RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Hawai'i cross country team turned in a strong effort in its first road meet of the year at the UCR Invitational Saturday, highlighted by three runners placing in the top 30 on the way to an eighth-place finish in the 25-team field.
A trio of Rainbow Wahine moved into the program 6k top four while finishing in the top 30 to lead UH to its best-ever finish at the event. Freshman
Lucy Milliner ran the second-fastest time in program history with a mark of 20:15.2 while
Emilie Kirk Langschwager followed right behind her in 20:19.9 to move into third all-time.
Sariah Hernandez recorded the No. 4 6k time in school history, stopping the clock in 20:37.0.
"We're very pleased with the efforts this morning – our best-ever team finish here," said head coach
Tim Boyce. "The challenge of travel and an early start time were handled really well by this young group which included four freshmen and two others with us for their first mainland race."
Milliner came in 10th overall followed by Kirk Langschwager in 14th place and Hernandez in 26th. Sophomore
Zola O'Donnell followed the top-30 trio by running a 21:38.6 to finish 98th while
Kira Moe rounded out the UH top five with a time of 22:04.7 to place 148th.
"A tremendous 6k debut for
Lucy Milliner, followed closely by Emilie and Sariah," said Boyce. "This group has the potential to achieve some special things this season and we're looking forward to getting some work in back home before the next meet in Oregon."
UH also finished third out of seven Big West teams in the event that was held at the site of the this year's conference championships. Only Cal Poly and UC Irvine finished ahead of Hawai'i in the conference while the 'Bows topped host UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara – all schools that have finished ahead of Hawai'i in the conference since 2017.
The Rainbow Wahine are back in action next at the Charles Bowles Invitational in Salem, Ore, on Oct. 5.
Rainbow Wahine Results
8. Hawai'i – 278 pts.
10.
Lucy Milliner – 20:15.2
14.
Emilie Kirk Langschwager – 20:19.9
26.
Sariah Hernandez – 20:37.0
98.
Zola O'Donnell – 21:38.6
148.
Kira Moe – 22:04.7
204.
Lucy Becker – 22:47.9
209.
Bella De Freitas – 22:59.9
210.
Gemma Warman – 23:00.0
211.
Nicole Sevcikova – 23:00.6
221.
Alizee Garcia Parsons – 23:39.1
