FLAGSTAFF – Redshirt freshman Daan Haven led the Sun Devil women to a 62-point second place finish, and Nick Dale's 14th-place finish helped the men take third Saturday at the George Kyte Classic in Flagstaff.
The men's 4.5-mile race opened collegiate competition at Buffalo Park. ASU lined up with UCLA, Northern Arizona, Arizona and Grand Canyon, along with a number of junior colleges.
Dale ran a consistent race, clocking an average pace of 5:21 per mile. He held onto his top-25 spot for a majority of the race and finished 14th among collegiate men.
I know to take it out slow," Dale said. "This is my eighth year, now, running up here, so I have some experience and I'm pretty used to it. I ran here four years of high school and now four years of college."
Three other Sun Devil men finished in the top-25, including Brandon Boys, Michael Renner and true freshman Jackson Lewis.
Boys made the biggest move of any Sun Devil, overtaking more than 20 competitors after the halfway point. Boys passed the two-mile mark in 41st and crossed the finish line in 19th.
"Nick Dale had a nice race," head coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "I think Jackson Lewis as a freshman coming in, did a pretty good job, but overall for the men, I think we really need to learn how to compete better and just manage ourselves through the middle part of the race. Brandon Boys started off a little too slow, but really came through the field as the race progressed and finished pretty well."
Renner took 20th and Lewis finished just behind him in 21st. Ryan Normand's 26th-place finish rounded out the ASU top-five that scored 100 points and took third behind defending NCAA champion NAU, and Pac-12 rival UCLA. Kyle Shinn took 31st.
Normand's finish helped ASU claim third place ahead of a surging Grand Canyon. GCU's No. 5 runner Chris D'Angelo finished 27th and the 'Lopes scored 101. GCU finished fourth with 101 points.
"I thought it was a good opener," Dale said. "We still have some work to do because UCLA and NAU, who we compete against a lot, were pretty far ahead of us. But it's early in the season, we can get there."
Haven's Sun Devil debut was a memorable one as she led the Sun Devil women to a runner-up finish behind NAU in the 2.6-mile race.
Although the race took place at roughly 7,000 feet up, the Ganado native Haven said she felt at home on the mountain course.
"I had fun, and the course is actually a lot like how home is – the terrain is very similar," Haven said. "[The altitude] definitely affected me a little. It felt different. I did feel it coming up because I got a little headache, but other than that I felt OK."
The Sun Devils defeated UCLA, who came into the race ranked seventh in the West, while ASU debuted in the poll at No. 9.
Anna Pruter finished one place behind Haven and Angela Saitta took 12th in her ASU debut.
"I thought Anna Pruter did a great job," Rasmussen said. "She ran 30 seconds faster than she did last year. Angela did a great job as a freshman and she's only been running for a short period of time – maybe a little over a year; we'll call it her fifth cross country race ever. For Daan Haven, out for the first time competing in uniform, it was a tremendous effort from her."
Haven's pace of 6:07 kept her near the front of the pack, and she only dropped one spot during the latter half of the race, moving from seventh to eighth.
While Haven, Pruter and Saitta earned top-15 places, all of the Sun Devil scorers finished in the top-20, with Alexis Nichols and true freshman Chamique Duboise finishing 16th and 17th, respectively.
Senior Billie Jo Dytrt took 26th, Emily Gallegos-Francksen finished 27th and Lauren Gavulic finished 30th.
"It's a young group, but I saw a lot of good things out there from them, so that's exciting," Rasmussen said. "We're still missing pieces on the women's side too, though that was more strategic in holding those ladies back. They'll be ready to go in two weeks' time in Tucson."
ASU has a weekend off from competition before heading south to Tucson for the Dave Murray Invitational hosted by Arizona.
Complete George Kyte Classic Results
George Kyte Classic | Flagstaff, Arizona | Sept. 2, 2017
Men's 4.5-mile results
14. Nick Dale – 24:02.5
19. Brandon Boys – 24:29.6
20. Michael Renner – 24:44.9
21. Jackson Lewis – 24:48.5
26. Ryan Normand – 25:05.1
31. Kyle Shinn – 26:04.3
Women's 2.6-mile results
8. Daan Haven – 15:52.4
9. Anna Pruter – 15:54.5
12. Angela Saitta – 16:13.1
16. Alexis Nichols – 16:21.7
17. Chamique Duboise – 16:25.6
26. Billie Jo Dytrt – 17:04.4
27. Emily Gallegos-Francksen – 17:06.6
30. Lauren Gavulic – 17:17.9
Men's Team Results
1. Northern Arizona – 15 pts.
2. UCLA – 49
3. Arizona State – 100
4. Grand Canyon – 101
5. Arizona – 118
Women's Team Results
1. Northern Arizona - 46
2. Arizona State - 62
3. UCLA - 65
4. Arizona - 69
5. Grand Canyon - 95
The men's 4.5-mile race opened collegiate competition at Buffalo Park. ASU lined up with UCLA, Northern Arizona, Arizona and Grand Canyon, along with a number of junior colleges.
