TUCSON – Senior Chelsey Albertson led the Sun Devil women to a runner-up finish with 32 points at the Dave Murray Invitational when she crossed the line in second-place Friday in Tucson.
Albertson made her season debut, but looked in mid-season form as she ran with the leaders for the entire race and clocked a 14:04.3 in the 4k race at the Randolph Golf Course.
"I think it's a good start," coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "She said she didn't feel good in the warmup, so for her to go out and be four seconds off the win is an OK day. She has high expectations for herself this year, and we do too. If we put a little bit better legs out there, maybe she'll run faster, but overall it's an OK start to the year and she's really ready to dig in and get going."
All five of ASU's scorers finished in the top-10, including newcomer Cecile Lejeune, Samantha Ortega, Anna Pruter and Alexis Nichols.
Lejeune didn't disappoint in her highly anticipated Sun Devil debut. The France international crossed the line in fifth in 14:33.3. Pruter picked up where she left off two weeks ago in Flagstaff where she took ninth and earned another ninth-place finish Friday.
"I think we were disappointed because it was U of A and they're the rivals," Lejeune said. "Most of us I think are happy though with our individual place. There's always room for improvement so we can look at what we did wrong and point out things that we did right and use it for the next race."
Ortega laced up for her first cross country race since 2015 and ran a 14:40.7, good enough for sixth overall.
"It's great to see her back," Rasmussen said. "She's been out for quite a while and seeing her put in a good quality run is great. Sam continues to get better and better with more and more work. The longer the distance the better the Sam."
Nichols took 10th, true freshman Angela Saitta finished 13th, Billie Jo Dytrt 16th, Emily Gallegos-Francksen 17th and freshman Anastasia Hancock finished 23rd.
The men opened the day of competition with a 6k race that saw senior John Reniewicki take fourth in his season debut.
Reniewicki was a part of the lead pack that broke away early. He ran in fifth for most of the race and moved up into third after the second loop around the course before ultimately grabbing the fourth-place finish with a time of 19:41.9.
"The plan was to go out as a group in the first lap and I think we executed that pretty decently and we were as close as I think the guys were prepared to be," Reniewicki said. "I'm a little disappointed on how I did. I was 30 seconds slower than last year, but I know I'll continue to get better and be ready to roll for the bigger meets."
Ryan Normand (11), Jackson Lewis (12), Nick Dale (14) and Erik Gonzalez (16) rounded out the Sun Devil top-five. Brandon Boys finished just behind the freshman Gonzalez in 17th and Michael Renner took 24th. The men finished third with 57 points.
"John executed his plan through two loops of the course," Rasmussen said. "He didn't do a great job in the third loop and that kind of was indicative of the men's group all the way through. They kind of strayed from the plan we originally developed and they have to continue to figure out how to fight. If we can do that, we'll find a way to have some success this year. But it's on us as a coaching staff to figure out ways to continue to push them."
ASU hits the road again next week and makes its first trek out of the Grand Canyon State. The Sun Devils head north to the Land of 10,000 Lakes for the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota.
The meet in Minneapolis is one of the premier cross country races of the season and will feature top-30 teams from across the nation. It will be ASU's last meet of the month.
"It's a good chance to see where we are against a lot of top teams, not only in our region, but also the country," assistant coach Cory Leslie said. "We're going to get a good chance to test fitness, but also how competitive of a team we have. We've kind of been in some small meets where there are four or five teams, the gun goes off and you go. We'll be lining up with 30 of the best teams and really get a chance to see where we are."
Dave Murray Invitational | Sept. 15, 2017 | Tucson, Ariz.
Men's 6k Results
4. John Reniewicki – 19:41.9
11. Ryan Normand – 20:10.5
12. Jackson Lewis – 20:16.5
14. Nick Dale – 20:41.9
16. Erik Gonzalez – 20:46.3
17. Brandon Boys – 20:50.2
21. Michael Renner – 21:06.1
Women's 4k Results
2. Chelsey Albertson – 14:04.3
5. Cecile Lejeune – 14:33.3
6. Samantha Ortega – 14:40.7
9. Anna Pruter – 15:00.2
10. Alexis Nichols – 15:03.6
13. Angela Saitta – 15:13.6
16. Billie Jo Dytrt – 15:22.3
17. Emily Gallegos-Francksen – 15:43.4
23. Anastasia Hancock – 16:16.7
Men's Team Results
1. Arizona – 21
2. Grand Canyon – 55
3. Arizona State – 57
4. Western New Mexico – 120
5. Pima CC - 140
Women's Team Results
1. Arizona – 27 pts.
2. Arizona State – 32
3. Grand Canyon – 72
4. Pima CC – 131
5. Western New Mexico - 132
Albertson made her season debut, but looked in mid-season form as she ran with the leaders for the entire race and clocked a 14:04.3 in the 4k race at the Randolph Golf Course.
