by Caitlin Tortorici
WHITMAN COLLEGE PIONEER

On Saturday, Oct. 21, Whitman and Whitworth Colleges competed in the Bigfoot Open in Spokane.

In the men’s 8,000-meter race, Whitman beat Whitworth by a single point, placing third in the team scoring with 98 points and outscoring Whitworth for the first time in several years.

Of the 84 runners in the men’s race, Whitman junior Brian Woods and senior Sam Clark proved Whitman’s top runners, finishing in 11th (27: 08) and 12th (27: 13), respectively.

Senior Sam Johnson (21st, 27:37), sophomore Nick Littman (30th, 28:07) and first-year Matt Kelly (33rd, 28:17) rounded out Whitman’s top five.

Whitman’s second five were Adam Kopet (42nd, 28:54), Curtis Reid (45th, 29:03), Tim Marrinan (49th, 29:10), Eli Asch (53rd, 29:26) and Nick Johnson (60th, 29:58). Robert Marcotte was 69th in 31:09 and Travis Meyers 71st in 31:20.

The Whitman women’s team lost to Whitworth by a single point in the 5,000-meter race.

Of 86 runners, six Missionaries finished in under 20 minutes: First-year runner Sara McCune placed fourth (18:52), first-year Yasmeen Colis placed ninth (19:00) and first-year Michela Cocorran finished 12th (19:06).

Junior Lisa Taylor placed 20th (19:29), and first-years Lizzie Littlewood and Amy Champman finished in 31st (19:51), and 34th (19:56), respectively.

First-year runner Heather O’Moore narrowly missed being the seventh under 20 minutes, finishing in 36th place in 20:11.

Other Whitman runners included Emma Catmur (43rd, 20:27), Alex Pogue (47th, 20:44), Emily Rodriguez (52nd, 20:58), Lindsay Records (57th, 21:04), Rand Biersdorf (61st, 21:48), Andrea Kunz (62nd, 21:53), Betsy Schroeder (66th, 22:18), Lauren Imbrock (75th, 23:27), Rachel Stein (76th, 23:36), Rachel Patterson (78th, 24:00), Allie Freed (80th, 24:40) and Fiona Taggart (80th, 24:40).

Lewis-Clark State College won the women’s race with 39 points. Spokane finished after Whitman and Whitworth with 72 points, followed by Clark Community College with 116 points and Skagit Valley Community College with 190 points.

The Community Colleges of Spokane won the men’s race with 25 points. Lewis-Clark State College was second with 61 points. A club team and four college squads completed the men’s field after Whitman and Whitworth. Lewis-Clark State’s Calin Hantau won the men’s race with a time of 26:02.