TUCSON – Ian Kebenei won the Cactus Open men's race and Megan Reniewicki took third in the women's race to lead both Sun Devil cross country teams to victories Saturday morning in Tucson.
The wins mark ASU's first cross country team wins since both squads won the ASU Invitational back in 2017.
"They executed almost perfectly," first year head coach Cory Leslie said. "The goal was to group up and navigate this thing together, and they did a great job of that."
Leslie's race plan worked out as all five of ASU's women's scorers finished in the top-seven and within five seconds of one other. After Reniewicki crossed the line in third, Daan Haven, true freshman Lena Lebrun, Courtney Lewis and freshman Ava Shackell gave the Sun Devils fourth through seventh-place to give ASU a runaway 26-point victory over Grand Canyon and Arizona.
The Sun Devil men picked up a sweep of the top-three places as Kebenei took gold, freshman Vincent Mauri claimed silver and Jackson Lewis nabbed the bronze. Adam Klein was ASU's fourth scorer, coming in 10th, and freshman Lee Nasewytewa crossed the line in 16th to seal the sweep with 30 points.
"Ian looked like a new person out there," Leslie said. "He, Vinny and Jackson ran together and kind of controlled that race the whole time and that's what we need to do if we want to keep taking steps forward toward that ultimate goal."
With two wins in the books after the first day of competition, Leslie's Devils will take a week off as they prepare for the Sept. 13 USD Invitational in San Diego.
Cactus Open | August 31, 2019 | Women's 2.7 miles | Men's 3.7 miles
Women's Results
3. Megan Reniewicki – 16:06.5
4. Daan Haven – 16:08.3
5. Lena Lebrun – 16:08.9
6. Courtney Lewis – 16:09.5
7. Ava Shackell – 16:11.5
9. Alexis Nichols – 16:16.1
10. Bianca Tinoco – 16:20.3
11. Emily Gallegos-Francksen – 16:22.8
16. Caitlin Rose – 16:47.8
26. Jenna Lee – 17:30.8
28. Olivia Lovejoy – 17:46.7
Women's Team Results
1. Arizona State – 25 pts
2. Grand Canyon – 51
3. Arizona – 59
Men's Results
1. Ian Kebenei – 18:48.8
2. Vincent Mauri – 18:54.1
3. Jackson Lewis – 19:00.3
10. Adam Klein – 19:39.0
16. Lee Nasewytewa – 19:57.3
20. Joseph Dicke – 20:24.3
23. Tyler Tanta – 20:33.4
25. Christopher Stone – 20:40.1
31. Nick Shampoe – 21:13.5
--. Adam Meyer – DNF
Men's Team Results
1. Arizona State – 30 pts
2. Grand Canyon – 40
3. Arizona – 59
The wins mark ASU's first cross country team wins since both squads won the ASU Invitational back in 2017.
"They executed almost perfectly," first year head coach Cory Leslie said. "The goal was to group up and navigate this thing together, and they did a great job of that."
Leslie's race plan worked out as all five of ASU's women's scorers finished in the top-seven and within five seconds of one other. After Reniewicki crossed the line in third, Daan Haven, true freshman Lena Lebrun, Courtney Lewis and freshman Ava Shackell gave the Sun Devils fourth through seventh-place to give ASU a runaway 26-point victory over Grand Canyon and Arizona.
???? SWEEP!
— Sun Devil TFXC (@SunDevilTFXC) August 31, 2019
Megan Reniewicki takes ?? and Ian Kebenei wins the men's race to lead the Devils to team victories in Tucson!#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/Ak99FcVgrz
The Sun Devil men picked up a sweep of the top-three places as Kebenei took gold, freshman Vincent Mauri claimed silver and Jackson Lewis nabbed the bronze. Adam Klein was ASU's fourth scorer, coming in 10th, and freshman Lee Nasewytewa crossed the line in 16th to seal the sweep with 30 points.
Vinny Mauri and the ???? freshmen showed out in their #ASU debuts!
— Sun Devil TFXC (@SunDevilTFXC) August 31, 2019
4? freshmen scored and Mauri took ??!#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/GHwVgx0k8e
"Ian looked like a new person out there," Leslie said. "He, Vinny and Jackson ran together and kind of controlled that race the whole time and that's what we need to do if we want to keep taking steps forward toward that ultimate goal."
With two wins in the books after the first day of competition, Leslie's Devils will take a week off as they prepare for the Sept. 13 USD Invitational in San Diego.
Cactus Open | August 31, 2019 | Women's 2.7 miles | Men's 3.7 miles
Women's Results
3. Megan Reniewicki – 16:06.5
4. Daan Haven – 16:08.3
5. Lena Lebrun – 16:08.9
6. Courtney Lewis – 16:09.5
7. Ava Shackell – 16:11.5
9. Alexis Nichols – 16:16.1
10. Bianca Tinoco – 16:20.3
11. Emily Gallegos-Francksen – 16:22.8
16. Caitlin Rose – 16:47.8
26. Jenna Lee – 17:30.8
28. Olivia Lovejoy – 17:46.7
Women's Team Results
1. Arizona State – 25 pts
2. Grand Canyon – 51
3. Arizona – 59
Men's Results
1. Ian Kebenei – 18:48.8
2. Vincent Mauri – 18:54.1
3. Jackson Lewis – 19:00.3
10. Adam Klein – 19:39.0
16. Lee Nasewytewa – 19:57.3
20. Joseph Dicke – 20:24.3
23. Tyler Tanta – 20:33.4
25. Christopher Stone – 20:40.1
31. Nick Shampoe – 21:13.5
--. Adam Meyer – DNF
Men's Team Results
1. Arizona State – 30 pts
2. Grand Canyon – 40
3. Arizona – 59