Seattle University senior Sophie Curatilo bested a field of 50 runners by more than six seconds in winning the Viking Cross Country Classic hosted by Portland State at Blue Lark Park on Saturday.

Curatilo, a 2011 Moanalua alumna, finished the 3-mile race with a time of 16 minutes, 48.40 seconds to lead the Redhawks to a 10-point victory in the team standings.

Her time was more than 30 seconds faster than her previous best mark in a 3-mile cross country event.

"Sophie was focused and strong today," Seattle coach Trisha Steidl said in a press release. "We talked ahead of time about her going for the win, and it was great to see her be aggressive and make it happen."

Curatilo was named the Western Athletic Conference female cross country runner of the week.

For the first time since Seattle completed the reclassification process back to the NCAA Division I level, the Redhawks are ranked in the West Region by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Seattle is ranked No. 15 in the poll released on Monday and is the only WAC team listed in any rankings.