Dale ran a consistent race, clocking an average pace of 5:21 per mile. He held onto his top-25 spot for a majority of the race and finished 14th among collegiate men.
I know to take it out slow," Dale said. "This is my eighth year, now, running up here, so I have some experience and I'm pretty used to it. I ran here four years of high school and now four years of college."
Three other Sun Devil men finished in the top-25, including Brandon Boys, Michael Renner and true freshman Jackson Lewis.
Boys made the biggest move of any Sun Devil, overtaking more than 20 competitors after the halfway point. Boys passed the two-mile mark in 41st and crossed the finish line in 19th.
"Nick Dale had a nice race," head coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "I think Jackson Lewis as a freshman coming in, did a pretty good job, but overall for the men, I think we really need to learn how to compete better and just manage ourselves through the middle part of the race. Brandon Boys started off a little too slow, but really came through the field as the race progressed and finished pretty well."
Renner took 20th and Lewis finished just behind him in 21st. Ryan Normand's 26th-place finish rounded out the ASU top-five that scored 100 points and took third behind defending NCAA champion NAU, and Pac-12 rival UCLA. Kyle Shinn took 31st.
Normand's finish helped ASU claim third place ahead of a surging Grand Canyon. GCU's No. 5 runner Chris D'Angelo finished 27th and the 'Lopes scored 101. GCU finished fourth with 101 points.
"I thought it was a good opener," Dale said. "We still have some work to do because UCLA and NAU, who we compete against a lot, were pretty far ahead of us. But it's early in the season, we can get there."
Haven's Sun Devil debut was a memorable one as she led the Sun Devil women to a runner-up finish behind NAU in the 2.6-mile race.
Although the race took place at roughly 7,000 feet up, the Ganado native Haven said she felt at home on the mountain course.
"I had fun, and the course is actually a lot like how home is – the terrain is very similar," Haven said. "[The altitude] definitely affected me a little. It felt different. I did feel it coming up because I got a little headache, but other than that I felt OK."
The Sun Devils defeated UCLA, who came into the race ranked seventh in the West, while ASU debuted in the poll at No. 9.
Anna Pruter finished one place behind Haven and Angela Saitta took 12th in her ASU debut.
"I thought Anna Pruter did a great job," Rasmussen said. "She ran 30 seconds faster than she did last year. Angela did a great job as a freshman and she's only been running for a short period of time – maybe a little over a year; we'll call it her fifth cross country race ever. For Daan Haven, out for the first time competing in uniform, it was a tremendous effort from her."
Haven's pace of 6:07 kept her near the front of the pack, and she only dropped one spot during the latter half of the race, moving from seventh to eighth.
While Haven, Pruter and Saitta earned top-15 places, all of the Sun Devil scorers finished in the top-20, with Alexis Nichols and true freshman Chamique Duboise finishing 16th and 17th, respectively.
Senior Billie Jo Dytrt took 26th, Emily Gallegos-Francksen finished 27th and Lauren Gavulic finished 30th.
"It's a young group, but I saw a lot of good things out there from them, so that's exciting," Rasmussen said. "We're still missing pieces on the women's side too, though that was more strategic in holding those ladies back. They'll be ready to go in two weeks' time in Tucson."
ASU has a weekend off from competition before heading south to Tucson for the Dave Murray Invitational hosted by Arizona.
Complete George Kyte Classic Results
George Kyte Classic | Flagstaff, Arizona | Sept. 2, 2017
Men's 4.5-mile results
14. Nick Dale – 24:02.5
19. Brandon Boys – 24:29.6
20. Michael Renner – 24:44.9
21. Jackson Lewis – 24:48.5
26. Ryan Normand – 25:05.1
31. Kyle Shinn – 26:04.3
Women's 2.6-mile results
8. Daan Haven – 15:52.4
9. Anna Pruter – 15:54.5
12. Angela Saitta – 16:13.1
16. Alexis Nichols – 16:21.7
17. Chamique Duboise – 16:25.6
26. Billie Jo Dytrt – 17:04.4
27. Emily Gallegos-Francksen – 17:06.6
30. Lauren Gavulic – 17:17.9
Men's Team Results
1. Northern Arizona – 15 pts.
2. UCLA – 49
3. Arizona State – 100
4. Grand Canyon – 101
5. Arizona – 118
Women's Team Results
1. Northern Arizona - 46
2. Arizona State - 62
3. UCLA - 65
4. Arizona - 69
5. Grand Canyon - 95