WEST REGIONALS: Bruin Men 13th in Regional as ’08 Season Concludes

West Regional Results (M&W)

SALEM, Ore. - Bringing their first season under the direction of Jeff Larson to a close, the George Fox University Bruins finished 13th out of 15 teams in the men’s race while the women’s team had no score with only three runners competing in the NCAA Division III Cross Country West Regionals Saturday morning here at Bush’s Pasture Park.

The Bruin men earned 368 points in the 8K race, which was won by another Northwest Conference team, Whitworth University, with 67 points.  Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges was second with 83 points and host Willamette University was third with 87.  Nicholas Gallagher of Whitworth edged Francis Reynolds of the University of Puget Sound 25:01.25 to 25:01.43 for the men’s individual title.

The top runner for the Bruins was Jordan Ware with a time of 26:53.13, finishing 58th overall and 57th for team scoring.  Following him were Cam Eberhart with a 26:57.65 (61st/60th), Bradley Higgins with a 27:33.10 (74th/73rd), Jacob Cuniff with a 28:41.66 (89th/87th), and Ryan Lane with a 28:55.57 (94th/91st).  Also competing for George Fox was Wesley Bollinger, who was 100th with a 29:59.91.

Both George Fox teams were without two of their best runners, Allen Cassel for the men and Abby Reed for the women, due to illness.

Bethany Strutz posted the best time for the Bruin women with a 24:35.84 in the 6K race, finishing 78th.  Also representing George Fox were Olivia Clark, who was 109th with a 26:45.37, and Mary VanSteenberghe, who was 112th with a 27:17.36.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps edged Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for the women’s title, 88 points to 89, with Willamette again finishing third with 104.  Maddie Coffman of Willamette won the individual race by better than six seconds ahead of Mikayla Murphy of the University of California-Santa Cruz, 21:26.99 to 21:33.57.

The top two teams in the region in each division will advance to the NCAA Division III National Championships, hosted by Hanover College, on Nov. 22 at the Lloyd Ayres Complex in Hanover, Ind.  Third through fifth-place teams in each region will also be considered for the 16 at-large bids to the nationals.  The top seven individual runners who are from teams which are not selected will also be invited to compete in the nationals.

The Bruins have completed their first season with Larson, whose official title is assistant coach, but he has been given charge of the program by head coach John Smith, who also coaches the George Fox track and field teams.