University of Washington
Sundodger Invitational
O'Donoghue-McDonald Wins Second Sundodger
September 17, 2011 | Cross Country
Sept. 17, 2011
RESULTS:
» College Men's Invitational | College Women's Invitational
» College Men's Open (Updated 9/19 at 11 a.m.) | College Women's Open
SEATTLE - A West Seattle native that ran in Lincoln Park with his middle school team, senior Max O'Donoghue-McDonald became the first Husky ever to win back-to-back Sundodger Invitationals, as he led the men to the victory today at UW's annual home meet. The 11th-ranked Husky women were also victorious, both teams finding victory for the fifth year in a row.
Having just completed its 20th installment, only once before had a runner won consecutive Sundodgers. That was achieved by Seattle U. coach Uli Steidl, an eight-time Seattle Marathon winner, back in 1994-95 for Portland. O'Donoghue-McDonald got the win in 24-minutes, 8-seconds over the 8 kilometer course. Washington scored 28 points to hold off a good challenge from Idaho, which scored 34 for second-place.
Junior Joey Bywater was the second Husky across in fifth-place, clocking 24:21. Right behind was senior Cameron Quackenbush in sixth, and sophomore Taylor Carlson in eighth-place. Sophomore Michael Miller finished the scoring in 16th-place, though UW also had three true freshmen running unattached in the top-15. Meron Simon was 11th, Dyland Morin 13th, and Aaron Nelson 14th, all within five seconds of each other.
"Max said he felt great today, and for him to win two college races in Lincoln Park is fantastic," said Head Coach Greg Metcalf. "Taylor Carlson and Cam Quackenbush have made massive progress. It was a solid run for Joey Bywater. Then a lot of youngsters ran well for us and we have to decide what to do with them this fall, but more importantly it says the future is bright."
The Husky women were led by a freshman, Eleanor Fulton of Lone Tree, Colorado. Fulton took third in 21:02 as the Husky women went on to score 28 points as well, Idaho again taking second with 45 points. Fulton's effort came despite a spill right at the start of the race that had her working her way up early.
Behind Fulton in fourth-place was sophomore Phoebe Merritt in 21:16, and sophomore Liberty Miller was fifth in 21:19. Redshirt freshman Megan Morgan made her long-awaited Husky debut and was ninth in 21:28, and another true freshman, Erin Johnson, a Shorewood grad, was the fifth Husky scorer crossing in 12th-place in 21:43. Running unattached, freshman Joelle Amaral was just a second behind Johnson in 13th. Washington held out several of its returners as UW has a quick turnaround, running next weekend at Minnesota.
"Eleanor got knocked down but got up and she's also fighting a little cold so for her 6k collegiate debut I thought it was very solid, though I think it's just scratching the surface with her," said Metcalf. "That's a monster PR for Phoebe Merritt and I thought Libby ran great. Megan Morgan made a good debut and Erin Johnson makes our top five for the first time. So we walk away with a better idea of what we've got going on."
The Huskies will run again next weekend at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational, hosted each year by the University of Minnesota. That race is set for September 24.
Players Mentioned
