Reiter wins it

Eastern Washington sophomore Sarah Reiter became the first individual champion in school history Saturday after claiming medalist honors at the Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Reiter covered the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 5.2 seconds, edging Southern Utah’s Ashley Hawks by two-tenths of a second.

The Eagles’ previous top finisher was Kari McKay, who finished second at the 1991 championships.

The EWU women took fourth place, equaling the team’s highest finish in program history.

Reiter’s teammate, Berenice Penaloza, took ninth place in 17:35.2.

The Idaho women, led by Sierra Speiker’s 13th-place finish, finished 11th overall.

The EWU men took sixth place. The Eagles were led by Vince Hamilton, who took 13th after covering the 8,000-meter course in 24:40.2.

Idaho took fourth place. The Vandals’ top finisher was Cody Helbling, who took 14th in 24:43.3.

Northern Arizona was the men’s and women’s champion.

Next up is the NCAA West Regionals on Nov. 14 in Palo Alto, California.

• Nick Roche took 15th and the Gonzaga men finished third at the West Coast Conference Championships at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, California.

Roche completed the 8,000-meter course in 23:52. GU’s Troy Fraley (24:15) was 21st and Kyle Branch (24:16) was 22nd.

The Gonzaga women took fifth and were led by top-10 finishes by Shelby Mills and Amelia Evans.

Mills took seventh with a 6,000-meter time of 20:07. Evans was 10th in 20:30.

BYU’s Andrea Nelson Harrison, a Shadle Park graduate, took fourth place. BYU claimed both the men’s and women’s team titles.

• Kellyn Roiko took fifth place and the Whitworth women finished second behind Willamette at the Northwest Conference Championships at Bush Park in Salem, Oregon. Roiko posted a 6,000-meter time of 22:38. The Pirates’ Amanda Blankenship was ninth in 22:50.1. Willamette ran away with the team title.

The Whitworth men claimed fourth. The Pirates’ top finisher was Taylor Steele, who took sixth after covering the 8,000-meter course in 26:10.7.

Willamette claimed the men’s title.

• Isaac Griffith, a Western Washington sophomore from Lewis and Clark, earned All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference honors by placing ninth and leading the Vikings men to second place in the conference meet in Monmouth, Oregon. Griffith covered the 8,000-meter course in 25:13.

Volleyball

Katie Messing and Jillian Bergeson had 13 kills apiece and Pepperdine made quick work of Gonzaga, sweeping the Bulldogs in a West Coast Conference match in Malibu, California. Scores were 26-24, 25-18 and 25-18. GU’s Savannah Blinn tallied a match-high 14 kills and Lauren Joseph dished out 38 assists.

• Kennadie Clute led three players in double figures with 19 kills and Montana State (5-19, 2-10) rallied after dropping two of the first three sets and beat Eastern Washington (9-16, 5-7) in a Big Sky Conference match in Bozeman. Scores were 21-25, 27-25, 21-25, 26-24 and 15-10.

• Jessica Hastriter had 11 kills and Ali Forde added nine kills and nine digs as Idaho (13-11, 9-3) swept Montana (6-18, 6-6) in a Big Sky Conference match in Missoula. Scores were 25-10, 25-21, 25-16.

• Brenna Bruil and Cassandra Mendoza had 10 kills apiece and Whitworth (19-5, 12-2) ran its winning streak to eight matches with a Northwest Conference sweep of Linfield (9-10, 8-6) in Spokane. Scores were 25-21, 25-15 and 25-15.

Men’s golf

Derek Bayley took third place and Gonzaga claimed the title at the Pacific Invitational in Stockton, California. Bayley carded a 4-under-par 67 in the third and final round and finished at 5-under 208.

Men’s soccer

Willamette (12-4-2, 9-1-2) and Whitworth (13-1-3, 8-1-3) played to a scoreless draw in a Northwest Conference match in Salem, Oregon.

The Pirates have two remaining regular-season matches – at Linfield today and at Whitman next Saturday.

• Matt Howard’s third-minute goal was the difference as North Idaho (15-1-2, 13-1-1) clipped Community Colleges of Spokane (10-9-1, 8-6-1) 1-0 in a Northwest Athletic Conference match in Coeur d’Alene.

Women’s soccer

Katie Bischoff’s 92nd-minute goal gave Whitworth (6-11-1, 5-9) a 2-1 overtime-win over Willamette (2-14-1, 1-11-1) in a Northwest Conference match in Salem, Oregon.

• North Idaho’s Jaimee Hulst and Community Colleges of Spokane’s Sarah Melvin each scored second-half goals and the Cardinals (9-2-9, 8-2-8) and Sasquatch (19-2-2, 15-1-2) played to a 1-all draw in a Northwest Athletic Conference match in Coeur d’Alene.

Men’s basketball

Kyi Thomas scored 27 points and Sheridan edged North Idaho 89-85 in a nonconference game in Sheridan, Wyoming. Braian Angola-Rodas led five Cardinals (1-1) in double figures with 22 points.