EWU men third, women fourth at Idaho Orchards meet

LEWISTON, Idaho - Junior Carter Ledwith won the men's race to highlight performances for the Eastern Washington University men's and women's cross country teams as the Eagles opened their 2020-21 season at the Idaho Orchards Cross Country Invitational in Lewiston, Idaho. 

The Eastern men finished third and the women were fourth among the NCAA Division I teams at the event. Sophomore Kaylin Sheley was the top finisher for Eastern's women with a 19th-place finish. 

A 2018 graduate of Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Ledwith won the men's 8,000-meter race with a time of 25:07.2. He was victorious by nearly five seconds over Montana's Joel Mendez, who had a time of 25:12.1. 

"Carter got his first collegiate win," Eastern head coach Sam Read said. "He ran an impressive race, making a strong move at the toughest part of the race. That move takes a lot of guts and belief." 

Eastern, Idaho, Washington State and Montana were the schools taking part. Montana won the men's competition and Idaho was victorious for the women. 

Other finishers for the EWU men were Ethan Green (13th, 25:07.2), Alec Kness (14th, 26:32.3), Jacob Christner (16th, 27:21.6), Drew Whited (17th, 27:25.7), Danny Maxwell (18th, 27:26.2) and Lucas Robert (19th, 27:46.2). Finishers for the women besides Sheley at 5,000 meters were Jenni Bissell (21st, 18:31.5), Megan Pitzman (24th 18:42.9), Anna Harrison (27th, 18:52.6), Maddie Drennen (28th, 18:57.7), Phoenix Aguilar (29th, 19:06.0), Lilly Fetzer (32nd, 20:15.0) and Jalina Lindstrom (33rd, 20:29.3). 

"Our women did awesome," Read said. "We had five girls run a sub 19-minute race and our top five spread was right around 30 seconds. That is depth we haven't shown in a while."

It was the only regular season meet of the Covid-19 delayed 2020-21 season for the Eagles, who will compete in the Big Sky Conference Championships on Feb. 27 at the Riverside Golf Course in Riverdale, Utah.