FRESNO, Calif. – Freshman Olivia Jarvis (Oceanside, Calif. / El Camino HS) finished 39th overall and Hawai'i Hilo was ninth on Friday morning at the Pacific West Conference Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno.
It was the top performance for a Vulcans runner since Anna Baker Mikkelsen (Bagsvaerd, Denmark/Falkonergaardens) finished 39th during her freshman season in 2014. Jarvis' time of 24:01 on the five kilometer course was the best for a UH Hilo runner at the PacWest Championships since they began running 6K in 2014 (5K was the previous distance).
Senior Meghan Langbehn (Folsom, Calif./Folsom HS) was UH Hilo's next runner in 25:32 (63rd place), followed by Caitlin Kawaiaea (Waianae, Hawai`i / Nanakuli HS) (25:51, 67th), Makena Morris (Chino Hills, Calif. / Ayala HS) (25:59, 69th), Annaka Barragan (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago) (26:52, 77th) and Lily Gavagan (Pukalani, Hawai'i/Kamehameha Schools Maui) (30:15, 89th).
"Everyone stepped up, especially Olivia and Meghan," said Vulcans head coach Jaime Guerpo. "It was the first conference race for all of them, and I thought that we competed very well."
Point Loma and Azusa Pacific finished in a dead heat for the team title with 38 points each. The Cougars had the individual champion in senior Eileen Stressling, who also won the race as a freshman in 2015. APU had runners cross the line in first, third, eighth, tenth and 16th. The Sea Lions went 4-5-7-9-13.
Finishing a distant second behind Stressling was Academy of Art's Hasna Kaarour (22:04), while APU's Elise Larson was third in 22:13.
Biola was the third place team (83), followed by Academy of Art (93), host Fresno Pacific (151), Concordia (168), Hawai'i Pacific (186), Notre Dame de Namur (229), Hawai'i Hilo (269), Dominican (286) Chaminade (320) and Holy Names (DNP).
Barragan, UH Hilo's fifth runner, has been injured and had not been able to train at the same level for the past few weeks. "Annaka battled through, she ran tough," Guerpo added. "If she is healthier, we are able to close that gap between fourth and fifth and score higher."
The Vulcans did not score last year (only four runners competed). Their ninth place finish this year is the best for the program since 2013 (also ninth).
"That's a big step up for us, Guerpo concluded. "We competed like champions today and represented UH Hilo well."
That wraps up the season for the young Vulcans team, which features seven freshmen and one senior (Langbehn).
