FERNDALE, Wash. – Trinity Western's Yemane Mulugeta finished first overall at Western Western Washington's Bill Roe Cross Country Classic Saturday at Hovander Homestead Park.

Mulugeta, who finished the eight-kilometre course in 23:51.3, led a Spartans trio that finished in the top five, with Justin Kiplagat coming fourth in 24:13.9 and David Mutai crossing the line fifth in 24:17.0.

For Mulugeta and Mutai, the result marked the second race in a row they have earned top-five finishes, with Mulugeta coming third in the Gator Cross event two weeks ago in Lakewood, Wash. and Mutai finishing fourth in the same event.

As a team, the men's group finished third overall, bettering teams from, amongst others, Simon Fraser University and Central Washington University. The women's team finished ninth overall. 

Hadassah Duff was the Spartans top finisher on the women's side, crossing the line 42nd overall with a time of 23:28.9 over six kilometres. 

Men's Results | 8km
1st – Yemane Mulugeta – 23:51.3
4th – Justin Kiplagat – 24:13.9
5th – David Mutai – 24:17.0
55th – Malcolm Reid – 25:49.8
88th – Lucien Dixon-Lawless – 26:35.3
99th – Brendan O'Brien – 26:59.4
109th – Noah Gladdish – 27:27.6
119th – Larson Rische – 28:45.9
122nd – Kenton Bell – 28:59.0

Women's Results | 6km
42nd – Hadassah Duff – 23:28.9
64th – Catherine Roper – 25:05.4
67th – Anaka Weber – 25:16.8
69th – Ava Rodway – 25:31.0
81st – Tianna Lorio – 27:59.1

QUOTABLE 
Shane Wiebe, TWU Head Coach
"Yemane is looking so strong and he's now already running as fast as he was running at nationals last year. For David and Justin, the work they've put in is really showing and they're looking really sharp. 

"Our women's team finished to get a team score, but a couple of them weren't feeling great, so they didn't run as well as they would have liked, but I'm proud of their efforts.

"Overall, it was a great day and we're excited to go to Oregon next week."

UP NEXT
The Spartans will compete at the Charles Bowles Invitational Oct. 4 in Salem, Ore. at Bush's Pasture Park.

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in NAIA in cross country and track and field and as an independent team in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  

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