HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i cross country team will head to Washington for the first mainland weekend of the season, competing on Saturday in the 26th annual Sundodger Invitational.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will travel an eight-runner squad to the competition, again held in West Seattle's Lincoln Park. This season will mark the third consecutive year that UH has run in the meet, and will provide the squad its first taste of 6k competition.
 
The Rainbow Wahine were initially scheduled to split up the team and also run in the Chaminade Invitational locally. Head coach Tim Boyce opted to consolidate the squads and compete only at UW this weekend.
 
The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a team victory last Saturday on the Big Island at the UH Hilo Invitational. UH logged a score of 27 to top the field, paced by a solid performance by La Mesa, Calif. freshman Sienna Santiago, who led the field for UH, finished second with a 5k time of 19:54.1. Other UH scorers included Lisa Tashiro (third), Danielle Girard (fourth), Giovanna Casazza (seventh) and Piper McDonald (11th). Three of the five scorers achieved new personal bests at the distance.
 
Of those competing this weekend, only two – Kai Hoshijo and McDonald – have run in the meet previously.
 
The meet consists of eight races, ranging from open to high school for both men and women. Competition begins at 6:00 a.m. HT (9:00 a.m. PT), while the women's 6k Invitational is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. HT (11:00 a.m. PT).
 
Meet #3
What: 26th Sundodger Invitational
Date: Saturday, Sept. 16
Time: 8:00 a.m. HT / 11:00 a.m. PT
Where: Lincoln Park - Seattle, Wash.
UH Participants: Alison Bowman, Giovanna Casazza, Danielle Girard, Olivia Hill, Kai Hoshijo, Piper McDonald, Sienna Santiago, Lisa Tashiro