PALO ALTO, Calif. – Daan Haven returned to the Sun Devil lineup and reclaimed her top-spot as she led the Sun Devils to a seventh-place finish at the Stanford Invitational women's 6K in Palo Alto, California, Saturday.
The sophomore finished 23rd overall in 21:39.00, just one spot ahead of Alexis Nichols who crossed the finish line in 21:40.40.
"Those two ladies have been doing a great job in training and racing, and it's really put them in a great place to be successful so far this year and hopefully moving forward," women's coach Jeremy Rasmussen said.
The two Sun Devil front runners maintained their places for the majority of the race with Haven dropping only two spots off her 2K split and Nichols moving up four.
Samantha Ortega, Megan Reniewicki and Courtney Lewis rounded out ASU's scorers in Northern California as they each finished within seven spots of one another with Ortega taking 36th, Reniewicki grabbing 40th and Lewis coming through in 43rd.
"I'm a bit disappointed because I thought we could be fifth with a nice day," Rasmussen said. "We're getting better at running as a team. I think our spread today was decent one through six, but since we don't have those true front runners yet, we have to stay pretty close as a group and aim for around 30 seconds of separation in our top-six."
In the men's 8K that followed, Jackson Lewis made it two consecutive outings as ASU's top-finisher as he finished the 8K in 25:27.10, good for 50th place in the field. Senior John Reniewicki followed close behind in 56th place just 11 seconds after Lewis.
"Early on they came out and executed the race plan well, but as it went on we had some guys fade," men's coach Cory Leslie said. "Jackson did a heck of a job being one of the top sophomores out there. John's been a steady No. 1 for us for the past couple of years and Jackson's been progressing so quickly in training, so I'm not really surprised they did finished the way they did today."
Erik Gonzalez and Michael Renner crossed the finish line in 85th and 87th, respectively, and true freshman Ian Kebenei closed the Sun Devils' scoring when he came through in 119th place.
"Adding Fearghal Curtin and Garrett O'Toole for Pre-Nats will add depth to top of the roster, but that doesn't mean we're not going to rely on the rest of the guys any less than we have been this year," Leslie said. "By Conference, I think they'll be right where we need them to be, and we're going to need them if we want to be successful in the postseason."
In less than a month, the Sun Devils will return to Palo Alto to compete for a Pac-12 title, but until then, ASU has one more regular season meet on its schedule, and it's the biggest thus far: the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, in two weeks.
Stanford Invitational | Palo Alto, Calif. | Sept. 29, 2018
Women's 6K Results
23. Daan Haven – 21:39.00
24. Alexis Nichols – 21:40.40
36. Samantha Ortega – 22:01.70
40. Megan Reniewicki – 22:09.90
43. Courtney Lewis – 22:13.90
60. Anna Pruter – 22:37.60
85. Angela Saitta – 23:06.00
111. Emily Gallegos-Francksen
Men's 8K Results
50. Jackson Lewis – 25:27.10
56. John Reniewicki – 25:36.00
85. Erik Gonzalez – 26:21.70
87. Michael Renner – 26:26.60
119. Ian Kebenei – 27:06.50
122. Nick Shampoe – 27:09.20
139. Joseph Dicke – 27:34.30
145. Adam Klein – 27:42.70
Women's Team Results
1. Stanford – 62 pts
2. Adams State – 69
3. Washington – 90
4. UCLA – 113
5. Cal Poly – 139
--
7. Arizona State – 161
Men's Team Results
1. Stanford – 26 pts
2. UCLA – 53
3. Adams State – 75
4. Cal Poly – 90
5. San Jose State – 129
--
9. Arizona State – 287
The sophomore finished 23rd overall in 21:39.00, just one spot ahead of Alexis Nichols who crossed the finish line in 21:40.40.
"Those two ladies have been doing a great job in training and racing, and it's really put them in a great place to be successful so far this year and hopefully moving forward," women's coach Jeremy Rasmussen said.
The two Sun Devil front runners maintained their places for the majority of the race with Haven dropping only two spots off her 2K split and Nichols moving up four.
Samantha Ortega, Megan Reniewicki and Courtney Lewis rounded out ASU's scorers in Northern California as they each finished within seven spots of one another with Ortega taking 36th, Reniewicki grabbing 40th and Lewis coming through in 43rd.
"I'm a bit disappointed because I thought we could be fifth with a nice day," Rasmussen said. "We're getting better at running as a team. I think our spread today was decent one through six, but since we don't have those true front runners yet, we have to stay pretty close as a group and aim for around 30 seconds of separation in our top-six."
In the men's 8K that followed, Jackson Lewis made it two consecutive outings as ASU's top-finisher as he finished the 8K in 25:27.10, good for 50th place in the field. Senior John Reniewicki followed close behind in 56th place just 11 seconds after Lewis.
"Early on they came out and executed the race plan well, but as it went on we had some guys fade," men's coach Cory Leslie said. "Jackson did a heck of a job being one of the top sophomores out there. John's been a steady No. 1 for us for the past couple of years and Jackson's been progressing so quickly in training, so I'm not really surprised they did finished the way they did today."
Erik Gonzalez and Michael Renner crossed the finish line in 85th and 87th, respectively, and true freshman Ian Kebenei closed the Sun Devils' scoring when he came through in 119th place.
"Adding Fearghal Curtin and Garrett O'Toole for Pre-Nats will add depth to top of the roster, but that doesn't mean we're not going to rely on the rest of the guys any less than we have been this year," Leslie said. "By Conference, I think they'll be right where we need them to be, and we're going to need them if we want to be successful in the postseason."
In less than a month, the Sun Devils will return to Palo Alto to compete for a Pac-12 title, but until then, ASU has one more regular season meet on its schedule, and it's the biggest thus far: the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, in two weeks.
Stanford Invitational | Palo Alto, Calif. | Sept. 29, 2018
Women's 6K Results
23. Daan Haven – 21:39.00
24. Alexis Nichols – 21:40.40
36. Samantha Ortega – 22:01.70
40. Megan Reniewicki – 22:09.90
43. Courtney Lewis – 22:13.90
60. Anna Pruter – 22:37.60
85. Angela Saitta – 23:06.00
111. Emily Gallegos-Francksen
Men's 8K Results
50. Jackson Lewis – 25:27.10
56. John Reniewicki – 25:36.00
85. Erik Gonzalez – 26:21.70
87. Michael Renner – 26:26.60
119. Ian Kebenei – 27:06.50
122. Nick Shampoe – 27:09.20
139. Joseph Dicke – 27:34.30
145. Adam Klein – 27:42.70
Women's Team Results
1. Stanford – 62 pts
2. Adams State – 69
3. Washington – 90
4. UCLA – 113
5. Cal Poly – 139
--
7. Arizona State – 161
Men's Team Results
1. Stanford – 26 pts
2. UCLA – 53
3. Adams State – 75
4. Cal Poly – 90
5. San Jose State – 129
--
9. Arizona State – 287