COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Abi Read led three MSU Denver runners in the top 20 Saturday as the Roadrunners finished fourth at the Ted Castaneda Classic in women's country.
 
Read was 11^th after covering the 6-kilometer course in 22 minutes, 40.21 seconds. Caitlin Cornell was 16^th in 22:58.47 and Audrey Orstead was 19^th in 23:10.65. Not far back were Tanis Chavez in 23^rd in 23:16.43 and Audrynn Street in 29^th in 23:51.77.
 
Among collegiate competitors, Read was eighth, Cornell 13^th and Orstead 15^th.
 
"Our women got us off to a great start with Abi leading the way," said associate head coach Amanda Rego. "We put three in the top-15 college individuals (which doesn't include non-attached competitors), and had five lifetime bests.
 
"Our top five runners were all fairly close together which was a big step for us, especially Tanis Chavez who stepped up big-time with a two-minute, 13-second PR."
 
The MSU Denver men had many of their top runners continue training rather than compete Saturday, but still managed to place fifth.
 
Ty Schauer led the way with a 47^th-place time of 27 minutes, 9.43 seconds over 8 kilometers. Shota Yabuuchi was 55^th and Tommy Gilfillan placed 63^rd.
 
"Ty Schauer was really strong for us," Rego said. "Since we knew we were holding out some of our top men today, I wanted some of our other guys to step up and that was Ty today. He's really proving his range from being one of our top 800-meter guys to also being a factor on our cross team.
 
"Shota continued to be a solid presence today and several of our other guys have closed the gaps we saw earlier in the season. Overall we got a lot of experience from racing here today and with several big PR's. They've gained a lot of confidence that their training is paying off."