes
NO. 18 LC STATE WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
The LC State women turned in a pair of strong showings with an eighth-place finish at the LC State Invitational and fifth-place mark at the Blazing Tiger Classic. The home meet featured primarily NCAA Division I teams, while the meet in Nebraska was made of 26 NAIA teams.
Damaris Kibiwot led the Warrior women in both races. She set the freshman 5k record at the home meet with a time of 18:04, then placed 14th out of 303 at the Blazing Tiger Classic. Both Kibiwot and Grace Tiegs placed in the top 25 in Nebraska to earn recognition after the race. The pair have led LC State in nearly every race this season with Lily Bennett, Camille Ussher and Abigail Shumaker solidifying the top five.
College of Idaho dropped to No. 6 and Southern Oregon fell one spot to No. 10. The Warrior women are the third-highest ranked team from the CCC and Eastern Oregon is receiving votes.
UP NEXT
The Warriors will race for Cascade Conference honors on Nov. 8 at the 2024 Cascade Conference Championships in Portland.