The EWU cross-country team had its best finish in program history at the Big Sky Championships by placing second. One of the big contributors to the team’s solid finish is junior Sarah Reiter, the top finisher for the women’s team at the Big Sky Championships.

Reiter graduated from Lindberg High School in 2012 and is originally from Renton, Washington. She started her first year at Montana State University and then transferred over to Eastern. “I really like how it worked out. I have had a great experience because of an awesome team and opportunities,” said Reiter.

She started distance running in high school and decided to run in college. The way Reiter likes to train best is by running and training in the morning. Reiter placed eighth in the Big Sky Championship and ninth at West Regional Championships to qualify for the NCAA D1 Championships. The last woman for the Eagles to make it to the NCAA Championships was Mattie Bridgmon in 2007, who went on to place 34th.

“This season we had a team goal to place high as a team at conference, which we did by placing second. We just want to focus on regionals and collectively do the best as a team,” Reiter said According to Reiter, she may not have her own pre-race ritual, but the team’s main pre-race ritual is to look as tan as possible

The Eagles rank sixth in the West, just behind No. 5 Gonzaga, which translates into 30th in national rankings going into the West Regional championships.

The NCAA West Regional Championship was in Seattle on Nov. 13 and the Eagles were ready to battle for a spot at regionals. “After some tough racing at altitude in our conference meet, we are looking forward to cashing in on that racing stimulus at the NCAA West Regional in Seattle this week … We are pleased but not satisfied with our performance at Big Sky Championships,” head coach Chris Shane said via goeags.com.

Reiter placed ninth at the NCAA West Regional Championships, which means she will continue onto the NCAA D1 Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, on Nov. 21. Reiter was also given the NCAA D1 All-Region Honors. The women’s cross-country team placed twelfth overall, while the men placed eighteenth.