TUCSON – Alexis Nichols and Jackson Lewis continued their solid starts to the 2018 season as Nichols grabbed a runner-up finish to lead three other Sun Devils with top-15 finishes in the women's 4K, and Lewis took sixth overall in the men's 6K at the Dave Murray Invitational Friday in Tucson.
Nichols and teammate Anna Pruter ran alongside each other near the top of the lead group through the first 2,000 meters, and Sun Devil junior Courtney Lewis trailed close behind as Arizona and Arizona State battled for the lead.
"They did a really nice job," women's head coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "They got out in the top group and Alexis really ran consistently and made a nice move in the second loop to close the gap on Addi [Zerrenner].
"I think if you give Alexis another 2K, she closes the gap even more. For her to be competing with an All-Pac-12 runner like Addi, that's a great sign for her."
Nichols (14:36.1) and Courtney Lewis (14:46.2) would go on to finish second and third, respectively, with Pruter (15:00.0) coming through in sixth and sophomore Emily Gallegos-Francksen crossing the line in 13th in 15:21.9.
Angela Saitta was competing for a place in the top-10, which would have put the Devils in contention for the team title, but she fell and could not finish the race. With the Devils only putting up four scorers, they were not given a team score for the race.
"At the end of the day, it was unfortunate that we couldn't end up with a team score," Rasmussen said. "We ran five ladies with the expectation that they would all finish, but unfortunately Angela went down with some overheating issues with about 600 meters to go."
Despite postponing the races in anticipation of high temperatures, the Dave Murray women's 4K was still the hottest edition of the meet since 2010 as the start time temperature topped 100.
The men's race that followed saw Jackson Lewis take the No. 1 spot as he crossed the line in sixth overall in 19:37.1.
"Jackson Lewis did a great job leading the charge today," men's head coach Cory Leslie said. "At first glance, I know he was disappointed by the results, but looking back, when you're 50 seconds faster than you were a year before in the same race, it's hard to be too disappointed."
Three Sun Devils made their season debuts in sophomore Erik Gonzalez and true freshmen Ian Kebenei and Nick Shampoe. Gonzalez finished 15th as the Sun Devils' No. 2 runner, Kebenei came through seven places later in 22nd and Shampoe debuted with a 33rd place finish.
"They came out, the gun went off and they ran really well, but kind of overexerted themselves a bit in this weather," Leslie said. That's going to get better with experience, though. It's a group of kids that come from just running 5Ks and all of a sudden you come through 5K at your high school PR and you've got more running to do. It's a learning curve, but each race they get under their belts, they'll get better and better."
Michael Renner was the Devils' fourth scorer in 26th, and freshman Joseph Dicke scored as the Sun Devil's No. 5 for the second-straight meet.
As a team, the men finished third for the second-straight year with 72 points.
"The men did a decent job," Leslie said. "We got beat by some teams that, by the end of the season, we expect to be running with."
ASU's next meet will be in two weeks up in the Bay Area as the Devils visit another Pac-12 rival at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, California.
"We had a handful of ladies who didn't compete tonight and we're really looking forward to adding them back into the lineup in a couple of weeks up at Stanford," Rasmussen said.
Dave Murray Invitational | Tucson, Ariz. | Sept. 14 2018
Men's Results
6. Jackson Lewis –19:37.1
15. Erik Gonzalez – 20:03.7
22. Ian Kebenei – 20:28.6
26. Michael Renner – 20:42.6
30. Joseph Dicke – 20:54.8
32. Adam Klein – 21:00.0
33. Nick Shampoe – 21:05.2
44. Fitzgerald Laurie – 21:43.2
46. Timothy Sterkel – 21:50.9
50. Kyle Shinn – 22:40.3
Women's Results
2. Alexis Nichols – 14:36.1
3. Courtney Lewis – 14:46.2
6. Anna Pruter – 15:00.0
13. Emily Gallegos-Francksen – 15:21.9
--. Angela Saitta – DNF
Men's Team Results
1. Arizona – 20
2. Grand Canyon – 46
3. Arizona State – 85
4. Mesa CC – 124
5. Cuyamaca – 141
Women's Team Results
1. Arizona – 31
2. Grand Canyon – 32
3. Pima CC – 90
4. Mesa CC – 96
Nichols and teammate Anna Pruter ran alongside each other near the top of the lead group through the first 2,000 meters, and Sun Devil junior Courtney Lewis trailed close behind as Arizona and Arizona State battled for the lead.