"I think it's a good start," coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "She said she didn't feel good in the warmup, so for her to go out and be four seconds off the win is an OK day. She has high expectations for herself this year, and we do too. If we put a little bit better legs out there, maybe she'll run faster, but overall it's an OK start to the year and she's really ready to dig in and get going."
All five of ASU's scorers finished in the top-10, including newcomer Cecile Lejeune, Samantha Ortega, Anna Pruter and Alexis Nichols.
Lejeune didn't disappoint in her highly anticipated Sun Devil debut. The France international crossed the line in fifth in 14:33.3. Pruter picked up where she left off two weeks ago in Flagstaff where she took ninth and earned another ninth-place finish Friday.
"I think we were disappointed because it was U of A and they're the rivals," Lejeune said. "Most of us I think are happy though with our individual place. There's always room for improvement so we can look at what we did wrong and point out things that we did right and use it for the next race."
Ortega laced up for her first cross country race since 2015 and ran a 14:40.7, good enough for sixth overall.
"It's great to see her back," Rasmussen said. "She's been out for quite a while and seeing her put in a good quality run is great. Sam continues to get better and better with more and more work. The longer the distance the better the Sam."
Nichols took 10th, true freshman Angela Saitta finished 13th, Billie Jo Dytrt 16th, Emily Gallegos-Francksen 17th and freshman Anastasia Hancock finished 23rd.
The men opened the day of competition with a 6k race that saw senior John Reniewicki take fourth in his season debut.
Reniewicki was a part of the lead pack that broke away early. He ran in fifth for most of the race and moved up into third after the second loop around the course before ultimately grabbing the fourth-place finish with a time of 19:41.9.
"The plan was to go out as a group in the first lap and I think we executed that pretty decently and we were as close as I think the guys were prepared to be," Reniewicki said. "I'm a little disappointed on how I did. I was 30 seconds slower than last year, but I know I'll continue to get better and be ready to roll for the bigger meets."
Ryan Normand (11), Jackson Lewis (12), Nick Dale (14) and Erik Gonzalez (16) rounded out the Sun Devil top-five. Brandon Boys finished just behind the freshman Gonzalez in 17th and Michael Renner took 24th. The men finished third with 57 points.
"John executed his plan through two loops of the course," Rasmussen said. "He didn't do a great job in the third loop and that kind of was indicative of the men's group all the way through. They kind of strayed from the plan we originally developed and they have to continue to figure out how to fight. If we can do that, we'll find a way to have some success this year. But it's on us as a coaching staff to figure out ways to continue to push them."
ASU hits the road again next week and makes its first trek out of the Grand Canyon State. The Sun Devils head north to the Land of 10,000 Lakes for the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota.
The meet in Minneapolis is one of the premier cross country races of the season and will feature top-30 teams from across the nation. It will be ASU's last meet of the month.
"It's a good chance to see where we are against a lot of top teams, not only in our region, but also the country," assistant coach Cory Leslie said. "We're going to get a good chance to test fitness, but also how competitive of a team we have. We've kind of been in some small meets where there are four or five teams, the gun goes off and you go. We'll be lining up with 30 of the best teams and really get a chance to see where we are."
Dave Murray Invitational | Sept. 15, 2017 | Tucson, Ariz.
Men's 6k Results
4. John Reniewicki – 19:41.9
11. Ryan Normand – 20:10.5
12. Jackson Lewis – 20:16.5
14. Nick Dale – 20:41.9
16. Erik Gonzalez – 20:46.3
17. Brandon Boys – 20:50.2
21. Michael Renner – 21:06.1
Women's 4k Results
2. Chelsey Albertson – 14:04.3
5. Cecile Lejeune – 14:33.3
6. Samantha Ortega – 14:40.7
9. Anna Pruter – 15:00.2
10. Alexis Nichols – 15:03.6
13. Angela Saitta – 15:13.6
16. Billie Jo Dytrt – 15:22.3
17. Emily Gallegos-Francksen – 15:43.4
23. Anastasia Hancock – 16:16.7
Men's Team Results
1. Arizona – 21
2. Grand Canyon – 55
3. Arizona State – 57
4. Western New Mexico – 120
5. Pima CC - 140
Women's Team Results
1. Arizona – 27 pts.
2. Arizona State – 32
3. Grand Canyon – 72
4. Pima CC – 131
5. Western New Mexico - 132