KAHUKU, Oahu--Head University of Hawai`i Hilo cross country coach
Jaime Guerpo was able to mark a number of things off his checklist after the first race of the year this morning (Aug. 31) at the Big Wave Invitational.
Number one of course, his young team got their first race of the year under their belts. Two, the top five runners were able to run within 1:30 of each other. And third, they were able to share the course with one of the best NCAA Division I teams in the country--the BYU Cougars.
" It wasn't a great race for us, but we only have two weeks of training under us," Guerpo said from the Kahuku Golf Course on Oahu's North Shore. "I was pleased that we were mostly able to run in a pack, that shows a similar fitness level for the team. This early in the year, I would treat this mostly as a training run."
BYU, who finished seventh at the NCAA Championships a year ago, took the top THIRTEEN spots (yes, 13, not a misprint) for a perfect team score of 15. Whittni Orton won the 5 kilometer race in 18:05, followed by teammates Erica Birk and Olivia Hoj, who both clocked 18:09. Birk was an All-American last year, finishing in seventh at the NCAA Championships. Hoj was BYU's second runner in 2018.
"It looked like they were taking a stroll through the park," Guerpo said.
Host Hawai`i finished second with 66 points, followed by George Fox (100), Pacific (Calif.) with 122, Hawai`i Pacific (126), Chaminade (142) and UHH (190).
Olivia Jarvis, who was UH Hilo's top finisher in every race last fall except one, was the first Vulcan to cross the line today in 21:53 (40th). Freshman
Sabina Boo-Rivera (22:53) was next in 52nd, followed by fellow freshman
Emma Heidelmeier (23:07) in 54th.
Catalina Contreras was the fourth Vulcan (23:114, 55th) and
Makena Morris was next (23:22, 56th).
Robn Kaltenbraun of Hawai`i Pacific was the first Division II runner (19:41) in 18th place with Chaminade's Alena Albertson (20:10) next in 19th place.
The Vulcans will get right back to racing next Saturday, previewing the Pacific West Conference Championship course at the Biola Invitational in Fullerton, Calif.
Complete results of the Big Wave Invitational are here.
