SHELBY, NC – Walters State put up a strong showing at the Yeti Invitational on Saturday morning, grabbing a top-three finish for both the Senators and Lady Senators. 

For the men, they finished in second-place as a team. The women almost matched the men's showing, taking third-place.

Gideon Erwin led the way for the men with his second straight top-five finish. Erwin finished in fifth-place, running the 8k in 29:30. Along with Erwin, Juan Guillen put together a solid race, coming in eighth-place with a time of 30:07. It was over a minute faster than his time last week. 

Wade Walters was the Senators' next finisher, taking 14th-place with a time of 32:14. Close behind Walters in 16th-place was Sam Runyan with a time of 32:27. Other finishers for the Senators were Edgar Martinez in 23rd with a time of 34:34, Ignacio Vargas Huipe in 24th with a time of 34:42, Benjamin Eigenmann in 35th with a time of 38:32, Walter Kledzik in 37th with a time of 39:17 and Parker Minor in 40th with a time of 42:18. 

On the women's side, Naomi Merrill continued to show improvement, finishing in ninth-place with a time of 23:21 in the 5k. That finish is Merrill's personal best by almost a minute. 

Along with Merrill, McKayla Ruchala finished in 13th-place with a time of 25:16 while Taylor Starnes finished in 15th-place with a time of 25:26. Right behind Ruchala was Cindy de Leon in 16th with a time of 25:31. Ava Curry was Walters State's final runner, finishing in 21st-place with a time of 26:52.

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action next Friday at the Maryville Invitational. The women will run at 5 p.m. with the men to follow at 6 p.m.