"They did a really nice job," women's head coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "They got out in the top group and Alexis really ran consistently and made a nice move in the second loop to close the gap on Addi [Zerrenner].
"I think if you give Alexis another 2K, she closes the gap even more. For her to be competing with an All-Pac-12 runner like Addi, that's a great sign for her."
Nichols (14:36.1) and Courtney Lewis (14:46.2) would go on to finish second and third, respectively, with Pruter (15:00.0) coming through in sixth and sophomore Emily Gallegos-Francksen crossing the line in 13th in 15:21.9.
Angela Saitta was competing for a place in the top-10, which would have put the Devils in contention for the team title, but she fell and could not finish the race. With the Devils only putting up four scorers, they were not given a team score for the race.
"At the end of the day, it was unfortunate that we couldn't end up with a team score," Rasmussen said. "We ran five ladies with the expectation that they would all finish, but unfortunately Angela went down with some overheating issues with about 600 meters to go."
Despite postponing the races in anticipation of high temperatures, the Dave Murray women's 4K was still the hottest edition of the meet since 2010 as the start time temperature topped 100.
The men's race that followed saw Jackson Lewis take the No. 1 spot as he crossed the line in sixth overall in 19:37.1.
"Jackson Lewis did a great job leading the charge today," men's head coach Cory Leslie said. "At first glance, I know he was disappointed by the results, but looking back, when you're 50 seconds faster than you were a year before in the same race, it's hard to be too disappointed."
Three Sun Devils made their season debuts in sophomore Erik Gonzalez and true freshmen Ian Kebenei and Nick Shampoe. Gonzalez finished 15th as the Sun Devils' No. 2 runner, Kebenei came through seven places later in 22nd and Shampoe debuted with a 33rd place finish.
"They came out, the gun went off and they ran really well, but kind of overexerted themselves a bit in this weather," Leslie said. That's going to get better with experience, though. It's a group of kids that come from just running 5Ks and all of a sudden you come through 5K at your high school PR and you've got more running to do. It's a learning curve, but each race they get under their belts, they'll get better and better."
Michael Renner was the Devils' fourth scorer in 26th, and freshman Joseph Dicke scored as the Sun Devil's No. 5 for the second-straight meet.
As a team, the men finished third for the second-straight year with 72 points.
"The men did a decent job," Leslie said. "We got beat by some teams that, by the end of the season, we expect to be running with."
ASU's next meet will be in two weeks up in the Bay Area as the Devils visit another Pac-12 rival at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, California.
"We had a handful of ladies who didn't compete tonight and we're really looking forward to adding them back into the lineup in a couple of weeks up at Stanford," Rasmussen said.
Dave Murray Invitational | Tucson, Ariz. | Sept. 14 2018
Men's Results
6. Jackson Lewis –19:37.1
15. Erik Gonzalez – 20:03.7
22. Ian Kebenei – 20:28.6
26. Michael Renner – 20:42.6
30. Joseph Dicke – 20:54.8
32. Adam Klein – 21:00.0
33. Nick Shampoe – 21:05.2
44. Fitzgerald Laurie – 21:43.2
46. Timothy Sterkel – 21:50.9
50. Kyle Shinn – 22:40.3
Women's Results
2. Alexis Nichols – 14:36.1
3. Courtney Lewis – 14:46.2
6. Anna Pruter – 15:00.0
13. Emily Gallegos-Francksen – 15:21.9
--. Angela Saitta – DNF
Men's Team Results
1. Arizona – 20
2. Grand Canyon – 46
3. Arizona State – 85
4. Mesa CC – 124
5. Cuyamaca – 141
Women's Team Results
1. Arizona – 31
2. Grand Canyon – 32
3. Pima CC – 90
4. Mesa CC – 96