WELLSVILLE -- Weber State's women and men's cross country teams opened the 2010 season at the Utah State University Invitational on Saturday morning at the American West Heritage cross country course in Wellsville.
The Wildcat women had a strong second-place showing, battling 20th ranked BYU. The Cougars won with 23 points. Weber State was second with 46, followed by Utah (83) and Utah State (84).
BYU was led by former WSU runner Katie Bowen, who finished first in a time of 16:48.0. Weber State sophomore Sarah Callister, was second in 16:54.1, a 26-second improvement from her time in this event last year as a freshman. Taylor Thornley, who attended Logan High, returned to Cache Valley and finished fourth in 17:13.8 -- a 30-second improvement from her time in this meet last year.
"I was really proud of our women today," WSU coach Paul Pilkington said. "Sarah and Taylor really showed improvement in their ability to run. We also had a big surprise from Amber Henry. She had a great year as a middle distance runner in track last year, but didn't run cross country. She came out this season to run and ended up seventh overall and third on our time in a respectable time of 17:26.2, so that was pleasing to see."
On the men's side, the meet turned into a dual meet between the host Aggies and Wildcats. Utah State won with 20 points. Weber State scored 41. WSU's Brett Hales was second in a time of 21:59.7, 10 seconds behind USU's Brian McKenna, who was the individual winner.
"The men surprised me a bit with the way they ran," said Pilkington. "Chris Burnett has kind of been in the shadows the last couple of years but he came out and ran well. Our freshman Dalton Zundel from Ben Lomond ran as an unattached runner and posted a time of 22:46.5 which would have been our third-best time. He beat USU's Jacob Barton from Ogden High. Those two battled all through high school and it was the first time Dalton has ever beaten him in a race. Brett Hales ran the way an upperclassman should. All in all, it was a good first meet of the season."
The Wildcats are back in action in two weeks at the Montana State University Invitational on Sept. 18.
Volleyball
* 'CATS COMPETE AT RENO TOURNAMENT: At Reno, Nev., the Wildcats are getting closer.
The final match of the Nevada Invitational tournament turned out to be a marathon, going a full five sets to determine a winner.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, it wasn't one that turned out in their favor as the Belmont Bruins posted a 3-2 victory (25-20, 16-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-4) on Saturday night.
Outside hitter Bethany Wray had 14 kills and seven digs, while hitting .220 for Weber State. Freshman Piper Wahlin continued her solid tournament with a career-high 11 kills, while junior libero Nina Blake had 17 digs and senior setter Kim Lissinna posted 32 assists.
The Wildcats fell 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-17) to Notre Dame (4-1) on Saturday morning.
Wahlin led Weber State (0-6) with seven kills. Wray had six kills and six digs, while junior libero Nina Blake had 12 digs.
Wray at 10 kills and three blocks to lead Weber State Friday, but WSU opened up the invitational with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-22) loss to the Wolf Pack.
WSU held leads midway through the first set and late in the third, but the Wildcats were unable to translate those into a set victory. Sophomore Emily Jones added seven kills and hit .250 for Weber State.
Weber State will face its first home match of the season on Wednesday, when the Wildcats host Boise State at 7 p.m. at Swenson Gym.
* UTAH STATE SWEEPS ARIZONA STATE TO WIN CLASSIC: At Tempe, Ariz., junior outside hitter Liz McArthur recorded a match-high 17 kills to lead Utah State to an easy three-set win (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) against host Arizona State Saturday afternoon to win the Sheraton Classic.
Utah State, who improved to 6-0 with the win, is now off to its best start to a season since the 1979 national runner-up team won its first 11 matches. USU defeated San Diego State (3-1) and Seattle (3-2) Friday.
Sophomore opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen (Weber High), also played well for Utah State as she hit .357 (7-2-14) and tied her career-high with seven kills, while sophomore outside hitter Josselyn White (Sky View) had nine kills and tied her career-high with seven digs.
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